Years ago, I was lucky to work with a consulting firm which had a professional code of conduct with Integrity as its Number 1 core value, followed by ‘the customer comes first’. It gave me much pride and confidence in presenting our company to prospective clients. I also had the privilege of onboarding new colleagues, making sure each knew, understood and internalised how we worked. The challenge was in delivering our promise to partner with our clients for success.

What does Integrity mean at work? I subscribe to the way Stephen Covey in Speed of Trust dissects Integrity.

Integrity of Character comes from being authentic and congruent – inside-out the same. It is more than having good morals or beliefs and principles about what’s right and wrong. It’s about doing the right thing – a matter of conscience.  It is being honest 100% of the time and not selectively.  It comes with humility – being secure in being whom I believe I am, being open and able to accept and recognize contributions from others rather than crave recognition for the things I do. Integrity means having the courage to stand up for what I believe.

Our behaviour derives from our motive and agenda.  Here lies the proverbial pitfall – not stating clearly our intentions before acting. People tend to judge us by our action and themselves by their intent. Why? Our action is external and observable. Our intent is not. Their intent is evident to them. They project their own intent into our actions.  Oh, the pain that conjures!  Are we aware of why we do the things we do? Covey suggests identifying whether our behaviour aims to contribute (bless) or to show off (impress).  Our colleagues and customers trust people whom they perceive to be acting in their best interests. Working with Integrity means our actions leave no room for doubt regarding our intention.  As in all good contracts, a clear declaration of intent sets the focal point for all parties. Take a page from Mahatma Gandhi who spoke to millions straight from his heart and acted in congruence.

Integrity of Competence refers to how we deliver on our promise to our stakeholders. Do we have what it takes to perform and produce the requisite results? Whether individually or as an organisation, are we credible? Do we take stock to ensure that our talents, skills, knowledge, attitudes, or personality styles remain relevant? We are told to always surround ourselves with people who are more than ourselves to push beyond the frontiers of our mind. It takes a great sense of self-trust. It calls for authenticity, positive intent, and an attitude of continuous improvement rooted in a worldview of abundance. It takes great courage to say ‘I don’t know’ and follow up with ‘I will find out’ or ‘I messed up’ and ‘I will be responsible to sort this out’.  Being credible does not mean knowing all the answers. It means recognising that our capabilities are limited and with effort, expandable, and taking the initiative to grow.

However, capabilities and results without core character integrity and good intent give rise to corruption and manipulation. Along the same vein, Peter’s principle tells of executives rising to their highest level of incompetence and hence doing badly in roles that extend beyond their competence levels. Recognising and harnessing our strengths and being conscious of our purpose yield our greatest works and contributions, Working with integrity requires us to constantly review our methods for effectiveness and check that our approach facilitates rather than obstructs progress.

Integrity drives us to deliver results as promised. We give more than we promised but never less.  It is about taking responsibility and being accountable for our results without resort to excuse or blame. In the words of Winston Churchill - “It’s no use saying ‘We are doing our best’. You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary”. We go the extra mile to get a job done right, working with a winner’s mindset and treating each setback as a lesson for moving forward, expecting to finish strong. Make positive self-fulfilling prophesies and train for mental and psychological stamina. The motivation comes from the positivity that comes from winning and succeeding.  At the Fitness First gym, they remind clients that motivation gets us started and habit keeps us going!

In a nutshell, Integrity at work requires us to know ourselves, be our authentic selves at all times and give our best possible to deliver credible and relevant results.

————————————————

Sulynn Choong, a Positive Change Consultant/Executive Coach, holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology degree, Univ. of Pennsylvania. She engages in building people, enabling organizations and enriching lives. Sulynn can be reached at sulynn@hcp2.com.my.