Integrity and Leadership

Translated by Google Translate

THE SAUNA AND INTEGRITY

The Suomenlinna fortress, located on an island near Helsinki, is, according to UNESCO, one of Finland's seven historical heritage sites. Visiting it is almost mandatory if you live in the city or if you happen to visit. My family and I decided to embark on this journey to the island by ferry. The adventure began one morning when my wife, my three children, and I headed to the Port of Helsinki after taking a taxi that brought us to the place to board. While on the ferry, we realized that my son had lost his iPod in the car that transported us. Since I didn't have the license plate or the car's details, it occurred to me to call the taxi company, explain the situation, and they told me they would contact me. If I hadn't been in Finland, I might have given the iPod up for lost, but within minutes I received a call from the taxi driver. He apologized to me, which I didn't understand, and told me that he had found the device but wouldn't be able to return it until the afternoon because he had other services scheduled outside the city. In the afternoon, without fail, already at home, the taxi driver arrived and returned my son's iPod.

This is one of many experiences during my years in Finland that confirmed the integrity of the inhabitants of this country. In this place, to practice integrity goes beyond an empty qualifying adjective, truly becoming a way of life. For them, integrity includes being honest, respectful, being congruent between what is thought, said, and done, and, on top of everything, being authentic. to practice integrity means being governed by the principle of acting correctly in everything one does. It is no surprise that a country of 5.5 million inhabitants like Finland, during 2020, reached a GDP practically equal to that of Colombia with 50 million people, 70% of that of Argentina with 45 million, 25% of that of Mexico with 128 million, or 20% of that of Brazil with 212 million. Furthermore, according to the Global Citizen Organization for Human Rights, in that same year, it occupied second place in the world as the country with the best education system and, as if that were not enough, it has been cataloged for two consecutive pandemic years, 2020 and 2021, as the happiest country on the planet.

Respect for the person, for diversity, for the human being, for animals, just to list a few things, are very present aspects in Finnish society, even when you walk down the street and know that cars will stop to let you pass, something so simple that it shouldn't be questioned and, yet, is not part of everyday life in Latin America. The congruence in what is done and said is noticeable in everything; another clear example is punctuality. People fulfill their commitments on time, and events or meetings always take place, without any excuse, at the scheduled times.

Finally, let's talk about what it means to be authentic and transparent. Someone once commented on this detail about Finland, and I'm not sure if it's true, but it makes a lot of sense. Finland is the country in the world with the most saunas per capita; practically every home has a sauna, and there is no event, meeting, or convention that does not include a sauna activity. For them, it is almost a national "sport" like ice hockey. The tradition is to enter completely naked, which turns it into a space for friendship and a place where people present themselves as they are: there is no room for labels; everyone inside is equal. That's what I was told. Perhaps this is not the reason for the existence of this custom, but it seemed completely valid to me. Bringing it down to our field, as leaders, the position we occupy or the place in the hierarchy assigned to us should not matter. If we do not understand that in the end, we are all equal and are only there to serve and help each other, we will not be able to lead successfully.

For the inspirational leader, integrity is not just another qualifying adjective; it must be a principle of life. There is no leadership without integrity, just as there is no sustainable development without it.