There is a great deal of lip service being paid to the role of integrity in the corporate and societal system today. Although integrity as a concept tends to mean different things to different people and it varies based on circumstances. In this context the paper is going to focus on individual integrity and its importance and the need to create a culture of integrity.

When we talk of an individual integrity, we are talking about character of a person, our trust and belief in an individual. When it comes to corporate or societal level, we are talking here about leadership that have what it takes to created a corporate culture of integrity that produce consistency, trust and predictable result. It will be an understatement to say that integrity, both of individual as a leader and of corporate culture is necessary for a long term success and corporate sustainability.

As an individual, integrity is about character of the individual, because it is the character that must be consistently considerate, compassionate, honest, transparent and indeed ethical. These characteristic must be closely associated with integrity, although, the definition of integrity may seems vague, but yet we characterize an individual with integrity as one we can count on to do something consistent and rightly of what is expected of such individual.
This is because, an individual with integrity is someone that can be reliable, predictable in dealing with issues and indeed, a defender of what is fair and acceptable.
According to a renowned psychologist, Dr, Robert. Turknett, integrity is the foundation of the model, of which without integrity, no leader can be successful. The same is true, that an individual with integrity does not twist fact for personal advantage, rather would be willing to stand up in defense of what is right and would be careful to keep promises. It is an individual to be trusted to tell the truth at any given time.

As model, integrity becomes the foundation of leadership that requires a very careful balance between respect and responsibility. Op-cit. When talking of corporate culture of integrity, it must start from the top and be seen in the conduct and activities, such that on the leadership level, it develop a consensus around a shared value that improves the work environment and productivity.