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RICKYNOWAK.COM
VISIBLE INTEGRITY
How long is it since you’ve had to act out of pure integrity?
When business is running smoothly we rarely have our
professional integrity tested. We manage our businesses and
clients as well as we always have, and develop reputations
built on an integrity that we are assumed to possess.
It’s easy to coast along without having to put in any effort but
what happens when things go wrong?
Our integrity, or lack of it, becomes very noticeable to the
people we work with and to our clients. When an entire
industry is under pressure, it is only visible integrity that will
help its members survive.
Visible integrity happens when we align ourselves with our
ethics and values and act accordingly, no matter what the
circumstance.
In my book ‘The Integrity Factor’ we said “Acting with
integrity usually generates respect and in some cases,
admiration, which can’t help but positively influence your
reputation. It attracts positive attention which can set us
apart from our peers and give us a competitive edge. Given
a choice, most of us would rather work with someone we
know who acts with integrity, than someone we believe may
have questionable ethics.”
Now, as leader you probably already know the principles
behind leading with integrity but are you acting on them or
are you coasting along unchallenged?
If you are sitting there wondering why your team members
are taking professional risks by not acting with integrity,
consider this…
You may have heard it all before… you may have seen it
all before, you may know all there is to know about it….
but are you doing it?
1. Be transparently honest.
Do you communicate openly with your team and clients?
Holding back information or misleading people will damage
your reputation.
Instead, set clear expectations and
communicate the message openly, whether it’s good news
or bad. All most people require is to know where they stand.
If you’re not doing it, why would your team?
2. Analyse every decision that you make.
Are you signing that agreement because you can see a
huge profit or because you are the right team for the job?
Understand why you are making a particular choice so that
you can check that it’s in alignment with your values and
those of the company. Be honest with yourself.
3. Take responsibility.
When you make a wrong decision or need to acknowledge
that a supplier has let your client down, do you accept
responsibility or look for an excuse? It’s easy to pass the
blame to someone else. But that’s exactly what your team
will learn to do, too. They’ll follow you whether it’s right or
wrong. What example are you setting?
4. Act consistently.
When you make the decision to act with visible integrity you
can’t switch it off when it suits you or because it’s makes
things too difficult. If you’re going to act with integrity, do it
all the time. It’s what you expect from others so keep your
self-expectations high.
Consistent integrity in your leadership behaviour requires
constant attention and hard work on your part, but it pays off
with respect from your clients and team members. They will
want to be like you and behave the way you do.
If you have real integrity then you are the leader your
industry needs to see in action. You are the leader who will
establish a culture of visible integrity. Don’t think about it.
Demonstrate it.
Ricky Nowak, CAHRI, MAICD,
CMC, CSP is a popular national
conference speaker, workshop
facilitator and executive coach with
over 250 national organisations.
She is a successful author of
three books, numerous published
articles, audio CD’s and eBooks.
She is a mentor for the Australian
Institute of Human Resources,
contributing advisor to BRW, and
active member of Institute of Company Directors since 2005, with
having over 7 year’s experience with the CEO Institute and The
Executive Connection.