It’s the most fundamental of all leadership traits. It’s like the basics of all basics. It comes before processes and great speeches. It’s the very core of any leader worth a grain of salt.

Leaders, real leaders will not tolerate lying, cheating or stealing. It’s really that simple.

Lying-For a bad leader it starts out by being tolerant of a little lie. Fudging a customer just a little bit. If they are fudging the customer they are fudging your organization. A bad leader lets it go. A strong leader hangs his/her reputation on fixing it. A bad leader lets it go and with it their reputation and career will eventually go. A strong leader spots, stops it, cuts it off at the head.

Cheating-A bad leader gives a wink and a nod to a little cheating. A little cheating might be doing those iffy repairs that don’t really need to be done. When they cheat the customer they cheat you too. A strong leader spots, stops it, cuts it off at the head.

Stealing-It could be money, items or even time. Bad leaders allow things to happen that shouldn’t. I had a dealer tell me one time he knew his used car manager was stealing and he was ok with it because he made him so much money. He must not have made him enough. He’s now out of business. A strong leader spots, stops it, cuts it off at the head.

It’s real simple. Your motto should be: “If you lie, cheat or steal you can’t work here.” That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs