Graft list: A chat with Kenyans on character

In the last one week, I have watched with sadness as public officers are named in connection with corruption. Some have stepped aside. Some have vowed not to. Many continue to plead their innocence. The theatrics have only made me reflect the more about trust.

Wouldn’t it be nice if people just did what they said they would do?

Now, imagine an entire country where all people are judged not on their race, their wealth, fame or success, but, first and foremost, on whether they keep their promises and always do what they say. Where a person is judged on whether his word is his bond — on his honesty and integrity. Isn’t that a place where we would all like to live?

This attribute is called character.

The 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer points to an “evaporation of trust” in institutions and leaders worldwide. The annual survey finds a decline in trust overall, with more countries classified as distrusting than trusting.

Globally, trust in business, media and NGOs is at its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

Yet living a life of good character is in everyone’s self-interest. It is the most important gift you can give yourself and will benefit you forever through thick and thin in ways you may not yet imagine.

Besides the individual, character in life also is essential for our society to function successfully. Each individual must do his or her part.

Now, let me give a crash course in economics.

There is something known as public goods. Public goods are those that society requires and that benefit everyone, but that the private sector has no economic incentive to provide.

Public goods benefit everyone, whether they pay for them or want them or not. The most basic public good is defending the populace from attack and invasion. Other public goods include the highway system and traffic lights, clean air and water, and public education.

The government provides public goods by administering the budget and overseeing the delivery of the goods.

And that is why it really hurts when public servants are accused of using the same budget for their own personal benefits as opposed to managing it in trust.
But did you know that highly principled leaders and their organisations perform especially well?

According to a new study by KRW International, a Minneapolis-based leadership consultancy, CEOs whose employees gave them high marks for character had an average return on assets of 9.35 per cent over a two-year period.

That’s nearly five times as much as what those with low character ratings had; their ROA averaged only 1.93 per cent.

When public servants don’t do what we wananchi have entrusted them to do, we all get hurt.

Your integrity is your most important virtue.

History has proved that when you cheat, your “success" is false.

When you break a promise, you are showing that your word is meaningless. When you lie, you deceive others and lose their respect.
Bad character destroys your reputation and breaks the trust others have in you.

As Billie Jean King said, “Saying one thing and doing another shows lack of respect for yourself and others and can destroy the trust others have in you. Every aspect of your life gets better when you are truly honest with yourself and others”

Mr Waswa, a management and HR specialist is the managing director of Outdoors Africa. E-mail: [email protected].