Leadership Essential: Integrity

The Definition of Integrity is:Doing what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it.In other words, integrity is keeping your promises.As a leader, being in integrity with your word is absolutely crucial to your ability to successfully lead and mentor your team. No matter who you are or where you are from: world leader, boss, employee, child, Mom, or Dad, integrity matters; what you say matters, and who you are being when you are doing what you are doing matters!After all, given the fact that we lead and teach those around us by example, what are we teaching when we aren’t our word? What are we teaching if we occur as if integrity doesn’t matter?

What We See in the Mirror

Frequently, the person we are out of integrity with most is ourselves, and when we are out of integrity – even in a way that others can’t see – we know it; we beat ourselves up, it grinds us down, we get to a place where we are afraid of being found out, and we play smaller!Integrity really gets to the heart of the very personal unspoken stuff that we think about when we look at ourselves in the mirror. So, what would it be like to be in integrity everywhere? To actually do what you say you are going to do every single time?

When You're Out of Integrity

The truth is that as humans, some days we are going to be in integrity with our agreements and some days we’re not. When your integrity is out of place, you will beat yourself up longer, harder, and meaner than anyone else possibly could, but don't waste time making yourself wrong. The world will do that for you for free! Instead, when you find that you are out of integrity in a part of your life, put it back. Say you are sorry! Forgive yourself! Clean it up! Get back into integrity!No matter how great you are, there is going to come a time when you have to clean up your integrity. Developing the ability to be humble and take responsibility for your mistakes is part of living a life of integrity. We all make mistakes. And know this: Being out of integrity doesn’t mean you are a bad person. If you are out in the world shaking things up, you are going to be out of integrity at some point. Everyone makes mistakes, and if you are out in the world, being visible enough for people to notice, you are a leader and your integrity matters!