A Thought on Integrity

I attended a seminar a few weeks back on “Leadership through Storytelling.” Basically, how to ensure that people listen and remember whatever message it is that we want to impart to them. About halfway through the course, the topic of values came up. The presenter asked us to list of some of the things we considered to be our values. The seminar was geared toward workers in the public sector and most of the room was cops and firefighters so things like honor, courage, truthfulness, professionalism, and accountability were thrown out. Inevitably, as someone in law enforcement always will, the word integrity was said. The speaker stopped and asked “What does that word; integrity, mean?” Answers were given. Someone said “It means being honest.” Another, “It means standing up for what’s right.” Someone else said “It means always telling the truth even when you don’t want to.” The speaker nodded and agreed and then called on one more member of the audience. The man, sitting next to me was tall and thin, and hadn’t said very much the whole day. He stood up and said something that I’ll always remember. He said “Integrity is an engineering term. It means: “Being whole. Undivided. Complete.” It’s not just about telling the truth or doing the right thing. That’s part of it. But what it really means is “how intact are your values, morals, and ethics?””

When he said that, it hit me in the gut like a Mack truck. Having integrity, is not just about being honest, telling the truth, or doing the right thing. Like he said, that’s part of it, but having integrity, means having the whole shebang, being the real deal. It means sticking to your guns, upholding ALL of your values, ALL of the time. It means telling the truth, doing what’s right because its right, standing up for what you believe in, fighting the good fight, leading from the front, having honor in spades, keeping your word as if it’s your bond. It’s every cliché you can think of and a bunch you probably haven’t. It’s being the best person that you can be. It’s being true to yourself. It’s being able to look in the mirror and like what you see. It’s being able to go to your knees at the end of each day and say “Lord, today I did the absolute best I could.”

That was one of the best lessons I think I’ve ever learned. 

So if having integrity is something that matters to you, then think about how you'll respond the next time anger, hate, or jealousy rears its ugly head in the middle of an argument or fight. Think about what having integrity really means when you've been at work too long and some last minute item pops up. Next time someone cuts you off in traffic and you're tempted to respond, remember your integrity. 

Just a thought...