Integrity
Whoever leads the organization lives up, in their behavior, to what the organization declares.
What it means
Good governance rules set the floor. Whoever leads decides whether they are followed when nobody is watching. That is why every good governance requirement has another side: the behavior that makes it true. In most organizations, which have no board, good governance is simply the behavior of whoever leads them.
How to recognize it
What contradicts it
- Asking for innovation and punishing reasonable mistakes.
- An ethics code that says one thing and daily decisions that say another.
What it asks of the governing body
Oversee leadership the way it oversees risk: define what leading well means, align incentives, observe it, develop it, and respond when it fails.
What it rests on
ISO 37000 (2021) asks the governing body to lead the organization ethically and effectively. Treviño, Hartman, and Brown (2000): an ethical reputation rests on being a moral person and on being a moral manager, one who makes ethics visible and demands it. Enron, Wells Fargo, and Boeing had a board, committees, a code, and an auditor; the official investigations pointed to the culture and the behavior of those at the top. In Spain, 99.8% of companies are small and medium-sized businesses.
Sources
- ISO (2021; reviewed and confirmed in 2026). ISO 37000:2021 Governance of organizations — Guidance, principle 6.7, “Leadership.” iso.org
- Treviño, L. K., Hartman, L. P., & Brown, M. (2000). Moral person and moral manager. California Management Review, 42(4), 128-142. doi.org/10.2307/41166057
- U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (2002). The Role of the Board of Directors in Enron's Collapse, S. Prt. 107-70. govinfo.gov
- Wells Fargo Board of Directors (2017). Sales Practices Investigation Report. ucla.edu
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives (2020). Final committee report: The design, development & certification of the Boeing 737 MAX. house.gov
- Ministry of Industry and Tourism, Spain (2026). Cifras PYME [SME figures], July 2026 data. ipyme.org
Good Leadership (2026). Principle 7: Integrity. Version 1.0. buenliderazgo.org/en/principles/integrity/. License CC BY 4.0.