INTEGRITY: A Lifetime to Prove It. A Second to Lose It.

By: Craig Mitchell

President of Robroy Industries, Enclosures Division

Second chances.

Third chances.

Endless chances.

For many things in life, we get more than one chance at "doing it right." If we do it wrong, there will be future opportunities to correct our mistakes. What we do wrong is often forgotten or forgiven.

There is one exception.

It may be the most important exception to understand in our never-ending quest to be effective business managers and good human beings.?

That exception is: Integrity.

Integrity.

Being honest and true to your word is a reputation that you need to earn, not just by what you say, but by how you act, day-in-day-out, every day of your life. You must prove to others that you are living your truth. Then you must prove it again. And again. And again.

If you lose your integrity just once...

...JUST ONCE...

…it may not be possible for you to ever regain it in the eyes and opinions of those with whom you share your personal life and your professional life.?

Once trust has been shattered, putting it back together can be impossible. Even when most of the damage is repaired, there remains in the minds of others a nagging doubt about your trustworthiness. That doubt seldom can be completely erased and it will negatively affect your relationships from that point on.

Let's think about this in greater detail.

Experts in human behavior list 7 "deadly sins" of interpersonal communications:

? Gossiping

? Judging

? Negativity

? Complaining

? Making Excuses

? Putting Opinions Before Facts

It is clear, just by looking at this list, that every one of these "sins" is correctable and, once corrected, would most probably cause others to begin becoming more positive toward persons who previously manifested one or more of these negative behaviors. That's all part of human nature.

You'll notice that one "deadly sin" is missing.?

Lying.

Lying is the root cause for the loss of integrity.

Being untruthful, whether through exaggeration, "little white fibs," half-truths, or out-and-out lies, is an act that brings with it the threat of lost relationships, human-to-human failure, damage to self-respect, and the inability to make dreams come true. Unlike the other "deadly" sins, loss of integrity is not seen by others as a behavior that can simply be corrected, it is seen as an inherent and permanent individual weakness.

As an interesting sidenote to this: do you know what FBI and CIA profilers say is one of the key indicators that someone is being untruthful?

No: it's not crossed arms, or shifty eyes, or nervously tapping feet.?

It's when a person feels obligated to repeatedly tell you that he or she is HONEST. Honest people, people with integrity, do not need to say they are honest. They prove it continually through their actions.?

As a business manager, and in our personal relationships, it is vital that we are always alert to any tendency to falsify reality, even if it seems as if we are doing it for "good reasons." Often, people shy away from expressing a truth because they do not want to cause conflict. In actuality, as long as honesty exists, human beings have an ability to get along with each other even if they hold significantly different viewpoints and opinions from one another. Integrity is the criteria that enables us to look at others and say: "I may not agree but because I know this person is honest, we can find a way to move forward together."?

I will leave you with these closing thoughts about integrity:

? Be honest with yourself and you'll be honest with others.

? Do what you say you are going to do.

? Have the courage to state your truth and the respect to understand the truth of others.

? Support the truth even when it is unpopular.

? Encourage and reward integrity in those around you.

? Honor your commitments.

? Admit when you have been wrong and right those wrongs.

? Say only what you mean.

And above all things, strive to do the right things BECAUSE they are the right things to do.