Everyone in America remembers the rapid demise this past December of then Senate majority leader Trent Lott following some racially insensitive remarks he made at Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday celebration. Mr. Lott exercised poor judgment in making those remarks at all; and he exercised even worse judgment in making those remarks on national television. This was not the first time Mr. Lott had been guilty of similar behavior.

Then, a few months later, we all witnessed an equally rapid demise of the brand new University of Alabama head football coach. Most college fans are familiar with the story and and every human in the state of Alabama remembers it vividly. Mike Price, who had just been recruited from Washington State, exercised some very poor judgment in Pensacola, FL, while in town for a golf tournament. Without getting into the gory details, the story included some drunken indiscretions at a strip club followed by a private party in his hotel room. Before ever coaching the storied Crimson Tide in a single game, Mr. Price lost his job within a matter of days after the incident hit the national news. And, like Mr. Lott, this was not the first time for Mr. Price; the university president had already warned him about his party-animal reputation.

Clearly, both of these prominent men lost their jobs due to poor judgment. But what about the integrity issue? I contend that both of them demonstrated serious breaches of integrity as they desperately tried to save their jobs. Both went on national television to argue why their transgressions did not warrant losing their positions, and in so doing, were telling their own constituents that they were STILL the best person for the job. And that is simply not true. Their tainted backgrounds would have followed them for the rest of their careers and would have made each of them less effective in their roles as Senate majority leader or head football coach for the University of Alabama. Both of these institutions deserve better than having to settle for a politically crippled leader in such prominent positions.

How many of us would have had more respect for these two men if they had voluntarily stepped down with dignity instead of being forced out while kicking, screaming and lying? An exit statement like this would be an example of taking the high road with dignity and class:

I have exercised very poor judgment and first wish to apologize from the bottom of my heart to my family, to my constituents and to my institution. But apologies will not change what I did and probably won’t change the widespread lack of trust and respect that my behavior has generated. Therefore, I must regretfully resign my position as (Senate Majority Leader/Alabama Football Coach) as I am convinced that my unforgivable behavior will seriously compromise my ability to do my job...and my institution deserves to have the very best in this position. My resignation is effective immediately, although I will assist in an orderly transition to the best of my ability.

Had these two gentlemen accepted their almost inevitable fate and stepped down like that, many of us would have remembered them as men who made some unfortunate mistakes but always handled themselves with the utmost of integrity. We would have hoped that they could learn from their mistakes and that they might deserve another chance in a future leadership role...but breaches of integrity are not so easily forgiven or forgotten.

Recently, Warren Buffet was asked which are the most important traits he looks for in CEO's. He replied that he looks for energy, intelligence and integrity...adding that "if they don't have integrity, those first two will kill you."

Jim Hicks specializes in delivering value well beyond executive search. Following a 27-year career equally split between line management and consulting, he founded The Ansley Consulting Group in June of 1999. Throughout his career, he has consistently and effectively applied the principles of Continuous Process Improvement (CPI). Jim's former roles include COO of Nautica, EVP of Polo, Principal at Kurt Salmon Associates, and implementer of The Deming Method while working with Bill Conway of Conway Management. A former officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, he holds an Industrial Engineering degree from Auburn University and an MBA from The University of Hawaii.