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42 australian maritime issues 2009: spc-a annual
Integrity, which can in consequence be seen to articulate the real meaning of ‘leadership
by example,’ is explained by another famous US Navy admiral, Arleigh Burke, as ‘an
unimpaired adherence to a code of moral values’. 7 A recent RAN handbook underlines
the same point:
Leadership … is a trust sustained by the personal example of the
leader. For subordinates to be committed to the goals and values of
the Service, the leader must be a living example of those same goals
and values. When once the leader sermonises, ‘do as I say, and not as
I do,’ trust starts to deteriorate and along with trust is lost morale and
military effectiveness. 8
A person of integrity can be counted upon to give precedence to moral considerations,
indifferent to personal desire or inducement to self-interest, even where such a betrayal
of moral principle might pass undetected. This was the sense of integrity understood
by Admiral Burke to be at the very heart of the profession of arms:
A military professional is someone who holds to the highest standards
and serves the country with unquestioning loyalty; the professional is not
motivated by personal gain … a careerist [on the other hand] is someone
who serves the country in the best way fit to further his own career.
Rear Admiral John Dumaresq (1873-1922) (RAN)