Integrity is a heavy word, as in, not to be thrown around lightly. At the same time, it elevates the possessor high above the crowd. You see, when someone is described as having integrity, it means this person also possesses a myriad of other meaningful and weighty attributes. They’re reliable, accountable, honest, ethical…the list goes on to encompass everything you’d want to see in someone you respect. Each trait is like a step taking that person up to the pinnacle of personal adjectives: Integrity! (Cue the triumphant trumpets!)
Make It a Core Value
We love integrity at Motivation Excellence. It’s part of our core values: Respect, Integrity, Trust and Exceeding Expectation, or RITE2. When we developed these, the executive team spelled out exactly what integrity meant to them.
Integrity: Respect for lawful operations, mindful work, honest actions, honest words, correcting & learning from mistakes, accurately representing our services, being true to yourself, providing thought leadership, giving your best effort every time, quality work, not giving in to haste.
When you look up the word integrity, you will often come across some version of this saying: “Doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” While that is a great sentiment, don’t you think sometimes it’s even harder to do the right thing when there are people watching (you know, for those who succumb to peer pressure, for instance)? That’s truly when a person of integrity can shine. Maybe that’s why the word “grit” is firmly in the middle of integrity – grit means you have the courage and resolve to stick to what’s right, no matter who is watching.
Anyone Can Have Integrity
A Mindtools.com post about integrity says those who have it are more likely to be promoted at work. The values of responsibility, humility and keeping promises are highly sought after in leaders. How do they say you go about securing and preserving your own integrity? It’s all about the choices you make. We each make many every day that can impact our personal values, as well as those of our business and family. Once you define what’s important to you, analyze your choices against those to keep you on a consistent path. If unparalleled customer service is a core value for your company, then each decision that’s made needs to reflect that from the president down the ranks.
The best part of integrity is anyone can possess it! You don’t need to be a CEO. You can be a kindergarten teacher, a stay-at-home mom, a little league coach or church pastor and anything else! As long as you hold yourself to the highest standards of ethical, moral and honest actions, and throw in accountability, responsibility and trustworthiness, you’re working with the right ingredients to achieve INTEGRITY!
