Integrity: The Unshakable Core of Servant Leadership
By Harold Orambo, Servant Leadership student at ASLEAD Institute
| Supposing each school head in this report had decided that their school would input just the number of students they had and not inflate the numbers, would we be in this situation as a country? Probably not. Integrity makes one noticeable; it marks one as principled and dependable. Maintained over a period of time, integrity is also contagious The life of the late Evangelist, Billy Graham, is a profound example of integrity. Billy Graham, Cliff Barrows, Grady Wilson, and George Beverly Shea resolved to “avoid any situation that would have even the appearance of compromise or suspicion.” They came up with the ‘’Modesto Manifesto’’ or ‘’Billy Graham rule. In 2017, it began to be also called the Mike Pence rule, after the then US vice president, who also supported the idea. The late John Michuki found himself at loggerheads with big manufacturers who were discharging toxic effluence into the Nairobi river. Michuki took a stand on what is right environmentally, and his dream of fishing in the river was becoming more of a reality rather than a mirage. Michuki’s stand while overseeing the matatu industry led to the introduction of safety belts, whose impact cannot be underscored. Many Kenyans resonated with the late Michuki because of his stand on integrity. Daniel in the Bible served under 4 kings – Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus. This speaks volumes about his integrity. Integrity is contagious. If just one head teacher among the overfunded in the report had decided to do the right thing, even at the pain of being seen as ‘backward’ by other heads, he or she would soon become the voice of reason, which leads to moral authority. It begins with just one person doing the right thing. When this one person does the right thing consistently, integrity spreads like a fire in the family, community, organization, or nation. Integrity soon becomes the habit of the family, community, organization, or nation, and then it is their identity, their culture. It is easy to pinpoint alumni from certain schools and colleges because of the culture of integrity that is a hallmark of these schools and colleges. We should not throw our hands in the air and say It is the government’’ or What difference will I make?’’ Integrity begins with one person making a decision to do the right things and to do things right. God is waiting for one person to show up on the platform of integrity for Him to do mighty works in our families, organizations, communities, and nation. Will you be that person? |
| Lack of integrity caused the President of America to resign in disgrace. Africa is awash with examples of leaders who have brought their countries to their knees, untold poverty and suffering due to the plundering of state resources and corruption. What seems like an isolated case of plunder by a leader results in the people around him or her imitating his actions. This compounds into established rot because, just as integrity is contagious, lack of integrity is also contagious. |
| Just three days ago, Kenyans woke to the alarming news from the Auditor General’s office that in the financial years 2021 to 2024, schools in Kenya were underfunded to the tune of 117 billion, yet in the same period, 723 schools were overfunded to the tune of 3.7 billion. Another 14 non-existent schools received funds to the tune of 16.6 billion. The overfunded schools were found to have given inaccurate data on the number of students in the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), which resulted in those schools being overfunded. The 14 non-existent schools did not exist in the register of schools, and the County Directors of Education were not aware of the schools. (Citizen Digital July 15th 4.58 pm post) Falsifying data may seem to us a small and inconsequential thing. But how wrong could we be? Our schools are literally crawling on their knees. School heads are contemplating closing schools earlier so as to manage the meagre resources they have. Today, one may have to think twice before accepting a promotion to become a school head. All this emanates from one falsified data entry, repeated over time until it becomes a habit, and when this habit is multiplied in several schools, it becomes a culture. An unfortunate culture, a culture that bites back and bites hard. |
| Supposing each school head in this report had decided that their school would input just the number of students they had and not inflate the numbers, would we be in this situation as a country? Probably not. Integrity makes one noticeable; it marks one as principled and dependable. Maintained over a period of time, integrity is also contagious The life of the late Evangelist, Billy Graham, is a profound example of integrity. Billy Graham, Cliff Barrows, Grady Wilson, and George Beverly Shea resolved to “avoid any situation that would have even the appearance of compromise or suspicion.” They came up with the ‘’Modesto Manifesto’’ or ‘’Billy Graham rule. In 2017, it began to be also called the Mike Pence rule, after the then US vice president, who also supported the idea. The late John Michuki found himself at loggerheads with big manufacturers who were discharging toxic effluence into the Nairobi river. Michuki took a stand on what is right environmentally, and his dream of fishing in the river was becoming more of a reality rather than a mirage. Michuki’s stand while overseeing the matatu industry led to the introduction of safety belts, whose impact cannot be underscored. Many Kenyans resonated with the late Michuki because of his stand on integrity. Daniel in the Bible served under 4 kings – Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus. This speaks volumes about his integrity. Integrity is contagious. If just one head teacher among the overfunded in the report had decided to do the right thing, even at the pain of being seen as ‘backward’ by other heads, he or she would soon become the voice of reason which leads to moral authority. It begins with just one person doing the right thing. When this one person does the right thing consistently, integrity spreads like a fire in the family, community, organization or nation. Integrity soon becomes the habit of the family, community, organization or nation and then it is their identity, their culture. It is easy to pinpoint alumni from certain schools and colleges because of the culture of integrity that is a hallmark of these schools and colleges. We should not throw our hands in the air and say It is the government’’ or What difference will I make?’’ Integrity begins with one person making a decision to do the right things and to do things right. God is waiting for one person to show up on the platform of integrity for Him to do mighty works in our families, organizations, communities, and nation. Will you be that person? |
