Leadership: Integrity

Integrity is firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values; incorruptibility. It is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. It is standing up for what you believe is right, living by your highest values. To have integrity means that a person is self aware, accountable, responsible and truthful and that their actions are internally consistent. A person of integrity is one who demonstrates sound moral and ethical principles and who does the right thing no matter who is watching.

Integrity has also been explained as trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility or pledge. Integrity is a valuable skill in an employee because it indicates that they will perform to the best of their ability and act on their principles.

Professional integrity is the practice of maintaining appropriate ethical behavior. It is the practice of showing strong adherence to moral and ethical principles and values such as honesty, honor, dependability and trustworthiness. People who behave with professional integrity generally uphold a moral standard of conduct, both in professional as well as personal endeavors. Professional integrity is what gives employees a reason to trust that leaders will place professional standards over their own self-interests.

Why is Integrity an important attribute to Leaders?

Employee satisfaction

Employees are typically happier working for someone who they believe is trustworthy and dependable, someone who would never ask them to compromise their own principles. Integrity in a supervisor has been linked to job satisfaction and engagement, employee health and even life satisfaction.?

Reputation

For people to trust you—both in- and outside of your organization—you need to behave with integrity. Investors need to trust you to consider investing in your business. Vendors need to trust that you will pay for goods and services. Maintaining professional integrity will allow you to build a strong reputation that will increase the trust and comfort others have in doing business with you.

Clearer focus

Consistently behaving with professional integrity means you have the energy to focus on what is important rather than wasting energy covering up bad practice.

Stronger sales

Customers today are motivated to buy from companies that are socially and environmentally responsible. The most effective way to create a culture of integrity and ethical behavior is to behave with professional integrity.?

Ways Leaders may use to demonstrate Integrity at the Workplace:

Treat everyone the same

Integrity is about honesty, wholeness and being the same person in all situations and with all people. Treat supervisors, coworkers and even the intern with the same level of professionalism and respect, regardless of their level of seniority. The same applies to customers. Every customer should be given the best treatment, regardless of the level of service they pay for.

Admit your mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes and no one, from customers to employees, expects everyone to be perfect all the time. The key to behaving with professional integrity is admitting mistakes and apologizing when you’re wrong. You must also demonstrate your regret through your actions and demeanor. You’ll generally find that not only do people not think less of you, they actually think more highly of you by your ability to admit error.

Keep your commitments

If you want to develop a reputation as being someone who delivers on their promises, make a habit of always keeping your word. This means that yes needs to mean yes and no means no, without excuses or a change of conditions. This also means being on time—or even early—when you say you will be. It means demonstrating respect for others’ time and notifying them right away if you’ll be late.

Give in your 'ALL' at work

Putting all of your focus and effort into something to reach a goal is a character trait that others admire. It demonstrates a strong work ethic and a commitment to results for the betterment of the organization. Giving your work your maximum effort every day and being unwilling to give in to distractions speaks volumes about your integrity.

Tell the TRUTH

It’s easy to be transparent when the news is good. You won a new piece of business, wooed a client, or made that all-important sale. When the news is positive, you shout it from the rooftops (or at the next staff meeting, anyway). But how do you behave when the news is bad? How do you tell your boss the difficult news that the client was unmoved by the presentation? Or that a critical meeting did not go as planned??You tell the truth.

Do Not ABUSE your position

Continually show your employer that you are worthy of the trust she put in you to do your best work. Demonstrate your integrity by never abusing any of your freedom and autonomy with personal phone calls, Internet searches, or too much socializing with coworkers. In addition, when you always deliver on what you promise, others will trust that you are a woman or man of your word.

Value Diversity

A diverse workplace allows colleagues with different backgrounds and viewpoints to find better solutions. If you are in Human Resources (or not), encourage your team to bring diverse minds to solve the challenges before you. As the old adage says, “Two heads (or four, six, eight or twenty) are better than one.”

Meet ALL Deadlines

Integrity in the workplace starts with honoring deadlines. No one, least of all your boss, wants to hear the many reasons why you couldn’t honor a deadline. All she wants to hear is that the work is ready. You will prove yourself a person of integrity if you come through when you say you will. (It may help to under-promise on the delivery date by a few days to give yourself the cushion you need to complete the work on time.)

Uphold Moral Standards of the Job

If you know someone at the office who is stealing money or accepting bribes, you must the violation investigated, even if it is uncomfortable to do so. Similarly, if you know of a colleague who is harassing or bullying coworkers, you need to take action on the behavior. Set out clear procedures and made it easy for others to report the person. You may feel ostracized by the person, but everyone else on the team will respect you all the more.

Provide Candid Feedback

When others report to you, they want candid communication about their job performance. If you have to review someone who is underperforming, you owe it to them to let them know what he/she is doing wrong. Then, outline the steps they can take to improve. Work out a timeline for when you will both meet again to see if they have been able to turn things around. Integrity in the workplace means handling the difficult conversations?with grace and professionalism.

Keep It Simple and Short!