3 Timeless Communication Principles for Moral Directedness & Integrity

Abe Brown, MBA, M.R.Ed, PCC What’s the culture of your workplace? You may have a hard time defining good or healthy culture, but we have no issue defining bad culture. We know that toxic workplace culture demeans, degrades, and disempowers people. On the other hand, a healthy workplace culture leaves people feeling energized, positive, and productive.?

And one of the major signs of people that create a healthy workplace culture is moral directness and integrity. Now, that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Sounds all fancy and sophisticated. So, let’s break it down in today’s post. Keep reading to learn more.?

The Impact of Integrity of the Team

Have you ever been on a team? It could be any team: a sports team, a workplace team, a non-profit team, or even simply a team of friends. In that kind of environment, typically, everyone trusts and feels comfortable around each other. However, sometimes, there’s one person on the team who, for example, doesn’t always tell the truth.?

And even if you think you can survive with that person (and it’s true, you can), that person will usually be a drag on culture. However, when everyone at that time is honest and has integrity, it elevates a healthy workplace culture. Google did a study in 2017 among its worldwide network of employees to tease out its highest-performing teams.

Google discovered that one of the most important traits of its highest-performing teams was dependability. In short, its team members operate with integrity and, as a result, can rely on one another. If I don’t have a teammate with integrity, it creates a less effective, less efficient, and more toxic workplace culture.?

3 Power Workplace Communication Principles

A major part of this idea has to do with communication. We need to be able to communicate effectively, influence each other, and do it all with credibility in the workplace. Aristotle wrote a book called Rhetoric about 2800 years ago, in which he detailed 3 timeless communication principles for moral directedness and integrity that you can apply to create a healthy workplace.

1. Logos

Logos refers to logic. If I want to be credible, I need to be logical. This can be done by using data, statistics, case studies, etc., to prove and support my claims. You see, if I’m going to say something, my word on its own is not always going to account for much. However, if I throw research and science-backed figures into the mix to back up what I’m saying, all of a sudden, my claims will now have validity.?

2. Pathos

Pathos means emotion. Being credible also means using emotion to sway and influence others. People need to know that you’re a real human being, not some AI-generated 3D-printed thing. And one of the best ways to do that is through an appeal to the emotions. We are all emotional beings, whether we realize it or not.?

As a result, speaking with emotion and getting emotionally involved (in a controlled manner, of course—no temper tantrums, please!) in the topic is a great way to connect with and persuade people to our line of thinking.?

3. Ethos

Ethos refers to lived experience. If a person preaches this, that, and other but does not actually live it out in their own lives, that person does not have much credibility (or integrity, for that matter). You can talk the talk, but do you walk the walk? Often, we think of ethics as something where some ethics board is trying to impose a set of standards on us.?

But really, the word ethics refers to “Does your lived experience show that you practice what you preach?" not necessarily that you’re always perfect (because who among us is?). But are you operating from that ethical place of not just talking the talk but also walking the walk??

This is a matter of integrity, and it’s interesting because no matter who you are, where you’re from, or what culture you’re raised in, character and integrity are the most multicultural values ever. I’ve traveled the whole world and have yet to find a culture where it’s okay to lie, scam, or cheat.?

We might have different skin colors, hair colors, languages, and even different religions. Still, regardless of anything else, there is a core set of moral values that are required to be a decent human being.?

And somehow, there are some leaders who think they can get away from that, and then they wonder why they don’t have a healthy workplace culture. The good news, however, is that if that’s you and you’ve made mistakes (and who hasn’t?), we can begin to shift that right away.?

And that happens when we own our mistakes, apologize for our shortcomings, and take corrective action to change.?

Conclusion

Moral directedness and integrity are among some of the foundational pieces of a healthy workplace culture. As a result, they are critical to inspire and lift your team to higher levels of performance, productivity, and, ultimately, profit. And the best part? We at Flourishing Workplace can help. We are on a mission to change the world by changing the workplace. We believe in a workplace where everything thrives, everyone contributes, and everyone belongs.?

So, if you’re ready to create that kind of culture in your workplace, contact us today for a no-obligation discovery call.

About the Author

Abe Brown, MBA, CMCT, CPHSA is the Coach’s Coach, and is an Entrepreneur, Professional Speaker, International Best-Selling Author, and High-Performance Leadership Coach. He is the founder of?Certified Flourishing Coaching??and?Flourishing Workplace. Abe is also the author of the Certified Flourishing Coaching? Programs.