This single question has been included in the selection of my teams since 1985. At the time, as Executive Director of the Adahi Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls, a board member who worked in human resources at CarTech advised me to use it each and every time I interviewed staff members, volunteers or potential board members.

There is something compelling about looking an individual square in the eye, blank faced and deliver the inquiry. People squirm; ask you what you mean; or try to wiggle around their answer. There are some “of course” responses; there are some “no way” responses. The trick question is always the follow-up once you know the candidates immediate reply.

The point is, no one expects someone’s grandmother, grandfather, etc. to steal money and yes, stealing is a form of lying. Yet we only need look to our news sources to discover just such an individual from a local tax office, a firehouse social club, or any number of other places of community business. Institutions that depend on trust find themselves blindsided because they didn’t ask the hard questions

Let’s explore truth, trust, integrity and ethics, and determine how this fits into your workplace.

The Importance of Trust and Integrity

During a recent Becoming Better Leaders program, Anne Baum, VP, Lehigh Valley Capitol Blue Cross, asked the participants what was the most important value that leaders needed to demonstrate to attain results.

Undoubtedly, the response is trust. Great leaders gain respect and the trust of their teams through consistent behavior. They get their job done and support their teams by taking risks, making tough decisions, empowering and inspiring others, and providing resources necessary to accomplish collective goals.

They may fail. The work of the team may reap unintended consequences and great leaders accept the blame. But they do not steal; they do not take credit for other’s work; and they do not tolerate inappropriate behavior. They certainly do not lie.

When someone asks people to participate in making decisions, and obtains buy-in, they gain trust. Their word is their bond. They do what they say they are going to do, and if there is something that needs to change to make an adjustment to the collective group theory, it is communicated to all involved. There is no greater gift anyone can offer than their word.

Dictionary.com defines integrity as adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty; and, the state of being whole, entire or undiminished. Numerous studies have been completed presenting integrity as a top value of great leaders.

There is a somewhat natural flow for leaders who are recognized for gaining and giving trust, to also have integrity and a commitment to being ethical in all regards. AND, they do not lie, nor do they tolerate lying.

Five Great Articles about Making Ethical Decisions

Last year, at the Leadercast Greater Lehigh Valley, we brought in the Senior Ethicist for Lockheed Martin, Ellen Daly. Ms. Daly shared aspects of their basic orientation program where folks are provided examples of acceptable standards of behavior; all geared for the employee to have clear understanding of ethical practices.

It was eye-opening that Lockheed Martin took such great strides to assure their integrity, particularly with their largest contract, the United States Government. The trainings weren’t complicated; very much what appeared to be common sense. But for the “uncommoner,” it cleared up any possible misunderstandings about what was appropriate and what would not be tolerated.

Here are some additional resources that you may find provoking along these same lines. While some may appear to be prepared for a specific industry, all of these considerations may be integrated into any workplace.

1. From the Bloomberg Report Management Blog: The Different Ways People Handle Ethical Decisions in the Workplace (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-11/the-different-ways-people-handle-ethical-issues-in-the-workplace ) Discover if you are a conformist, a negotiator, a wiggler or a navigator by taking an ethics test on the Health Trust page but created by the Council on Ethical Organizations (http://councilofethicalorganizations.com/category/news/)

2. From the webGuru Undergraduate Research: General Guidelines for Ethical Decisions. (http://www.webguru.neu.edu/professionalism/research-integrity/general-guidelines-ethical-decision-making) Are you appealing to egoism? Utilitarianism? or Deontology?

3. From the National Clearinghouse on Academic Advisory Services: Value and culture in Ethical Decision Making (http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Values-and-culture-in-ethical-decision-making.aspx ) Question your decision on the Rules of Private Gain? If everyone else is doing it? and Benefits vs. Burden.

4. From the BBC - Capital: Managers, Train Your Brain for Ethical Decisions (http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20131007-the-morality-muscle). Learn more about developing your morality muscles on a regular basis.

5. From Social Science Research Network: "C" is for Crucible: Behavioral Ethics, Culture and the Board's Role in C-Suite Compliance (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2271840). Explore Conflicts of Interest; Motivated Blindness and Framing; Time Pressure; Irrationality; Loss of Confidence; Power; Group Dynamics and more are brought to the forefront as independent or interdependent aspects of decision making.

In Summation…Great Leaders Do

Lead. Great leaders lead. They provide the framework in which you may perform your work without hesitancy. Trust is a very valuable commodity. Your word, your integrity, is priceless. Caution is encouraged should the lines get blurred. Lying, stealing, and cheating are unproductive and not tolerated in great workplaces. It’s your choice to know the difference between right and wrong, to set standards at your workplace. Great leaders choose wisely.

Kayte Connelly, Best Principled Solutions LLC, is an award-winning author, leadership coach, and organizational development consultant specializing in personal, professional and community leadership. She facilitates corporate retreats and conversations with dissimilar parties and helps individuals and organizations identify and eliminate what stands between themselves and their goals. We provide enriched customized services that are designed to create and sustain generations of leaders for our community and elsewhere, based on research and global development. Please “like” us at www.facebook.com/BestPrincipledSolutions. Call 484.769.2327 for more information on how your company could become more collaborative, flexible, imaginative, and innovative and/or to discover your leadership “edge.”