Integrity: Do We Really Understand It?

Integrity is a pure positive proposition. It is different than morality and ethics. Morality and ethics both are related to desirable vs. undesirable behaviours. Integrity is neutral as gravity. There is no good or bad gravity, the same is with the integrity. 

Power of Our Words

Individual is whole and complete when his/her words are whole and complete. How to make our words whole and complete? By honouring our words. When you honour your words, you are living by your words means your actions and words are in alignment mean you are genuinely complete person.

Difference between honouring and keeping our words

Keeping our words means whatever we say, we are committed to fulfil it. Honouring the words mean, we try to fulfil our commitments and if, in any circumstances those words are not fulfilled, we will accept, acknowledge our inability as soon as we realize that we are unable to fulfil the commitment and then try to minimize the mess that has been created due to our broken commitments. If you are serious about being a person of integrity, you will think very carefully before giving your word to anyone on anything.

Problems and Reflections

People almost universally justify/rationalize the problems that they have created due to out-of-integrity behaviours. People seldom realize that integrity is the necessary condition for maximum performance. If we respect the law of integrity, we will experience enormous increase in performance both at personal and professional life. It is simply common sense, but we fail to link the difficulties of lives with our out-of-integrity behaviours. The same is true for others, we face lots of troubles by out-of-integrity behaviours of other humans and objects also. Go to highways with malfunctioned car, you will soon realize that how out-of-integrity behaviour of the object, affects us. 

It is one of the biggest failures of our education system that we are teaching our students, the importance of cost-benefit analysis in everything they do. It is good in most of the cases but not when it comes to behaving with integrity.  The person with cost-benefit analysis may say, “I will honour my words when the cost of doing is less than benefits.” Well, this is the typical example of out of integrity behaviour. 

Why do People Fail at Integrity? 

The followings misconceptions and factors are responsible for failure in behaving with integrity:

1. Integrity is a virtue. (Integrity not just a virtue, it is a necessary condition for maximum performance. 
2. Self-deception about being out-of-integrity. (people generally unaware that they have not kept their words. They always have reasons, rationalizations and excuses for not keeping their words.
3. Fear of acknowledge that you will not be keeping your word. (People systematically deceive themselves about who they have been and what they have done.)
4. Integrity is not seen as a factor in productivity (therefore people consistently behave inconsistently.) 
5. Not doing cost-benefit analysis on giving your words
6. Doing cost-benefit analysis on honouring your words
7. There is vast deal of difference between we think we are acting and in reality, we act.
8. Irresponsible use of words is the major source of mess left in our lives and institutions.
9. When it is difficult to deliver our promises, we deliver reasons than results. 

While giving the words, most of the people are not considering fully what it will take to keep those words. Understanding these factors and misconceptions, we have better clarity of our follies. Now let’s understand how to maintain integrity: 

1. Fulfil your promises.

2. Keep appointments.

3. Before you make a commitment, you need to be dispassionate in evaluation.

4. Get comfortable with saying NO.

5. Examine how you react in tense/knee-jerk situations.

6. Polish your communication as fuzzy communication leads to broken promises.

7. Stop speaking impulsively or sugar-coating your words. (Plain is better.)

8. Avoid people who lack integrity. 

In the end, we need to understand that we are what our words are. A person is constituted of language. Individual is whole and complete when his words are whole and complete. 

To make your words whole and complete, honour words.

Courtesy: 

Special Thanks to Prof. Krupesh Chauhan for his guidance.