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Sometimes it’s all you’ve got. Your integrity. That quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. That air about you that makes others know that you are not corruptible. That you won’t spread gossip, or take credit for someone else’s work, or stomp on a colleague just to get a little higher on the ladder.
People who have integrity at work are easy to spot:
They are apologetic and take responsibility for any unsatisfactory work
Everyone makes mistakes. It’s not that big a deal as long as you own up to it, preferably without being asked, and do your best to correct it. Even if someone else was partially responsible, people with integrity graciously admit their mistakes without bringing others into it.
People with integrity at work make corrections, not excuses.
They treat their time at work with the respect it deserves
People with integrity come to work to work. They don’t spend their time surfing the internet, or watching videos on their phones, or texting with friends. Sure, it might be okay to take a quick personal phone call while on the job. You have to be available for your children’s school or an emergency with a family member. People with integrity make that the exception rather than the rule.
As an employer, I often choose to speak with some staff members about inappropriate use of their time rather than others. That’s because I know who has integrity, because they demonstrate it regularly.
For example:
I see a staff member who I know has integrity on a personal phone call. I don’t worry about it because I know it was absolutely necessary, that it will be brief, and that they’ll be right back to work. I also know that if there they have a serious personal situation that needs to be addressed immediately, they will honestly and proactively tell me what they need, whether it be to leave early, take a break, make some more calls, etc.
They set themselves up to be on time, eliminating the extra stress that comes from rushing
Things happen and occasionally rushing in unavoidable. But that should be the exception, not the norm. In the workplace, everyone knows who is habitually late and who has the integrity to respect their time and that of others.
We all know that person who, the one time she was late, everyone was really worried. Call her, make sure she’s ok. She’s never late, something must have happened. Should we go look for her? These colleagues are worrying about a person with integrity. As opposed to the person who is so frequently late that her colleagues just roll their eyes.
They are 100% reliable
This doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, or always get it right. It does mean that people with integrity:
- do what they say they will do – you can count on it
- organize their time so that they meet their deadlines. This is especially important if others are waiting for your work in order to complete theirs.
- correct mistakes honestly and timely without throwing others under the bus
They don’t spread gossip
Every workplace has some level of mean-spirited gossip.
The only thing we know for certain about any rumor is that it is not accurate. If you’ve ever played the game of Telephone or Whisper Down the Lane, you know that humans can’t communicate accurately passing information verbally through multiple people. No matter who the people are, the message is always different at the end from what it was at the beginning.
That’s what a rumor is – people passing information verbally through multiple individuals. By the time it’s gotten to you, it’s not accurate (even if it was accurate at the beginning, which it probably wasn’t).
People with integrity understand this and let the rumor die out rather than making it worse.
They take ownership of their actions and beliefs
People with integrity at work own what they say and follow through. If there is something going on in the workplace that isn’t right, such as customer service representatives speaking inappropriately to customers, there are two ways to handle this with integrity:
- You can leave it alone
This means that you have decided that whatever you saw is not that big a deal and you will take it no further. This has to be your final decision. If it’s not a big deal, you can’t bring it up several months later because you’re angry about something else.
- You can report it, own it, and follow through with whatever comes next
This means that you talk to the person who was speaking inappropriately or to your supervisor. You own it, admit you said it, and are prepared to explain your position. You can’t talk about it like a rumor or tell your supervisor to leave your name out of it. If it’s important enough to report, it’s important enough to help with the solution.
In addition to integrity, you also need to develop and maintain credibility at work. Read more about credibility here and here.
