‘Honesty is of paramount importance in any leadership role’ Featured
Last week I read something very inspiring from Anglican Diocese of Eastern Zambia Bishop William Mchombo in which he said that “honesty is of paramount importance in any leadership role”.
Bishop Mchombo said leaders must always embrace trust and honesty. “When we are chosen as leaders, we should possess the element of trust. The issue of honesty is very important in our leadership roles. When we come to electing leaders, we want to elect those that are honest,” said Bishop Mchombo.
For us in the Socialist Party, there is no choice between being principled and unelectable; and electable and unprincipled. We should win because of what we believe in.
A new and complex era such as this requires principles more than ever. Political ideas are worthless if they are not inspired by noble, selfless sentiments. Likewise, noble sentiments are worthless if they are not based on correct and fair ideas.
The individual does best in a decent community of people with principles, standards, common aims and values.
“When honesty is lost, then wait for the hour (the day of judgment).” These are the words of Prophet Muhammad. They paint a picture of the time leading up to the day of judgment, when righteous people will be sorrowful due to the lack of honesty around them.
We live in a society today where honesty is both valued and shunned at the same time. We expect people to be honest in their dealings with us, yet we watch and applaud liars, we vote for lying and deceitful politicians.
Without thinking, we teach our children that dishonesty is acceptable. We admonish our children for lying, yet the reality is we have been their teachers. Whether we tell lies or allow our children to live in a world surrounded by deceit, the lesson is learned, and honesty begins to disappear from the hearts of the next generation.
If you are honest, truly honest, you cannot be corrupted.If you are unassuming and have a clear understanding of the worth of people and of yourself, you cannot be corrupted.
The saying that honesty is the best policy is one of the oldest in the proverbial book, but its longevity speaks to its wisdom. We think of it as a matter of morality or ethics, and while it is certainly both, being honest is also a constructive course of action in establishing and building not only a good government but the culture within. Employing dishonesty as it’s convenient may be the tempting path, and maybe even one that some can justify in their own minds as a necessary ill to serve a greater good; after all, what harm could a few lies do in the grand scheme of things?
But dishonesty rarely stops with one or two untruths, and never ends well. Each lie or case of dishonesty is a compromise of one’s integrity that makes the next one easier if one is not careful about holding oneself to a higher standard.
Perhaps the greatest function that honesty can serve in a government is avoiding problems and mistakes that grow into major issues. Indeed, honesty is the foundation of the relationships that we have to build.
Honesty is how we build trust, and trust is necessary if we hope to work successfully with others.
In the hustle and bustle of today’s highly competitive environment, where speed is essential to making decisions, it’s easy to forget two important traits: honesty and ethics.
Sometimes the moral fiber of society and the blind ambition of some leaders will not even consider these attributes.It is said that “if you never lie, you will not have to remember what you said”.
Truth and honesty can be difficult to carry out, because we don’t want to be the bearers of bad news. However, in the long term, honesty carries the day, gains stronger support from the people and allows the right solutions to be applied to resolve problems.
Honesty builds trust, one of the most critical elements of solid leadership activities. Amilcar Cabral said, “Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories…”
Fred M’membe