At The Roundtable, we spend a lot of time working with leaders on their values. One of the most popular ones for people to say they embrace is ‘integrity.’ Many times people will actually tell me that it’s such a non-negotiable for them that it’s above everything else. What I’ve noticed though is that everyone has a different definition of integrity. What is a non-negotiable line for you to cross may be a little grey for someone else. If you decide that you’re going to have ‘integrity’ as an important value in your team and working relationships, make sure you define what ‘integrity’ means to everyone involved. You may not think it’s ok to take home the occasional office supply but your colleague may think that walking out with a pack of post-it notes is just fine. But let’s take this one step further. If you are a top leader who says that your people are ‘the most important part of your business’, then is it acting with integrity to support paying yourself and other senior executives hundreds of times more than your average frontline worker earns? That’s not my definition of integrity but it may be yours. If you’re going to say that you always act with integrity, make sure you define exactly what that means – for yourself and those around you.
#leadershiptruth
