Understanding The Concept Of Integrity

The word integrity can hold different meanings to many people. Sometimes integrity can vary depending on the context, business or person. However, for me, integrity is honesty and consistency in one’s actions regardless of the circumstances.

Firstly, consistency is about being the same person regardless of the situation. I believe consistency is a choice that we make every day, even when the environment or situation is not great. This individual is the same authentic person regardless of the circumstance. You can meet with their colleagues, friends, and family and you will see a consistency in words, actions, and behavior. They will be recognized no matter what environment therein. Furthermore, the second part, honesty requires thought and intention. How honest can one be with the people in their life? For me, integrity means doing the right thing, regardless if you are noticed or rewarded for it. When one behaves consistently and use moral principles, such as honesty, trustworthiness, and reliability, they can be described as a person of integrity. This individual reflects on what to say, how to act, and how to make decisions. They recognize the impact that their words or actions have on others. This individual is conscious of how their behavior and words impact those around them and when they behave in a way that is out of integrity, they will stop to acknowledge, apologizes, and correct the course. This requires authenticity and humility.

The book, “Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality”, showed a great example in the second chapter where the VP is asking for advice on how to keep Brad and both of his other workers. The author pointed out the VP was afraid of dealing with the issue head-on. He was afraid of losing his number one money maker and he could not bring himself to do the hard confrontations needed. Instead, he tried to avoid conflict, in the end, his team fell apart. In our society, we are surrounded by groups of highly qualified individuals in prestigious positions such as doctors, judges, lawyers, and officers whom we presumed to have integrity. However, we can point to several examples in each of the groups where immortal, dishonest, and sometimes criminal behavior can be found. Therefore, even thought, these individuals had well off occupation and education, they still lacked integrity.

One theme echoed in the book was character. The author defines this as the ability to meet the demands of reality. He compares it with building a plane. If an officer wants to build an aircraft, one of the first question he will be asked is what is it being used for? Depending on the location and use, different materials will be utilized to optimize the planes performance. This is the same for character, just like the kind of metal determines whether the airplane will be successful and succeed, a person’s character and makeup, will determine if they be successful and leave behind a wake of goals being reached. Furthermore, the author explained your character is fixed like a structure on the house. It is built early on based on your experiences and it is going to stand there like a structure until it crumbles. Therefore, even if character is an enduring structure, it still has room to change and improve. Character has become such an important subject in the work force, the book states, that many individuals do not invest in business, but rather the people. The author’s friend tells him, he might not know much about the business, but he will invest in the right people with the right character, history and judgment. This can be seen in our society today as a lot of our top CEO’s are hiring based on character.

Also, this does not mean that they are not competent, however, there is a much higher value placed on character. Jean Regan, President, CEO & Chairperson of the Board of TranzAct Technologies shared, “Personality is something that cannot be taught – it’s inherent to each unique person. Job skills, however, can be taught, molded and polished to facilitate the job in which the person is placed. That is why it is so important to hire for personality and train for skill. ” Another one is from Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX spoke at the South by Southwest conference where he said, “My biggest mistake is weighing too much on someone’s talent and not someone’s personality…it matters whether someone has a good heart. ” Another theme that I found important was building trust through connection. The book offers a great example of the new president giving a presentation about the company. After wards he was met with a series of questions. Throughout the presentation it became clear that he was unable to relate to any of his workers. He was smart, treated his employees well and was a caring person, but he was unable to connect with what they were feeling and experiencing. This is an important point as he was unable to make them trust him. The book points out that he could have kept the same decisions that he had but he needed to understand his workers. “Understanding someone doesn’t mean that you will necessarily agree with them”, the author states. But if you gain people’s trust, their heart, then you will also get their passion and desire. This is very relatable.

I recently started a new job at Moody’s and during my first week, we appointed a new CFO for our New York branch. We were all invited to his presentation/meeting where he would be introduced to the company. He gave a touching presentation in which he shared his upbringing in Africa, his numerous business travels, and pictures of his kids. He related to everyone in the room and was able to connect to all the staff regardless of their position. Afterwards he took walks on all the floors introducing himself to everyone personally in the company. It did not matter whether you were a new hire or a top VP, he treated everyone the same and listened to their concerns and problems. After reading that passage in the book, it became all the more apparent how building trust through connection can help motivate and gain your employee’s will. Even though integrity is such a huge component in business, it is usually challenged and/or compromised in the work environment, specifically financial services. This can be seen in many examples such as your boss asking you to stay silent about the fact that the financial statements have been manipulated to increase earnings prior or charge something in the incorrect account. Furthermore, there is a pressure that you will go along with the scheme to not upset your supervisors. An organization has its own ethical practices that may or may not coincide with the ethics of those who work for the organization. Many give in to the pressure of their jobs and are unable to say no.

One famous example seen in the business world is Enron which became a notorious scandal. Enron’s executives purposely skewed the earning reports, so losses were not illustrated in their entirety which prompted more individuals investing to what seemly appear to be a profitable company. However, Enron was losing money, and, in the end, millions lost their jobs and investment. Having integrity is so important in financial institutions since it affects a lot of people. These institutions need a strong base of integrity in their employees. Regardless if it's a bank or a mutual fund, a successful company depends on the moral compass of its employees. For example, to generate profit, a firm needs to operate with the most accurate and detailed information available. At every level, decisions will need to be made that will reflect the best interest for the whole company instead of the pockets of the greedy. Furthermore, this integrity will affect the wider market and this data will be released to the public. Whether it's a bank, an investment firm, or a hedge fund, customers will be more likely to invest in a company that operates according to principles of integrity and has a great reputation. Companies with sandals and missing funds will hardly entice the public. This can be illustrated by companies by determining and Committing to their core values. This is the first step in showing what the company’s mission and belief is. It gives a clear message about what behaviors the company truly values.

Secondly, communicating these core values to their employees. Companies need to clearly communicate this guideline to all employees, and it is a major message in their new employee orientation. By doing this, it shows the workers the behaviors and actions that are expected of them. Finally acting with integrity that aligns to your core values. This illustrates that the company does in fact placed a value on their message as it is reflected in their everyday lives. In addition, if you were to asked managers from recent ethical scandals why they implemented decisions that were unethical, I am sure you will see a common response, “I thought this could be wrong, but my boss told me to do it, so I was just following orders. ” No one should be allowed to pass the blame on ethical issues. Therefore, all employees need to know that expressing ethical concerns is a key part of their job and should never be compromised. Another excuse found for an unethical decision is, “I had some concerns but who am I to question the opinion of people that are way above me. They are supposed to know more than me?” All employees need to express their concerns if a decision appears to be unethical. Therefore, employees at all levels need to take responsibility to ensure that their organization engages in ethical business practices. Persevering amongst these challenges and staying true to your self is the most difficult task. For example, consider a shipping order that was delayed or accidently destroyed by the company before it was delivered to the customer. The employee calls their supervisor to report the problem, but he informs her to send the shipment anyway. Even if it has some scratches, it should not affect the product’s performance and if anything, they will just blame it on the trucking company that delivered it. Even though, the company’s warehouse damaged the product, the customer will not be aware. What should the employee do? In this situation, it is easy to turn a blind eye as the employee was not directly involved. She did not even damage the product herself. But is she lacking integrity if she continues forward? I believe so. Many of us have face a situation similar or had to make decisions that define who we are and what we believe in. Most often, the choices we face may seem small and insignificant. But this does not mean they were not important and even the smallest action can have an impact on our integrity, reputation and self-respect. I think by defining your values you can truly understand what you believe in. If you are fully aware of your core values, then regardless of the consequence, you will not compromise on them. Secondly, analyzing the choices you make. People will often cut corners and tell small white lies when no one is watching. Having integrity means still making the right choice even if you are not noticed. Honesty and integrity are not values that you should live by when it's convenient; they are values that you should live by all the time.

Lastly, encouraging integrity is helpful. Sometimes you will be under intense pressure from others to make the wrong choice but developing and improving your courage, self-confidence and what you believe in, will help you preserve and remain true to your core values. When I started my new job at Moody’s, I underwent several ethical training and meetings. There were countless presentations and events fostering honesty and integrity. We also have a separate human resource team that works with Moody’s employees about this issue. Everything remains confidential and they are there to help individuals that wish to speak up but are too afraid to do so.

The book, “Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality” illustrates the top three skills needed to become successful. One, they must have some set of competencies. They must know their field, discipline and industry. Secondly, they must be an alliance builder. They need to take their competencies and build alliances with others to form relationships that are mutually beneficial. Lastly, they need to have the character to not screw up and see it through, a person with integrity. The last trait, character, is especially hard to find but can eventually be developed and improved on. It is much needed in business and hard to keep in difficult circumstances but having integrity and a good character will be beneficial in all aspects of one’s life.