The Cornerstone of Leadership: Integrity
The word integrity gets thrown around a lot in the world of work these days. Every company says they espouse it as one of their key values, which sounds great! Of course we want people to have integrity, nobody wants to work with a shady company. What’s more, integrity really is the cornerstone of any great leadership.
But the downside is that the word has started to lose its meaning, and take on the flavor of a corporate buzzword. With integrity as one of our four key values, we knew we needed to have a conversation about what we mean when we say integrity.
What does integrity mean, really?
Integrity is the state of knowing what you are and standing firm in that. It’s closely connected to character, and it acts as your true North, pointing you in the right direction whenever you make a decision or take an action.
In our company, integrity is one of our four core values, and one of our main drivers of action. We transform with humility by acting with integrity – and it shows up in everything from how we interact with each other and our clients to the way we decide what kinds of topics to talk about in our newsletter.
Three ways integrity plays out in leadership:
Of course, the actions of integrity are going to look different from leader to leader, but there’s a few underlying “buckets” of action that tend to go along with integrity.
Attitude and perspective: good leaders cultivate a positive attitude, even when things are tough. It’s not that they don’t acknowledge what’s going on, or turn a blind eye to hard facts. It’s that they’re able to see all of that, and then make the decision to focus on the positive anyway, because that’s what’s needed to get the job done.
Along those same lines, leaders use their connection to their integrity to keep their sense of perspective. They look at the bigger picture and how that aligns with their values, and make decisions from that vantage point, rather than being swayed by every little thing.
Belief in their team: good leaders don’t just see their team as labor assets, they see them as people, and commit to focusing on the positive in them. They know that a big part of their job is helping those around them develop and reach their own goals, and so they care just as much about their team members’ success as their own. This also translates into very practical actions, like investing in people before objects. A person can always grow and surprise you with the new things they bring to the table. An object is always going to be the same object.
True connection with those around them: good leaders know that deep down, their work isn’t just about making their quarterly numbers, or even leading a great company. It’s about building great relationships. They look for values-aligned connections, and use their integrity to point them in the direction of people to connect with.
Without integrity, everything’s up for grabs – which is why it’s so important to have a clear picture of what it means, and how it plays out for you.
We’d love to know –– what values make up your integrity? And how do you act on those in the day to day of your work?
As always, if you’d like some support in articulating your core leadership values and creating a clear plan for implementing them throughout your organization, we’d love to help! Find out more about our Live Your North Values Sort here.
