The Integrity of Leadership: A Lesson from Marc Benioff

The Integrity of Leadership: A Lesson from Marc Benioff

13 years ago, I was invited to an elite leadership meeting at Salesforce. I wasn’t a VP. I wasn’t even a manager. Just an individual contributor lucky enough to be in the room.

Marc Benioff walked in, casually dressed, no pretense—just presence. He took questions from the team with ease and candor.

Then a senior VP brought up a thorny issue: “One of our longtime partners isn’t adding much value anymore. Should we renegotiate? Or just move on?”

Marc didn’t rush to an answer. He paused, leaned forward, and said:

“I don’t know enough about that specific vendor or our contract to comment on the details. That’s not the role I should play here. My job is to lay down the guiding principles—and walk them every day.”

Then he added what I’ll never forget:

“If a partner helped us grow—if they were there when we needed them—we don’t squeeze them when they’re in need. We support them.”

That moment stuck with me. Not because it was some earth-shattering strategy. But because it was a quiet masterclass in leadership. It was integrity in action.

Over the years, I’ve seen countless companies squeeze partners the minute their leverage shifts. They rationalize it. Legal it to death. Blame the CFO. But leadership isn’t just about maximizing value on paper. It’s about protecting those who bet on you when you had nothing.

That’s how you build partnerships that scale with you. That’s how you build cultures that attract A-players. That’s how you build companies that last.

I’ve carried that lesson throughout my career—at Salesforce, at DocuSign, and beyond. And I’ve tried to pay it forward. But I’ll admit: I haven’t always gotten it right. There were moments I forgot the long game. Times I focused on optimization over loyalty. And every time, it cost me more than I gained.

Leadership isn’t tested when things are smooth. It’s tested when you have the power to walk away—and you choose not to.

Thanks, Marc, for that early lesson. I didn’t take notes in that meeting. But I never forgot the moment.

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If you’re building a GTM org today, ask yourself:

• Are you treating your partners like expendable vendors or strategic allies?

• Are your reps being taught that integrity scales—or that power wins?

• Is your culture built to impress investors—or to earn trust?

You don’t need a playbook for everything. Sometimes, one sentence from a leader says it all.

“If they helped us grow, we support them.”

That’s it. That’s the culture.