10 Weeks of Executive and Leadership Presence Tips – #8 – Integrity

“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity.” —Tom Peters

After taking a break from the 10 Weeks of Executive and Leadership Presence Tips to focus on Women’s History Month, I am returning to the 10 tips this week.  I’ll continue with the last three, integrity, presence and vision.  Let’s start with integrity.

Situation: When is it Okay to Say Yes?

Many opportunities arise that require you to dig deep and explore your inner compass when you work as a consultant. A few years ago, I was contracting with a very large consulting firm.   The client I was assigned to work with was a global organization with 100,000+ employees.  One day, while I was at the client’s New York location, an employee asked if I also had my own clients. (It was well-known that I was a contractor with this large consulting company.)

The type of work this employee was inquiring about wasn’t typically the work the consulting firm offered…actually it wasn’t even on their radar screen.  I really enjoyed doing the type of work this employee was interested in having me do.  I also wanted to increase my own client base in that area, and the consulting firm didn’t seem to have any interest in this kind of work. The contract that I had signed with the consulting firm only referenced a non-compete with the exact type of work I was doing at the time.  It seemed like an easy decision when this person asked me for my business card. Or was it?

My initial thought was to say, “Yes, of course I will do this work.  Here is my business card. Call me.”

Would this be the “right thing to do?”  What would you have done in this situation?

Three Big Reasons Why Integrity is So Important

Success will come and go, but integrity is forever.  Integrity means making the right choices at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching.  It takes courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be.  Building a reputation of integrity takes years, it only takes one case of bad judgment for your reputation to be impacted for both the short and long term.

When we have integrity, we gain the trust of other people. They see you as dependable and accountable for your actions, and that you will “walk the talk”.  This is most important in the workplace, especially in positions of leadership.

If we act with integrity, we become role models.  Why?  Because integrity is a hallmark of ethical leadership — companies, clients, co-workers, communities and families want leaders that they can trust, and when you demonstrate integrity, you show everyone you can be trusted and respected.

Here are some tips to follow to continue to build a reputation of integrity:

• Identify your values and then practice living your values every day.  Start by defining your core values and then make choices using these values.  If you’re not sure what the right choice is, ask yourself these three questions:

1. “Would my parents/partner/family/close friends be proud of my choice?”
2. “If my choice were printed on the front page of a top newspaper, would I feel okay?”
3. “If I make this choice, will I be okay with myself afterwards?”

• Take responsibility for your actions. If you make a mistake or cause a team’s project to fail or falter or you miss a deadline, own your mistake.  Don’t let your teammates take the fall.  Do not let someone else take the blame for something you did.   Own up to it immediately and do whatever it takes to right the situation.  The respect and trust that you gain within your team and peers will make up for feeling uncomfortable with your mistake.
• Accept praise for your work and not someone else’s.  This includes pinching someone’s idea or pretending to have worked on a successful project.
• Avoid telling white lies.  They may seem harmless, and designed to spare hurting people’s feelings, but tiny white lies are still lies.  Work towards always telling the truth, or keeping your opinion to yourself!
• Communicate honestly and authentically.  Be open with everyone regarding issues and policies that affect them.  Keeping secrets or hiding important information can lead to an environment of mistrust.  Listen attentively to others.  Open communication involves the exchange of information.  Acting with integrity requires hearing what others have to say and creating relationships that fosters open sharing.
• Always keep your word.  If you can’t do what you say you’ll do, explain why.  Don’t make promises that you know you can’t keep.  Do what you say you will do.  Keep your promises even if it takes extra effort.  Yes means yes!
• If someone gives you confidential information, keep it to yourself.  If you’d prefer not to know, let the person know that having the responsibility for maintaining confidence is not something you are comfortable doing.  Confidentiality instills trust and encourages sincere consideration of the privacy of others.
• Find good role models.  It is important to realize that others pay attention to those you have chosen to associate with, and they will inevitably judge your character by the character of your friends.  If you want to build a reputation as a person of integrity then surround yourself with people with integrity.
• Keep in mind that in times of fear, challenges, and chaos, the temptation is even greater to make a wrong choice.  Use these opportunities to demonstrate your true character.

Here is how I responded to the Situation- When is it Okay to Say Yes?

I looked at the situation from this perspective: If I were the consulting firm contracting with consultants, would I want them building their business on my reputation and hard work?  Absolutely not.  And while the client company might be very large, the consulting world is very small and heavily based on reputation.  I needed to speak with the person from the consulting company who hired me as a consultant and let them know about the opportunity that had been presented to me.  Which I did. And, as it turns out, this proved to not only be the right choice, but also turned into a very lucrative contract.  I worked through the large consulting company with this new offering and together we built a very large consulting practice in this area of work — a lot bigger than if I had tried to do it on my own.

Remember, understanding the actions caused by integrity starts with knowing what is important to you and your values and making choices based on these, even when it is not convenient or to your benefit.

With integrity, the little things really do matter.

See you next week continuing with the series: 10 Weeks of Executive and Leadership Presence Tips – Presence