My integrity needs a boost

What are your strategies for maintaining your integrity at work?

Your Rant: I hate to admit it, but my integrity is nothing to write home about. I’m embarrassed at how I’ve operated more out of expediency than doing what’s right. What should I do?

911 Repair,

Did you hear about the recent hubbub over video cameras in New Zealand’s Parliament building? The lawmakers liked their new exposure…to a point. Because the cameras were fifteen feet above the chamber, viewers at home got an eagle eye’s view of a whole lotta bald spots. An effort is now underway to position the camera at a more flattering angle.

And like those Kiwi legislators, many of us have places where we would rather not focus the attention of others. The most embarrassing? When we don’t live up to our own ethical standards. If your integrity could use a tune up–and whose couldn’t?–answer the questions below. For more, turn to “1001 Ways to Get Promoted” by David Rye (Career Press, 2000).

Identify five times where you behaved with less integrity than you like. I always try to accentuate the positive, but with integrity issues it’s usually best to start negative. Take off your rose-colored glasses and look for places where your actions were less than ideal. For example, when you lied to someone, where you withheld information or where you broke a promise. Make a list of your five most egregious examples.

For each situation, identify your rationale for your behavior. Most of us are really good at explaining away our actions. For example, “someone else would have done the same thing,” “I wasn’t calling the shots,” “I would have lost my job if I hadn’t done it,” etc. Dissect your rationalization to understand where your logic went astray and to figure out how to limit the damage from your rationalizations in the future.

What was the outcome? This is the hardest part. What was the result of your actions-in other words, who was hurt by what you did? Facing up to the people hurt by your actions and apologizing to them is the worst part of operating with a lack of integrity.

How could you have handled it differently? If looking at whom you injured is the hardest part, this one is definitely the most embarrassing. It’s tough to realize that you almost always have alternatives to losing your integrity. But for reasons of expediency, laziness or short-term thinking, we don’t sufficiently explore them.

Can you look past possible short-term gains? Acting without integrity can often pay off in the short-term. But over the long haul, acting with integrity always wins. That’s why it’s wise to always look at the impact of your actions over the long view.

Those legislators’ bald spots can always be overcome–by a new camera angle or even a strategic comb over. But when it comes to integrity issues, it’s all about digging deeply into your past lapses to try to inoculate yourself against future misadventures.

911 Pulse:

How would you rate your own integrity?

• I’m embarrassed by the question, 2.1%
• I sometimes stray from the straight and narrow, 21.2%
• No better, or worse, than anyone else, 36.3%
• Beyond reproach, 40.2%

User strategy:

I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t have integrity at work if you don’t have it in other parts of your life. I’ll save you the gory details, but suffice it to say that I’ve cut a few too many corners during my life. And I always felt embarrassed when people talked about integrity because I knew I didn’t have any. But never to despair, you can always turn things around. And I must say, that once you get a taste of living your life with integrity, it’s hard to go back.