Integrity is something we all say we strive for. Most statements of company values plastered on the reception wall seem to have it included.
The dictionary definition is something like: ‘the quality of being honest, having strong and unchanging principles‘
Trust and integrity seem to me to be a continuum? At one end, is integrity, the personal determination to do the right things. At the other is trust, the belief of others that you will do the right thing.
Trust is something that must be continually renewed by performance to be retained. In most cases, there will be an automatic quotient of ‘trust’ given at a first meeting. The more similar two parties are, the greater will be that ‘auto-allocation’ of trust.
After that, it is retained and earned by the behaviour displayed over an extended period. Trust is easy to lose, very hard to earn back.
You build trust by always meeting commitments, or, when there is a commitment that will not or cannot be met, there is a clear acknowledgement of that outcome, and responsibility is taken.
What is to be done, by whom, and by when is clear, unambiguous, and fair.
When you meet all your commitments, by the due date, or alternatively when they are unable to be met, that fact is clearly communicated beforehand, and responsibility accepted, integrity will be built.
This is a vital component of leadership, and of the ‘Cultural glue’ that makes up a successful institution. Others need to be able to trust that to be cliched, ‘your word is your bond’.
It also has significant implications for those that are being led. The casual relatively thoughtless acceptance of some sort of task and/or deadline that you know you cannot or are unwilling to meet is no longer acceptable.
When you accept a task and deadline, you must meet that acceptance with completion.
Many times, I have seen people in a meeting accept tasks that everyone knows will not be adequately addressed by the deadline. This is both bowing to authority and making your short-term life in the meeting better at the expanse of the longer term, and your own integrity.
The same process applies to institutions. We tend to want to trust them, and the people running them. However, when the people fail the integrity test, we tend to lose faith not only in the people, but in the institution as well.
I wonder, do those in Canberra who seek to lead us, understand the idea and its foundations?
Header cartoon credit: Scott Adams and Dilbert, again, have my thanks for a cartoon that makes my point.
PS. to the cartoon. Integrity may not buy you a boat today, but it certainly will tomorrow.
