There are many words to describe someone with integrity. A few that come to mind are, honest, determined, sincerity and there are more. How does a person gain integrity? I would argue that integrity is born out of a well-developed character. People know our character by the actions they are able to associate with us.
Number one, we need to be honest. I’m not talking about not lying to people. If that is where you need to start then start there for sure. I’m talking about not putting on a show that is self-motivated. We are honest when we talk plainly about things. When we describe something to someone our team, are we making it seem like it is a piece of cake to do, when we know it’s not? The people we lead, our customers, they can all see through the fancy talk or the avoidance talk or the selfish motive behind the talk. If someone doesn’t “get it” that’s ok. Don’t try to convince someone too long. Sometimes people just need a minute and they appreciate sometime to think. We want someone to be fully “in” not smooth talked in. It won’t last unless it’s honest.
Number two: follow through. This follows honesty very closely. When people see that we don’t follow through then we lied. Well, may be not but it might seem that way. Have you ever heard the phrase “under promise and over deliver”? Nothing is worse than someone who over promises and under delivers. It just becomes a huge let down. We may have the best intentions of producing just what we said but however big our promise was it just wouldn’t work for whatever reason: logistics, cost, timing, etc. etc. Sometimes, if we can take a step back and think to ourselves, “Can I really do that?” or “will that really happen?” we might avoid the embarrassment of over promising.
Number three: be sincere. This might be the toughest one. Do we really care about others more? Sometimes it is very hard to get through the day or we have something really more important that is pressing. This one, sincerity is key to serving others. Serving others with a heart that is not “in it” is really tough and it usually shows through. Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This takes practice. If we do we will be honest with them, we will follow through, and we will be sincere.
Practice makes perfect. Yup. We are not going to be perfect all the time and we are going to have those days when we blow it. We will never be perfect on this earth. We need to practice though! How do we practice? Think before we speak. Follow through no mater how hard we have to try. People can see though fancy talk but they can also see a sincere leader, one who cares. One who leads with integrity.
We can look to these verses from Philippians to encourage us in our practice.
Philippians 2:3-4 NIV “Do nothing out of selfish or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”