Integrity is unrecoverable
Lost money can be re-earned. Lost time can be clawed back. Lost love reignited. Lost integrity is unrecoverable.
I posted this phrase on Twitter and Facebook recently. I took some “feedback” for it. Some argued that time lost was lost. Truly, it is. But if I needed x hours to get something done and I lost or wasted some time, I can make it up, or “claw it back”, by stealing time from something else less important (like sleep, when push comes to shove). The point is, while lost, it is recoverable.
Others argued that integrity can be regained. I’m sure like any rule, there are exceptions. I’m sure there are companies who have destroyed their integrity that earn it back, and individuals as well. But this is very much the exception.
When companies experience a true breach of integrity, a core part of the recovery strategy is to find the scapegoat. In this case, we are pushing the breach of integrity onto someone else: “see, it wasn’t us, it was him, and we fixed it.” News Corp is an example of a company going through this right now. When it comes to companies, it’s just not that simple, because companies aren’t a person, they are a whole bunch of things.
For individuals it is more troublesome. Once someone decides that you have no integrity, any effort to restore it can be viewed from the lens of deception and insincere gestures. Even if you do all of the right things to restore integrity, it can all be looked at with skepticism.
In the end, I believe integrity is one of the most important characteristics for a leader, or even for a human being.
I wrote more on Integrity on Mark Graban’s LeanBlog site here and some comments on my blog in the Cultural Transformation Video Series here.
What are your thoughts on integrity? How important is it to maintain?
I still remember the interview for my first high school job working retail where the manager asked “what does intergity mean to you?” My 16 year old self fumbled for an off-the-cuff response that seemed to closly match the manager’s since I got the job. To this day, I still think it is a good interview question and have used it.
Families restore integrity for people faster than co-workers. Friends tend to be more forgiving too if a minor lapse in integrity.
For leaders, I think lost integrity means they need to move out of the orginaization to restore it someplace else. Respect for people means “mutual trust & respect between labor and management” per Toyota’s definition. Loss of integrity means loss of trust.
I still remember the interview for my first high school job working retail where the manager asked “what does intergity mean to you?” My 16 year old self fumbled for an off-the-cuff response that seemed to closly match the manager’s since I got the job. To this day, I still think it is a good interview question and have used it.
Families restore integrity for people faster than co-workers. Friends tend to be more forgiving too if a minor lapse in integrity.
For leaders, I think lost integrity means they need to move out of the orginaization to restore it someplace else. Respect for people means “mutual trust & respect between labor and management” per Toyota’s definition. Loss of integrity means loss of trust.
I still remember the interview for my first high school job working retail where the manager asked “what does intergity mean to you?” My 16 year old self fumbled for an off-the-cuff response that seemed to closly match the manager’s since I got the job. To this day, I still think it is a good interview question and have used it.
Families restore integrity for people faster than co-workers. Friends tend to be more forgiving too if a minor lapse in integrity.
For leaders, I think lost integrity means they need to move out of the orginaization to restore it someplace else. Respect for people means “mutual trust & respect between labor and management” per Toyota’s definition. Loss of integrity means loss of trust.
Jamie,
Integrity is certainly a tough one to earn back. Once someone decided you don’t have integrity, they’ll think that actions on the high road are just an act. Leaders cannot afford to take short cuts and hope to earn the trust later.
There may be some gray area depending on the people involved and the equity that has been earned. Someone who normally can be trusted but slips may be able to earn it back if their slip is perceived as a one time mistake. I think this is different than the character who has NO integrity in your hypothesis.
What do you think?
Chris
Jamie,
Integrity is certainly a tough one to earn back. Once someone decided you don’t have integrity, they’ll think that actions on the high road are just an act. Leaders cannot afford to take short cuts and hope to earn the trust later.
There may be some gray area depending on the people involved and the equity that has been earned. Someone who normally can be trusted but slips may be able to earn it back if their slip is perceived as a one time mistake. I think this is different than the character who has NO integrity in your hypothesis.
What do you think?
Chris
Jamie,
Integrity is certainly a tough one to earn back. Once someone decided you don’t have integrity, they’ll think that actions on the high road are just an act. Leaders cannot afford to take short cuts and hope to earn the trust later.
There may be some gray area depending on the people involved and the equity that has been earned. Someone who normally can be trusted but slips may be able to earn it back if their slip is perceived as a one time mistake. I think this is different than the character who has NO integrity in your hypothesis.
What do you think?
Chris
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.â€
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
By the way, here is a post on Character and Leadership: http://wp.me/pZiRD-bd
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.â€
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
By the way, here is a post on Character and Leadership: http://wp.me/pZiRD-bd
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.â€
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
By the way, here is a post on Character and Leadership: http://wp.me/pZiRD-bd
Chris, I agree that you can recover from a slip, but I don’t think you lose integrity. If you demonstrate that it was unintentional breach of agreement, or unavoidable, you still have integrity. But if it was out of breach of integrity, that’s another story.
Chris, I agree that you can recover from a slip, but I don’t think you lose integrity. If you demonstrate that it was unintentional breach of agreement, or unavoidable, you still have integrity. But if it was out of breach of integrity, that’s another story.
Chris, I agree that you can recover from a slip, but I don’t think you lose integrity. If you demonstrate that it was unintentional breach of agreement, or unavoidable, you still have integrity. But if it was out of breach of integrity, that’s another story.