resultsthroughintegrity

WRONG DOING, INTEGRITY AND NON-VIOLENCE

The world is a strange place with unwritten rules.

Some are rewarded for wrong doing. Others are not punished when they turn a blind eye. 

I broke that covenant at work.  I called the wrong doing. The consequence was termination.   

The details don’t matter.  It is the same everywhere. The people with power see themselves as right and those that oppose them are wrong.  

WHY WE NEED TO HAVE A DIALOG ABOUT INTEGRITY

The integrity dialog, as any conversation, is a form of life, lived through words, that enables anyone who participates to move to a new understanding of themselves and their community.

Integrity is the essence of everything successful. The dialog has many possibilities.

The first possibility: We stop talking to ourselves.

As long as we assume others are like us, have the same background and share the same values, we talk to them as though we were talking to someone like us.

In effect we end up talking to ourselves.

INTEGRITY AND TRUST ARE FREE

Integrity and trust are free and the ultimate in “what is in this for me”.

It is realizing all that you can be.

Integrity and trust are the cornerstones of journey from possibility to actualization. They take you from separateness, stagnation and perception to completeness, growth and reality.  

The potential for integrity and trust exist in the here and now of ordinary existence. Every day choices about small things like eating and or big things like work offer us the opportunity to pursue integrity and build trust.

Every choice has a consequence that either adds or subtracts from your integrity and trust.   

Integrity is the optimal experience. The process of its realization is the path way to an authentic individuated life. It is the ultimate journey into the mysteries of one’s life.  

INTEGRITY AND TRUST ARE THE ESSENCE OF EVERYTHING SUCCESSFUL

Integrity and trust are real and observable. They are the essence of everything successful.

Yet we know so little about them.

Even though we have no commonly accepted definition, integrity and trust are critical variables in every choice we make -whether it is consumer products, or the selection of a mate or friends.

We easily judge levels of integrity and trust in others but have trouble assessing it within ourselves. 

We say integrity and trust are critical to professional success, yet we have no way to develop them.

Integrity is your unique potential and possibility.  It is your value added proposition

THE ROLE OF ETHICS AND INTEGRITY IN ORGANIZATIONS

When employees act unethically and/or without integrity, customers lose trust and confidence in organizational products and services.

When leaders act unethically and/or without integrity, employees lose trust and confidence in organizational processes, systems and products.

Both directly impact the bottom line and the return on investment. 

What is the correlation between return on investment and unethical behavior and/or a lack of integrity?

Organizations are built on the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Working together creates results and outcomes for the whole that outweigh the results and outcomes of everyone working for themselves.

The secret to success is not the principle but the way synergy is created. 

WHAT IS INTEGRITY IN PRACTICE?

 “Integrity is the cornerstone, if not the bedrock, upon which all financial markets are based.”

(Hank Paulson, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs Group June 2002)

 Whilst we have described a number of values and vices, this list is not exhaustive and should not imply that integrity can be learned by heart like the “The Ten Commandments”.

We do not propose that it is right that people should merely read a code of ethics or a list of values and then sign a declaration to that effect.

 In the early 1970s, Harvard Professor Lawrence Kohlberg proposed a model of Moral Development which demonstrated that people shaped their sense of morality through the following stages9:

 1. “Obedience and Punishment” – We are children and we behave acceptably because we are told what to do by an authority figure such as a parent or teacher. This obedience is enforced by the threat or application of punishment.

 2. “Individualism, Instrumentalism and Exchange” – This is when we recognize that it is in our best interests to be moral.

 3. “Good boy/girl” – We do the right thing because it will gain the approval of others.

 4. “Law and order” – We abide by the law and have a sense of duty.

5. “Social contract” – We have a strong sense of social responsibility and the welfare of others.

 6. “Principled Conscience” – We accept universal principles of morality and the demands of individual conscience.

 

The Integrity Covenant

Are you working through things or are things working through you?

It is easy to perform when everything is going well. Rules tell us what is right and wrong.  

Rules require duty and obedience. These are duly rewarded when the whole is progressing as it should in an orderly fashion. Life is predictable. It is all good.

But everything doesn’t always go well. Rules no longer work.

Duty and obedience are rewarded with injustice. Chaos and confusion rule.  Life is no longer predictable. It is not so good.   

What to do?

Winston Churchill offered this advice

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

Integrity as a Business Strategy

He was cordial, but distant as he welcomed me into his executive office.

“I can give you five minutes. What, in your opinion, is the relationship between integrity and performance?” he said with a smile.

“Most people only think of integrity as a personal characteristic,” I answered, “but integrity is a critical element of organizational systems, processes and structures. Integrity is defined as wholeness, consistency and objectivity. In simple terms, it is about doing the right thing, doing the next right thing, and doing things right. Performance is a logical consequence and sustainability is the outcome.”

 “Interesting,” he replied, “What is the role of integrity in business?”     

“Simply put,” I declared, “You either have integrity or you don’t. If you have it, you get it. If you don’t have it, it gets you.”

“What do you mean?” he inquired.

Integrity is an Indicator of Performance!

By Douglas Ross

The word integrity has its roots in French and Latin words meaning intact, integrate, integral and entirety. This infers that the concept of integrity is talking about the whole system in its entirety. This includes the dynamic and changing nature of organizational systems and how they perform over time.

Integrity is about organizational efficiency and effectiveness. It is about firing on all cylinders.

When everything is working as it should, the result is performance

Speaking with Integrity

By Douglas Ross

Over 1800 years ago, Marcus Aurelius said “If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it.” These are simple words from another time and place. Do the right thing and speak the truth.

Some people mentally walk away when words like this appear. Some people believe they already know the truth of these words.  Some people just do not care. Only a few reflect on the standard contained in the words.