Visible integrity in public leadership: a conceptual model of truth-telling and accountability

Purpose This paper develops a conceptual model of visible-integrity public leadership. It examines how senior public officials make integrity publicly legible when truth-telling is constrained by patronage, political pressure, value conflict and institutional risk. Design/methodology/approach The article is a conceptual paper using theory synthesis, conceptual extension and illustrative historical case analysis. It integrates public leadership, public value, political astuteness, public integrity, patronage and clientelism, whistleblowing, frank advice and ethical leadership literature. Parrhesia, jiwa ketok and selected episodes from Hoegeng Iman Santoso's public life are used as focused conceptual resources and illustrative material. Findings The paper refines visible-integrity public leadership into five interrelated dimensions: truth-telling under institutional constraint, moral risk-taking, visible ethical conduct, ethical self-limitation and institutional accountability to public purpose. It also specifies boundary conditions, disconfirmation possibilities and propositions for future empirical research. Originality/value The article contributes to public leadership scholarship by introducing jiwa ketok as an Indonesian vocabulary of public legibility and by using Hoegeng as an illustrative case for theorising integrity, truth-telling and accountability from within public office.