“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”
Many a time, the impression people have of us is generally good, however, our true identity surfaces when we are found alone. How do we react when nobody is watching?
You are a Public Relations officer for a firm involved in a scandal. All the allegations are true. You are good with words and your persuasion skills are on point. Your boss calls you to manage the crisis by denying the allegations and lying to your publics, will you refuse and lose your job or would you lie to save your job?
Think about this:
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.” Proverbs 28:6
Real integrity as defined by Oprah Winfrey is
“Doing the right thing knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not”.
The rule of the day is that “the end justifies the means”. Integrity is gradually relegated to the background because a lot more of us are beginning not to care so much about the how results are achieved. Only a few have come to learn (the hard way) that taking a shortcut to success makes it short lived.
Going back to the Public relations officer, if you decide to keep your job by denying the allegations, your job might be secured, the problem might go away but your employer would have start having doubts about you and your professional practices. When the real truth surfaces with new evidence (as nothing is really hidden under the sun), your integrity as an expert is at stake and worse case scenario, you will lose the job you tried so hard to hold on to. Your marred reputation will affect the company and future employment possibilities because you are supposed to be the face of the organisation.
On the other hand, your employer may have re-considered letting you go for refusing to do the wrong thing and may have been able to solve the issue using another method. You have stood for right and your employer would definitely be proud to have a person of integrity on the team, would trust you completely and you would be an example to all in similar cases.
Your client wants a design or title that doesn’t sit well or is in bad taste, as a designer will you just do what your client wants because you are only concerned about being paid or will you point it out?
You are a student and you know you will be evaluated at the end of your study. On the day of exams, you have prepared adequately but you are not feeling so sure of yourself. There is a leak and everybody is cheating at the examination hall, will you do same?
Wondering why integrity is important? you are not alone. Many people have been asking themselves the same question. What benefit do I derive from being morally good, when I can use other means to get to the top? Well, building your integrity can take years but it will only take a second to lose it.
Being a person of integrity will make people Trust you. When people trust you, they will tell one or two other people about you and if they don’t trust you, they will still tell one or two other people about you with a caution. We all want to be trusted and the lack of it can make us very uncomfortable.
People will not readily agree with you as a person of integrity but they will certainly Respect you. Nobody will hail you for being upright but after thinking about it for a while, they will see the sense in your judgement and respect you for it. Whenever, there is a decision to be made, you will be their go-to person.
“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity” - Douglas Adams. This is what we believe in as a company and hold dear to our hearts. As such, one of our core values is Integrity. We may not make sense to the world now, but our integrity is not for sale.
If you want to be a person of integrity, associate yourself with people of integrity. “You are the company you keep”
Don Miguel Ruiz sums it up with this quote
“Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.”
