24 Aug,2015

The magnificent seven aspects of integrity - SmartCompany

https://www.smartcompany.com.au › seven-components-t...

The People
The magnificent seven aspects of integrity
Eve Ash
August 24, 2015
•

magnificent seven aspects of integrity

1. Honesty
This means telling the truth, being open, not taking advantage of others.  It does not entail “sharing”
unnecessary information, and has little to do with witch-hunts of any description.
Truth may be inconvenient, as former US vice president Al Gore memorably observed, but it does
involve using one’s discernment. Blurting an opinion isn’t always honest.  Nor is pussyfooting
around with words when confronted with an unpalatable reality.
Honesty speaks to what must be done, in the best interests of everyone. And sometimes the
timeliness of the honest communication is as critical as the content.
2. Respect
We have all witnessed reckless single-minded insensitive behaviour in a plethora of situations, and
the consequences are seldom pretty.
Respect necessarily means exercising a broader sense of what’s going on, and giving the other party
/ parties the benefit of the doubt, and a chance to articulate their concerns or interests.
When everyone is making an effort in this fashion, we see the beginnings of respect.
Seek information, ask polite questions, give the other person the opportunity to speak and explain.
Respect can only be earned, and it is achieved when there is mutual effort applied.

3. Generating trust
Trust develops when people demonstrate their reliability, and positive commitment. Actions do
speak louder in this instance than words.
Trust, as we’ve all learned, is broken through actions, and few words can patch it up convincingly.

‘Show me’ is better than ‘trust me’, and always be ready to account for your actions.

4. Pride
There is unhealthy pride (the sort that goes before a fall, and which is entwined with
‘entitlementality’) — and there’s the pride which grows from caring about expectations (of oneself
and others), demonstrating enthusiasm and commitment, appreciating and responding to what needs
to be done.
Perhaps the latter can be described as caring about an outcome, going to considerable effort, and
knowing that you’ve made a valuable difference.
Economists describe this as ‘multiplier’. When a government builds a new road to solve a traffic
problem, the effect is such that people start using it right away and it has flow-on benefits
(multipliers can also work in reverse, as we know with interest rates).
You know the glow from a job well done; you immediately feel energised and want to do more. 
Pride of this kind is wonderful.

5. Responsibility
Demonstrating responsibility is very much aligned with trust. If you are responsible, live up to it.
You are a steward, entrusted with looking after something. Use care and foresight; not mindlessly
carrying out a task.
Being responsible demonstrates awareness and caring of those around you — most particularly your
stakeholders.
6. Keeping promises
 It’s really disappointing when someone says they will call you back and they don’t. Or they
promise something by a certain time but nothing eventuates.
Who wants to collaborate with or be connected to a shifty unreliable quantity?
None of the other components of integrity have much resonance if you’re perceived as
unaccountable. If you’re unable, for whatever reason, to deliver, be upfront as quickly as you can,
communicate and find a way to make good.

7. Helping others
This should not be a cliché like: “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”
A person is really only being helpful when someone has demonstrated a need.
Of course, we all have goals to reach and jobs to do, whether dealing with the public or otherwise.
If a task’s responsibilities have been adequately articulated, then the things that help everyone else
should generally be built in.
Too often they are not, which is why it can be a pleasure to experience a person who — recognising
that you’re seeking help — has grasped what you’re needing, and has a good idea of what can be
done to remedy the problem.
It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture — standing up for people in public transport is one, or
assisting a person to cross the road safely, or providing meals to a family in need.
Just listening properly when a complaint is being made, resisting the urge to parry, is another.
The quality of helpfulness can be boiled down to two crucial elements: responding promptly to
requests (and/or locating the person that can really be of assistance); and being prepared to shift
one’s own schedule to accommodate others.
Like pride, being helpful is its own reward.
All of the above traits exist independently of each other, true, but integrity combines the lot.
Irrespective of which market demands and fads exist, integrity in one’s life and work shines through
and provides a vital certainty in a confusing, sometimes threatening world.
Judy Olian, dean of the Anderson School of Management at UCLA (and an Australian) says
integrity must be upheld 100% of the time.
This may be easy when things are clear-cut but Olian says: “It’s where they are ambiguous, where
there aren’t clear rules and guidelines of dos and don’ts … if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Don’t
use the excuse of, Everyone else is doing it.” (Reference: 4 Ways to Enhance Your Career video
from Insights and Strategies Series.)
Eve Ash is a psychologist, author, filmmaker, public speaker and entrepreneur. She runs Seven
Dimensions, a company specialising in training resources for the workplace.
10 ATTRIBUTES OF INTEGRITY|True test To Genuine Integrity
By Prettylifestylez 4 Comments

What is Integrity?
According to Wikipedia, Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and
uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values.
Integrity is a virtue that has been mistaken by a lot of people to mean stubbornness, strong-
heartedness, and so on.
You see students referring to a lecturer as stubborn or strong-hearted because he has decided to
not permit any form of malpractice in his course.
The lecturer isn’t stubborn, he has integrity.

Why is integrity important?

The importance of integrity in our society today cannot be overemphasized. 
Integrity with all of its attributes is what is lacking in our world today. In Government, in business
places, schools, even in religious bodies like churches.
If everyone possessed the true qualities or attributes of integrity the world would have been a better
place.
Even in your personal life or career, you need integrity to strive. 
Talents and skills can attract people to you but integrity is what would help you keep them.
Whether as a brand or as an individual, integrity makes you better, you become reliable, you have a
good reputation, you would have good relationships with people and clients, you become more
admirable, And you would be a source of inspiration to a lot of people.

What lack of integrity can cause

“If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.”-Gordon A. Eadie

A Lot of people have settled for less than what they deserve because they decided to eat from a pot
they weren’t supposed to.
 Being deceptive has become smart in our world today, thereby making people who are supposed
to stand before kings and queens struggling for crumbs.
I have seen a very good and talented music director struggling to move forward in the music
industry because when it comes to money matters he is very deceptive. He would scam his local
church assembly to pay for what they are not supposed to pay for. And then he would begin to
wonder why the calls don’t keep coming regularly.
Albert Einstein said “whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with
important matters”
The attributes of Integrity are rare in our world today because for sure it isn’t an easy decision to
take but it makes life easier for you.
Some temptations won’t even come your way because people know you for who you are already.
Integrity is a very important virtue everyone should exhibit whether in business, career, ministry
even in friendship and all kinds of relationships.
In this article, I would explain to you the 10 true attributes of integrity. If you really want to
measure what real integrity is, then these 10 attributes of integrity must be present in that person.

10 ATTRIBUTES OF INTEGRITY
1. Honesty
The first of all the attributes of integrity that would usually come to one’s mind is honesty.
To be honest is to be sincere, truthful, and straightforward in dealing with people.
But the truth about honesty is that it starts with yourself. To be an honest person you have to first be
honest with yourself.
“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.”-Virginia Woolf
There is no integrity without honesty. All good and beneficial relationships rely on honesty as a
bedrock. An honest person shows a true rejection of stealing, lying, and deceiving people.
They cannot be easily bought or influenced by money or gifts. It is not stubbornness, it is an
attribute of integrity.
2. Transparency

If someone is Transparent, it means that person cannot or does not hide or conceal anything.
Transparency is openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is a very important
virtue, especially in leadership and business. It always attracts trust.
“There is not a crime, there is not a dodge, there is not a trick, there is not a swindle, there is not a
vice which does not live by secrecy.”-Joseph Pulitzer

If anyone observes you aren’t transparent enough in areas where you ought to then it means
something is being hidden.
A transparent person is always willing to follow due process in his/her dealings.
Of course, not all information is to be disclosed but when certain things that are not supposed to be
hidden are being hidden and yet difficult to understand then there is a question mark on the integrity
of that person.

3. Contentment
Contentment is a state of being happy and satisfied with what one has at a given point in time.
Someone with integrity usually shows a high level of contentment.
It is the lack of contentment in people that makes them engage in unhealthy rivalries.
A content person is very much aware of what he has and what he has not, but not willing to
jeopardize his personality for dreams or goals.
This is very obvious in politics, where you see a politician that is so desperate to win an election by
all means whether good or bad. And that alone is supposed to be a yardstick for disqualification for
any form of leadership, because it’s obvious they have no integrity.
A content person does not try to belittle himself among people who are better off, but rather
strives to improve himself to be good as well.
4. Truthfulness

“Truth never damages a cause that is just.”Mahatma Gandhi

Truthfulness is the quality of being sincere and not containing or telling any lie.
You cannot show integrity without being known for being truthful. It encompasses being real and
sincere about something and in your dealings with other people.
In this 21st century, lying has now become the character of salesmen, even other business people
as well.
Lying might look beneficial at present but ruins your trust, and puts your relationships at risk. But
the benefit of truthfulness is eternal, especially in business.
Parents should teach their children to be truthful by being truthful as well. It is the beginning of
Integrity. It would help our society and the world at large.

5. Fair play
Another very important attribute of genuine integrity is fair play.
Fair play is an act of playing by the rules and regulations. In other words, fair play means not
cheating.
The word fair play is usually used in the world of sport but it applies to everyday life.
Fair play is what makes one treat his fellow human being just and honest irrespective of who they
are.
It is the reason why one has to give others what they deserve without any form of favoritism.
A Lot of people may not believe in fair play but it can make the world a better place. Because
people who work hard get the rewards for their labour.
A person with a low sense of fair play would be angry when he sees someone better than they are,
being rewarded. When all they have to do is go back and work harder.
Fair play is a very important attribute of integrity.

6. No compromise
This is like the real test of integrity. It shows how well you stand by all the attributes.
 People that don’t easily compromise are usually wrongly tagged as stubborn. Though there might
be an element of stubbornness, it is on a good note.
To not compromise is to hold on to a standard without being influenced.
A man that does not compromise exhibits high moral courage. They stand by principles and ensure
strict adherence to rules.

7. Soundness
“What I’m suggesting is that the essence of leadership is soundness and that the essence
of soundness is soul, which paradoxical as you might think it is, is that child within.”-
Tim Macartney-Snape

Soundness is the state of not having an impaired condition. Soundness is the quality that makes one
handle societal issues freely, without flaw, and efficiently.
Soundness in character and judgment is a very important virtue that must be seen in a person with
integrity.
Even soundness in the dispatch of duty is very important as well. You see people already giving
excuses about why they cannot do something right even before they have even started their work.
Soundness is very lacking in our leaders of today. They already prepare the excuse they would give
before the start execution of the task.

8. Authentic
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to
be.”-May Sarton

To be authentic is to be yourself. Being authentic is an attribute of integrity that is so vital. You

ought to be yourself all the time.
Being authentic is not to be perfect but not losing one’s identity out of temptations. 
An authentic person understands himself, accepts him/herself, and then accepts other’s flaws.
It doesn’t give a reward for doing the wrong thing to get a nice result.
Charles F. Glassman said “I prefer to surround myself with people who reveal their imperfection,
rather than people who fake their perfection”
 9. Responsible

To be responsible is to accept the consequences of one’s actions and inactions.

Being responsible means you take the blame when it is yours and not trying to shy away from it or
transferring the blame to others.
The is an attribute of integrity that can easily be looked down on but it is essential as far as integrity
as a virtue is concerned.
An irresponsible man always looks for someone or something to blame but a responsible man
knows when the blame is his so he takes up the challenge.

10. Looks perfect in imperfections

Lastly, integrity is a perfect life, I mean have everything in place but it always looks perfect despite
the imperfection of man.
That is why I said integrity looks perfect in imperfection.
As a wife, you know your husband may not be perfect in all things but if you see integrity in him he
usually looks perfect.

In Conclusion:
Integrity is a rare virtue, it looks old skool but it can save you from a lot of things and it can save
the world as well.
Embrace integrity and preach it to the younger generation, because it is a virtue that is lacking in
our society today.
“Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity.”-Roy Bennett

10 ATTRIBUTES OF INTEGRITY|True test To Genuine Integrity

https://www.prettylifestylez.com › 10-attributes-of-integ.
Character: who we are on the inside
By John Maxwell | April 23, 2013 | 2
I believe it is a normal human desire to be concerned about how we look on the outside. There’s
nothing wrong with that. What can get us in trouble is worrying more about how we look on the
outside than about how we really are on the inside. Our reputation comes from what others believe
about our outside. Our character represents who we are on the inside. And the good news is that if
you focus on being better on the inside than the outside, over time you will also become better on
the outside. Why do I say that?
The Inside Influences the Outside
More than twenty-five hundred years ago, the Proverbs writer noted that as we think in our hearts,
so we become. That ancient idea has been both echoed by other wisdom writers and confirmed by
modern science. Coaches teach the importance of visualization for winning. Psychologists point out
the power of self-image on people’s actions. Doctors note the impact of positive attitude and hope
on healing.
What we believe really matters. We reap what we sow. What we do or neglect to do in the privacy
of our daily lives impacts who we are. If you neglect your heart, mind, and soul, it changes who you
are on the outside as well as the inside.
Inside Victories Precede Outside Ones
If you do the things you need to do when you need to do them, then someday you can do the things
you want to do when you want to do them. In other words, before you can do, you must be.
I have often observed people who seemed to be doing all the right things on the outside, yet they
were not experiencing success. When that happens, I usually conclude that something is wrong on
the inside and needs to be changed. The right motions outwardly with wrong motives inwardly will
not bring lasting progress. Right outward talking with wrong inward thinking will not bring lasting
success. Expressions of care on the outside with a heart of hatred or contempt on the inside will not
bring lasting peace. Continual growth and lasting success are the result of aligning the inside and
the outside of our lives. And getting the inside right must come first—with solid character traits that
provide the foundation for growth.
Our Inside Development Is Totally within Our Control
We often cannot determine what happens to us, but we can always determine what happens within
us. Jim Rohn said,
Character is a quality that embodies many important traits such as integrity, courage, perseverance,
confidence, and wisdom. Unlike your fingerprints that you were born with and can’t change,
character is something that you create within yourself and must take responsibility for changing.
When we fail to make the right character choices within us, we give away ownership of ourselves.
We belong to others—to whatever gains control of us. And that puts us in a bad place. How can you
ever reach your potential and become the person you can be if others are making your choices for
you?
Doug Firebaugh, author and multi-level marketing expert, says, “Winning in life is more than just
money…it’s about winning on the inside…and knowing that you have played the game of life with
all you had…and then some.” If you want to be successful, you must prioritize building your inside
ahead of your outside.
Several years ago, teenage millionaire phenomenon Farrah Gray wrote a book called Reallionaire.
He coined the term to describe “someone who has discovered that there is more to money than
having money. A person who understands that success is not just about being rich in your pocket;
you have to be rich on the inside, too.” At a tender age, he recognized that money without a strong
character foundation can lead not to success but to ruin. If you have any doubt, just look at the
number of famous child actors and young pop stars who have crashed and burned. Their stories are
often sad because they focused on the externals of life instead of building internally to give
themselves a strong foundation when fame and fortune came. Theirs is a fate we need to work hard
to avoid by focusing on improving on the inside more than the outside.
From The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth

Related
Leadership Lessons from Job
In my new book, Learning from the Giants, I write about what it would be like to spend time with
several giants of the faith, to ask them questions and hear them share the lessons they learned from
their life experiences.The following is an excerpt from my chapter on Job,…
In "Leadership"

We reach our potential through growth

Potential is one of the most wonderful words in any language. It looks forward with optimism. It is
filled with hope. It promises success. It implies fulfillment. It hints at greatness. Potential is a word
based on possibilities. Think about your potential as a human being and you get excited—at…
In "15 Invaluable Laws of Growth"

Become a Leader Others Want to Follow