Honesty and Integrity in Daily Life

Times are difficult. You know the right thing to do is tell the truth despite the potential loss of friends, employment or reputation. Would you do it? We all tend to lie sometimes. Some are innocent: the white lies. But some are grievous when it involves the type of information that can deceive, mislead, trick and sometimes betray the trust that is placed in you. Lies in the CVs or interview conversations, faking in psychometric tests, the leave forms, the excuses you give when you can’t meet a deadline or achieve the targets: so the list goes. Why? To defend yourself, to manage impressions, to manipulate or to please others? Recently, I had a client who had just given his resignation to a blue-chip company because he was compelled to withhold some information, which, if revealed, would send three more people including his boss home. “I just can’t keep this information to myself and turn a blind eye,” he said. In terms of the potential risk and peace of mind, he probably made a wise decision. There are three ways of dealing with an unpleasant system; you challenge and/or fight it to change it, you ignore what is going on and become the system, or you get out. More often than not, most may agree that we gravitate to the second or third option due to pressure for survival and helplessness. Almost all adults will tell you that lying is wrong. But when it comes to avoiding trouble, saving face in front of the boss, or sparing someone's feelings, many of us find ourselves doing it anyway. Behind honesty is courage which comes in two forms; psychological courage in which one faces his/her inner struggles and moral courage, in which one maintains high ethical standards and authenticity. The latter is similar to integrity. Integrity is related to employee trustworthiness. People strong in integrity ground their behaviour in personal values, abide by their convictions and treat others with respect. They show consistency in their lives across situations and encounters, and are very likely to live their lives eschewing pretense and hypocrisy. They are often committed to other individuals, institutions, principles and ideals. Integrity is also about one’s willingness to accept responsibility for one’s decisions. Holding steadfast to one’s values and living a life of authenticity are significant challenges in the current corporate world. Imagine: if my client was over-burdened with financial issues and had no social support, it would have been more difficult for him to make that choice of letting go of his job. ‘Integrity everyday’ comes in simple forms; say at work, challenging someone’s egoistic state of mind that is destroying the team morale, defending your peer who is right, giving the due credit to your direct reports, taking permission before you implement someone else’s ideas and getting all the credit for it, and confronting anyone who tells a racist or sexist joke to let people know that you are not so complacent when minority groups are ridiculed. It is not only about being honest; it is also about being able to accept the truth no matter how difficult or how long it takes to come to terms with it. You want answers; you think you are entitled; you want the truth. But maybe you should ask whether you can handle the truth? Integrity exists at the personal, professional and institutional level. Parents can actively encourage honesty in their children, and mentors, teachers, role models and peers can serve this same function. Strong role models from the community or political arena can influence people’s behaviour and moral judgments. Humans are creatures of habit; hence one can break the habit and replace it with something positive. In the organization, it is beneficial to have leaders who embody integrity as it is easier if it cascades from the top. But the absence of it should not be an excuse for us not to practice such defining values of character. Organizations can create systems that require people to demonstrate integrity, and promote and inculcate desired behaviours that are continuously monitored and rewarded. Screening new employees in an effective recruitment process can address the problem at the outset. A passive approach to the corporate competencies and merely paying lip service to organizational values may not take one anywhere. Some may think that integrity cannot be learnt and that it is something you either have or don’t have. But change is the only guarantee and something being completely hard-wired is contrary to this point of view. We all evolve everyday, we change. So, with conscious effort and commitment, why can’t simple forms of integrity and honesty be achieved in day to day life?