Rising to the Top with Integrity

It is hard to believe integrity still has a place in business, leadership, or our nation. The exposure of corruption and moral weakness in large companies, such as Enron, confirm companies embrace success at any cost. Often the cost involves the downfall of the corporation, leadership, its hierarchy of command, control and exploitation. This not only impacts Corporate America but individuals, the nation and our world at large.

Integrity is the core of all true leaders who achieve great success while benefiting those they lead and serve. Integrity is an expression of solid character involving a person's mind, heart and will. A leader with integrity serves with passion founded on those heartfelt beliefs. A strong leader motivates and encourages others to follow the right and best course of action which may not be the easiest or most popular. In the end, sterling leadership stands alone, if necessary.

Accountability is the founding principle of integrity. A person with integrity owns their thoughts, decisions and actions by refusing to make excuses, fault find or blame others. They decide their destiny, seek the greater good and research the best methods to reach their goal. Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike."

Integrity is character and not a birth trait. You develop integrity out of your core beliefs and living out your beliefs in all that you do, especially on-the-job. A person of character will be the same at work, play or home. Integrity demands consistency of who you are and what you do. You do what you say you are going to do, on time and in the method you stated. A person with integrity never wastes time or supplies overseeing their own production and outcomes. This person rarely needs supervision yet flourishes in companies that assess productivity and progress.

You may think integrity and advancing careers are like oil and water. They just do not go together. That is what negative media perpetuates. It sensationalizes the fall of corporate giants and tells us corporate America is corrupt. Media attacks our political leadership rather than researching what leaders of integrity are doing for the greater good. Headlines gossip and sensationalize the slightest variance to already low moral standards. As a result, we believe integrity is not part of America or the culture we live in. Yet, this is not true. There are people of integrity in our political arena, as well as, large corporate companies.

The companies of tomorrow are not necessarily the powerful hierarchies of today. Today's developing companies, employ men and women of integrity, demanding integrity all the way to the front line. I interviewed, Bruce Call, President with Interdent, a leading Dental Management Corporation. He said, " Without integrity we don't have trust, without trust you cannot build a valuable organization. Integrity is an essential part of our company. To exercise integrity requires a like value system from all participants. I am pleased to say that in working with Gentle Dental I have never been asked to sacrifice my values by doing anything unethical, immoral or out of character. Work is so much more rewarding when we can keep our values in tack and work in harmony with honorable people."

In a consumer world where customer service can mean just about anything, the idea of authenticity and integrity is attractive. Consumers, whether of commodities or services, want something more than the promise of good customer service. Bruce Call further injected, "You must have integrity in working with the customer. They can sense, when an individual or an organization does not act in a way that benefits all parties. Long-term success requires integrity be a significant part of the formula." Customer loyalty responds to company loyalty on their brand, promises and services.

Innovative companies of today lead with integrity, creativity and courage. Leaders choose employees who embrace company goals and vision, extending the foundations of integrity to the front line and customer. Ground level companies are closer to the front lines because they hire people with integrity, giving them skills for success and entrusting them with running the everyday facets of the business.

Developing your integrity and career begins with knowing your values and beliefs. Study to know your company vision and core belief. Be known as one who is accountable and takes ownership, refusing to make excuses, fault find or blame others for mistakes. Be persistent in consistently doing what is right while solving challenges without compromising integrity. Be fearless in refusing the attractive or easy unethical alternative. Finally, take time to assess and refine your character development and surround yourself with other people of integrity.

There are stumbling blocks to developing integrity. Gossip is the number one killer of integrity for a person or an organization. It takes the form of breached confidences to out right lies. It comes in a variety of disguises, lurking around every corner and never sleeps. Gossip bombards you in break rooms and meetings alike. Beware of converstions that start out, "Did you know...." or " I thought you should know..." The best rule of thumb regarding information: Ask yourself if you are part of the problem or solution. If not, then walk away from it or shut it down.

Another block to developing character is stealing. Stealing involves more than taking funds from a company. You can steal company ideas and secrets, waste company products and supplies, or fail to be productive on company time. It is devasting to other employees when you steal the praise or commendation they deserve. Procrastination is a form of stealing and truly undermines one's ability to develop integrity. When procrastinating, you fail to do what you said you would do on time.

Greed rots away integrity. Signs of greed include lack of ingenuity or patience. You cannot serve greed and integrity at the same time. Greed begins to master the individual and spread throughout a company when there is lack of strong leadership for the collective good. The company fails to meet the need of customers and employees alike when independence, pride and money become the objectives.

Lack of knowledge, often a mask for laziness, slows the development of integrity. There is no excuse for lack of knowledge in todays culture. We have free access to libraries, media resources, support groups and seminars. Proactive companies often provide or pay for employee education and training.

Fear is a potential influence against the development of integrity. Fear paralyzes individuals and entire companies. The tragedy of 911 illustrated the power of fear as our entire nation came to a standing halt in the aftermath of terror and confusion. It takes courage to do the right thing or deliver hard truth. It takes knowledge to pull down the lies and misconceptions. There must be zero tolerance for fear.

Ego must be healthy. Integrity demands a true assessment of yourself and healthy respect of your strengths and weaknesses. To deny healthy self assessment is to allow for a super inflated ego that cannot perform at the level promised. A low self esteem will impede your development with others reaching your goals before you.

The above are but a few steps and stumbling blocks enabling you to evaluate and embrace your level of integrity. Making a decision to be a person of integrity makes you attractive to companies valuing integrity of its people not only on the job but in all aspects of who they are. The top has plenty of room for integrity...will you be there?