A New Definition for Integrity
First of all, I want to welcome you to the Integrity Column at Xperience Connections. I’m excited to be writing on this topic as it is near and dear to my heart. I’m a stickler for Integrity! No kidding. I was working with a life coach once who observed “integrity is a big thing for you, isn’t it?” Well, um, yeah! I’m a business owner. If I have no integrity, I have no clients…right?
Over the years, I have found business owners have different ideas of what integrity means to them. So, let’s examine that for a moment. Webster’s dictionary defines integrity as:
“firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.”
I see that word CODE and, at first glance, I think of the “code of ethics” I follow in my industry. Most industries do have organizations that regulate members and make sure each one is living up to those ethics. There is also the code that we call “industry standards”. Most of us, as business owners, are willing to live by those “codes” so that we can maintain our license or stay a member of the professional organization. That’s an easy integrity issue; a no-brainer.
Then there is that VALUES piece. Usually we think of the industry as setting those for us. Yes AND there are your own personal values. This is where integrity is even more important than some industry standards. As a business owner, we need to know what our values are. If you think of your business as an expression of values, then a whole new world of integrity opens up. When you know your values and honor them throughout your business, it defines how you run it, who you associate with and what ways you will market the business. When you’re out of integrity with your values, people will feel that. They will lose trust in you and they will sense it as a breach in code. So, values don’t just refer to the values of the industry. It’s your PERSONAL “artistic” values that are even more important than a “code of ethics”.
In this column, I will continually challenge you to look at integrity from a personal perspective and a place of authenticity (honoring your values). You will earn the trust, respect and success you deserve when you stay in integrity with who you are.
