Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality

Abstract

Integrity: Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality Henry Cloud HarperCollins, (2006) 292 pages, Hardcover, $24.95 There are few books that provide a pragmatic documentation and exposition of potential flaws and fixes to an important and necessary trait required for successful life activities. Dr. Henry Cloud masterfully dices one of the major and important traits found in the leadership literature-integrity. trait approach to leadership as suggested by Northouse, in the 2004 publication entitled Leadership: Theory and Practice,' notes that intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability are traits necessary for an individual to be perceived as a leader. With the recent issues related to presumably dishonest stock-option backdating in businesses, among other ills plaguing leadership in business organizations, the essence of this book drills into the core of who we are as individuals and how that affects the outcomes of our actions and activities. After all, the job of keeping businesses humming and healthy may continue to find its integrity associated with the integrity and influences of individuals assigned to lead such organizations. Dr. Henry Cloud starts by suggesting that integrity enhances the formation of appropriate character. Appropriate character, Dr. Cloud surmises, (1) creates and maintains trust, (2) is able to see and face reality, (3) works in a way that brings results, (4) embraces negative realities and solves them, (5) causes growth and increase, (6) achieves transcendence and meaning in life. In the first chapter of the book, the author notes that integrity transcends merely meeting the demands of morals and ethics. His comments subtly refer to integrity as a state of completeness or a state of being whole or a state of internal consistency. He reinforces the word integrity by using terms such as intact, entirety, and integral. consequence of disintegration, he adds, is (1) hitting a performance ceiling that is much lower than one's aptitude (2) hitting an obstacle or situation that derails (3) reaching great success only to self-destruct and lose it all. Chapter two details the process of establishing trust through initiating connections, extending favors, and appearing vulnerable. This chapter appears to extend in an individual way rather than organizationally, the thoughts of Lencioni (2002) on building trust, in the book, titled, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable. third chapter of the book attempts to make a case for the link between truth and reality. …