Integrity

Originally Published in: The Leadership Playbook

Integrity is the building block and most basic tenet to all other traits. If you are not an ethical person with a solid foundation of doing the right thing consistently, then you will not be a person of integrity. Integrity is the sum total of all our everyday choices. The more consistent we are with our everyday choices, the more integrity we have. Take the story of golfer Bobby Jones.

From 1923-1930, Bobby Jones won 13 major championships in golf. His record was unmatched until 1973 when it was finally broken by Jack Nicklaus. In a championship match that he was playing in, Jones drove the ball into the woods. As he was looking for the ball, he accidentally nudged it. Although no one saw him move the ball, he penalized himself one stroke (according to the rules), which caused him to lose the match by that margin. Afterward, when reporters praised him for his integrity, he responded that they might as well praise him and congratulate him for not robbing a bank.

In Martin Luther King's famous I Have a Dream speech he talks about people being judged by the content of their character. The true measure of a person's character is what they would do if they knew that no one would ever find out. The West Point honor code states,

"A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do."

Your integrity is the most valuable thing that you possess. Here is an older poem from Dale Wimbrow, entitled The Man in the Glass about your integrity and how ultimately, you know whether you have it or don't

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
and the world makes you king for a day.
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgement upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eyes.

He's the fellow to please – nevermind all the rest,
For he's with you clear to the end;
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass