The basis of every relationship is trust, and trust is born out of an expectation or result of integrity.
Integrity is the conscious decision to be true in both words and actions, and to be true to your personal epithet of values, principles, and beliefs, and what you hold dear and important. The role of integrity in business is crucial, not only to developing a heightened sense of self-awareness, but it is also a validation of your strength of character and reliability amongst your customers, employees, and peers.
Without integrity, all competencies and resources can function, but they fail to find any consistent or meaningful expression.
So let’s look at some of the ways in which you can enhance your integrity
- Define what integrity means to you – Once you have chosen your set of values or principles, consciously articulate it and write it down. A conscious declaration lends the power of conviction and validity to your expression of integrity. E.g., in an organization, that can include your personal or company mission statement. In addition, the statement then acts as a beacon, guiding the behaviour and attitude of your team.
- Do unto others as you would have them do to you – This statement forms the cornerstone of integrity. At all times, maintain an objective, sensitive and fair approach towards everybody and everything. Keep confidential matters confidential, and uphold the trust placed upon you at all times. When we treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated, our actions are aligned with our highest selves. It also sets the tone for our future interactions, including building trust and honesty in relationships.
- Accept responsibility – Always accept complete responsibility for your actions. However, accepting responsibility does not mean wasting time feeling guilty or repentant. Accepting responsibility means relinquishing ego and taking an objective look at what went wrong, and doing what needs to be done to bring things back on track.
- Be open to feedback – To ensure constant improvement, it’s important to be open to feedback from all quarters, including your customers, colleagues, juniors, and bosses. Although integrity is the guardian, the values, principles or opinions integrity upholds have the capacity to evolve over time. Therefore, ask for ideas and suggestions, and discuss concerns in order to continually improve yourself. Be conscious and alert of your words and actions and how close they bring you to being the person you really want to become.
- Be reliable – Always ensure that whatever leaves your table, is consistent, reliable and imbued with quality, including documents, emails, presentations, etc. Always honour all of your commitments and obligations. If for any reason you can’t, ensure that you inform in advance and suggest an alternative solution. Everything that we say or do is a reflection of who we are, and our consistent focus on our personal brand allows others to trust you.
Integrity is integral to our core and the only way to safeguard it is to ensure that we, at all times, are guided by a conscious awareness of who we are and who we want to become