3.2 Leadership and management attitude

Attitudes influence officers’ behaviours and actions which are seen and experienced by others. The more strongly an attitude is held, the more consistently behaviours reflecting that attitude are demonstrated. Leaders with positive attitudes to integrity are more likely to demonstrate behaviours that go beyond mere compliance.

Attitudes to integrity can be shaped – and this always starts at the top and cascades down. ‘Tone from the top’ defines the authority’s commitment to integrity and sets the bar for ethical behaviour. It is more than ‘lip service’. There must be consistency between what senior leaders say about integrity (statements and explanations) and what they do (behaviour and actions). Leaders support and reinforce the ‘tone from the top’ and turn it into practice ‘on the floor’.

Why is leadership and management attitude important?

A strong integrity ‘tone from the top’ supported by all leaders contributes to building an integrity-based culture. When leaders set and communicate their expectations about integrity, act in the public interest, safeguard public resources and take accountability for their actions, others are clear about what is expected and are more likely to follow.

Ideas for good and better practice for leadership and management attitude

Good practice

• Inform all new leaders about the authority head’s ‘tone from the top’ and their role to support this. There should be no doubt that the attitude toward integrity is non-negotiable.
• Reinforce to leaders that they shape culture and need to model behaviours consistent with expectations, values and standards.
• Educate all leaders to:
  • recognise what ethical behaviour looks like
  • make necessary changes to their own behaviour or that of their teams
  • identify ‘red flags’ which may provide an early warning of misconduct or corruption and may require further investigation
  • have difficult conversations with officers who are not meeting standards, demonstrating values or where behaviours need to be addressed early.
• Remind leaders to actively manage team work performance and accept accountability for performance, decisions made and actions taken. This includes regularly reviewing work practices to identify where they do not follow policy or processes so these can be addressed early.
• Provide a trusted advisor (human resources or conduct and standards team) to give leaders guidance on expectations, values, standards and policies.
• Reinforce with leaders that engaging in, tolerating or condoning misconduct is unacceptable and what actions may be taken if they are found to be complicit in such behaviour.

Better practice

• Attract and select leaders with the right attitude. Include integrity as part of the selection criteria for recruitment and promotion decisions and development discussions.
• Use performance processes to assess both what leaders achieve and how. Consider whether specific goals or deliverables related to integrity are assessed (the what) and how leaders demonstrate integrity (the how).
• Recognise the importance of ethical behaviour by leaders. Publicly acknowledge (where appropriate) or document this through performance processes. In doing so, be cognisant that measures may not be subjective – unethical officers can be convincing actors and resentment may be caused when not all acts demonstrating integrity can be recognised.