Message of the Day - Integrity - The importance of having and using it

Good Morning,

 

My current read is "The Integrity Dividend" by Tony Simons (http://integritydividend.com/) which focuses on how consistently acting with integrity, both words and actions in sync, can boost organizational performance, team cohesion and grow future leaders who also act with integrity. The concept is a no-brainer, but author Tony Simons dissects the topic giving clear step by step factors involved in many of the different facets of being a person of integrity.

 

One section which struck a cord with me was how observers would experience someone going through the motions of being honest and forthright in their day to day actions.

 

We all would like to think of ourselves as being men and women of integrity, that we keep our word and are honest and consistent in all that we do. We may even believe these things to be true in our own lives and in all that we do.

 

Fortunately that is only part of the equation.

 

For us to be accepted as a person of integrity by those we interact with, we must be consistently observed by others as doing what we say we are going to do and more importantly acting consistently. When observers see your actions matching your words, then you can be seen as a person of integrity and only then will you be able gain the trust of others.

 

As an example, one manager told his departmental that he cared about the team and wanted to show it by shutting down the office to have a celebration with a bar'b'que, et.al.

 

This, by itself, shows the intention of wanting to show caring and an action which follows which matches the words. Unfortunately, his department did not believe him to be a man of integrity, that his caring for them was just a line he was handing them.

 

Earlier in that same week, after an employee was killed in a motorcycle accident, the same manager refused to shut down the department for two hours so that the co-workers could show respect to their fallen friend. They could only go if they had vacation time to use, and this being late fall, not many had time left to use.

 

The observers of this manager, his department did not see him as a man of integrity. His words and his actions did not match. He could espouse his view of being caring about his team, but few, if any would truly believe it.

 

By being observed by others, we have a higher bar to hurdle in proving our integrity. It is not just words we say and actions we hope to follow, maybe some day in the future.

 

We have to prove ourselves every day by being consistent to ensure our words and actions are consistent with each other. Further, we have to do this knowing that our every action is being observed and scrutinized.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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