If you look up the dictionary definition of the word integrity, you will get results like this:

• Being honest and having strong moral principles
• Firm adherence to a code of moral or artistic values 
• Holding moral values you’re unwilling to change

Integrity was once explained to me as, “saying what you do, and then doing what you say.” Another idiom you may have heard is, “being a man/woman of your word.” Other values that live within integrity include honesty, trustworthiness, and authenticity. People with integrity are the people you continue to trust and keep close because they are who they are, and they’re real. 

Over the course of running and growing a business, you meet all kinds of people. The technical term, I suppose, is networking. This means you’re taking lots of introductory meetings and calls depending on how you’ve been connected. Oftentimes these conversations end with a “keep me in mind for future opportunities” understanding. However, sometimes they lead to a strategic partnership or working together in some way.

This relationship feels really good, almost too good to be true. Often, that’s because it is. Something is off because there is a divide between what is being said and the actions and outcomes that are going to happen in the future. I’ll acknowledge that there are at least two sides to every story, but, to me, it simply comes down to intentionality. If you say whatever you have to with no intentions of living up to it is a lack of integrity. 

Personally, this is a huge boundary for me and a pill I have a hard time swallowing whether I am personally involved or not. Being in the leadership and organizational development space as MindTeam Solutions (MTS), we see many different perspectives and situations. We are currently observing a few different issues where lack of leadership integrity has had a devastating impact on organizations, relationships, and people’s well-being.

In one case, someone hired consultants who over-promised from the beginning. They never completed the intake process or produced their first deliverable. Then there was a lack of communication that sabotaged projects and progress. In a few other situations, we’ve seen a leader promise an employee a promotion only to give it to someone else. That type of stringing along, mistreatment, and betrayal is unethical and unkind. 

Business leaders acting out of integrity are a snapshot of one of the biggest things wrong with our society. If we can just say anything we want with no intention of backing it up, then we have nothing real to believe in. Of our 9 core values at MindTeam Solutions, three of them address the importance and actions of integrity that we expect for ourselves and those we work with:

1. Trust and honesty in relationships and interactions with each other.
2. Respect for the individual at every level of the organization. 
3. An honor system that is fair to everyone and does no harm.​

Too often, statements are made without intended follow-through. The other party doesn’t know this until after they have an understanding or agreement in place. Then over time, that person observes the lack of action. When there is no observable action taken, the only thing you can rely on to maintain trust and the relationship is open communication. If the other person disengages and goes dark on conversation, this is a break of trust. 

Being a bad, untrustworthy leader makes your people shut down, leading to the best ideas, plans, and strategies never being executed. If you’re a leader with questionable integrity, in the long run, you’re not only going to hurt others, but you’re going to hurt yourself and the organization you have a fiduciary responsibility for. No one wants to work with or for someone they don’t believe in or a manager they can’t trust. People want to feel safe, and not like they have to put up walls to protect themselves. 

We are seeing a litany of issues in the workplace these days. The fights between executives and employees over remote work versus mandatory office returns. Managers struggle to empathize, connect, and lead their staff. Poor company culture, lack of engagement, and a hard time keeping good people. Stagnant growth or decline because of stubbornness to change. 

I submit that if leadership led with more integrity, many of these problems could be solved. That is not the only answer alone; a lot of other things need to happen in order to become a top place to work. However, I can almost guarantee that you’ll never have a great organization if leadership keeps breaking peoples’ trust.