How to Ensure You Never Compromise Your Integrity
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Explore the powerful interplay between integrity and leadership. Let’s dive into the perils of compromising your moral compass, the subtle yet potent consequences, and the strength that comes from steadfast ethical alignment.
The Value and Pitfalls of Compromise
In business as in life, the ability to compromise generally is regarded as a positive thing; indeed it’s vital to getting things done and working well with others. I’ve experienced great outcomes born out of compromise, and no doubt there are countless examples we all could share that illustrate its importance and value.
What’s far more interesting – and fundamental to evolving as conscious leaders – is awareness of instances where compromise, tempting though it may be, is counterproductive. I’m talking specifically about situations where we compromise our integrity.
Understanding Integrity: A Dual Definition
We all know that for leaders, rock-solid integrity is an imperative. And "integrity” is a very powerful word. It has two definitions that most people view as distinct, but I see them as closely correlated.
The first one is most frequently associated with human behavior: “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.”
The second is “the state of being whole and undivided,” which typically is applied to objects or territory, but for me, is central to excellence in conscious leadership.
Linking Morality and Wholeness in Leadership
The connection between these two definitions is illuminating. A person who possesses and lives out strong moral principles doesn’t compartmentalize how they act in business and how they behave in their personal life, or rationalize deviations from “true north” on their moral compass; in this aspect of their lives, they are whole and undivided.
Facing the Temptation to Compromise Integrity
In the real world of a CEO, we face temptations to compromise our integrity every day. Say we spot a seemingly great opportunity that will bring us substantial personal gain but isn’t quite on target for our company; all it would require is a slight pivot to the left of “true north” to generate a big payday for us personally.
But at what cost?
A common theme that can drive us to compromise our integrity is a need for “more”. This could show up in so many ways, like a need for more recognition or status, more autonomy, more attention, more money and shiny objects.
The Price of Compromise: Ignoring our Conscience
When we compromise our integrity and get what we want without consequence, we risk planting the seed for further compromising our integrity. We have a conscience to help us not do things like that.
We need to listen to our conscience because that inner voice is what guides us to act virtuously in a given situation.
When we don’t listen to our conscience, breaches of integrity can occur which can come back to haunt us.
For example, what happens when somebody notices: Wait, shouldn’t we have been in this true north direction?
If we feel threatened when confronted this way, we can move into a self-protective mode that can lead us to further compound the misdeed by creating justifications or by diminishing that person, or getting rid of that person so that they are not in the way of us getting our needs met.
We may not be aware of it, but we’ve all done this in some way. For most of us, we can remember what we felt and said the first time we got caught with our hand in the cookie jar as a child.
It doesn’t mean we’re terrible people, but it does mean that there’s something to clean up.
The Consequences of Breaching Integrity
Falling into a pattern of integrity breaching behavior is a risky path to walk down. Even veering slightly out of integrity can result in a major energy drain, impaired relationships, a damaged reputation.
The Struggle of Upholding Integrity Amid External Pressures
Here’s another situation: The board of directors mandates a policy that compromises the environment and could possibly endanger the health of people in the community — all in pursuit of improved quarterly earnings reports and benefit to shareholders.
As a CEO of integrity, we argue that one of our company’s core values is environmental stewardship. Those values are part of the reason we took the job. We highlight the potential harm to the people in the community, and make clear the great financial risk of liability resulting from our actions.
But the board stands firm and directs us to move forward.
Some of us would choose to suffer the great financial and positional cost of leaving the company in order to maintain our integrity, our peace of mind, and to honor what feels right in our hearts.
If we stay and implement the policy, we would knowingly be compromising our integrity, violating our own care for the environment and the people who are impacted by our actions.
We’re Always Watering Something… The Choice is Ours
In this scenario, if we stay and compromise our integrity, this becomes the moment we’re implanting a seed of disharmony that will take root inside of us.
The longer we stay in this role perpetrating harm, the more the seed will grow and haunt us, and the more we will ultimately suffer.
There are many dominoes that begin to fall when leaders don’t act in alignment with their conscience and integrity. Experiences like this affect our physical health.
Our bodies feel tense and tight, and don’t function optimally when we are fighting our conscience. When we are contracted at the physical level, it’s stressful, and this type of sustained stress is not good for our well-being.
One could say that is by design — a wakeup call to get our choices and actions back into alignment with our values.
In fact, harnessing our awareness around all of this is essential and the key to conscious leadership.
Restoring Integrity: The Power of Accountability and Alignment
When we have acted without integrity, it’s important to clean up the mess we’ve made and to be fully accountable for it.
As we step up and take total responsibility for our choices and actions; it becomes easier to navigate to our “true north”. And with that, we find that the freedom to act and to be in alignment with what we know is virtuous to be profoundly empowering.
Unleash your Brilliance as a Conscious Leader
It's my mission to support people in leading with unyielding integrity, clarity, and authenticity. If you'd like to tap into your deeper insight and practical wisdom to lead more powerfully and effectively, feel free to reach out at connect@evolvingceo.com to set up a time to connect.
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