The Leader's Quest for Integrity

"The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be"

Socrates

Introduction

I have chosen integrity as a field of inquiry in my leadership development work through a process of reflection and feedback over a six-year period. During this time, I conducted a major research investigation focusing on leadership effectiveness in healthcare, with a particular interest in women. One of the key findings, as seen by leaders of both sexes, is that integrity is the single most important leadership ingredient. This conclusion, as well as other related matters, is explored in depth in my book, published by Jossey-Bass in 1999.

It is my strong belief that the quest for integrity is foundational to the leader's work. This article offers examples of tools, exercises and questions, to deepen the knowledge of who we are as leaders and individuals. These examples are intended to serve as practical means to open internal dialogue, to facilitate conversations, to expand personal awareness, to sharpen commitments and to start to develop skills for deep change.

Integrity "Defined"

What is integrity? Can it be defined, or merely described?

We begin with the "traditional" Webster's definition, noting in particular Webster's second and third definitions, in bold.

1. Integrity is firm adherence to a code of moral or artistic values: incorruptibility.

2. Integrity is an unimpaired condition: soundness

3. Integrity is the quality or state of being complete or undivided: completeness.

Beyond Webster's, what is integrity? Here are several notions for consideration:

• Integrity is the journey of finding the leader's own voice (including body, energy, spirit, emotions, intellect, and spirit). It is a continuing journey--s/he finds it, re-finds it, and finds it yet again. Integrity is the courage to acknowledge, own and use her voice as it is, and as it becomes.

• Integrity is having a good reputation with oneself.

• Integrity is coming to terms with who we are, including the shadow side.

• Integrity is a sense of "unity, wholeness, integration…as we also honor the ecological value of opposition and resistance. Without some internal tension, we would have no psychic energy, no motivation, no creativity."

• Integrity is wholeness, including

- Acknowledging the contrasts (yin/yang)

- Accepting who we are and what "is"

- Believing that we have enough, and that we are enough

- Opting for consciousness and choice about who we are and what we do

- Knowing integrity as a dynamic, cyclical process--who we are is always changing and our "boundaries" are permeable

- Embracing the motion between "difference and integration, outward and inward, and valuing self and valuing community"

- Being congruent across three broad areas: core level--essence; middle level--who we think we are; and form--who we show ourselves to be with others.

Integrity is based on:

• Deep self knowledge, along with courage and self acceptance

• An absence of self-sabotage, including self diminishment or grandiosity

• Three essential qualities: self-trust, authentic presence, self confidence

Integrity is not:

• …A linear, all or nothing, or static state. We never "reach" full and complete integrity. Integrity is not an "either/or" proposition in which we are either "in it or not". Instead, it is a dynamic state, an exchange between who we are becoming with who are at present--in all aspects of ourselves. In its full state, it is the "embrace of a life of partial knowledge, partial control…"

• …Acting from rote, default ways of being and living.

• …A state of perfect "balance". "A system that is slightly off balance has the potential for high energy and rapid, adaptive movement. Balancing is a high virtue, but it is not the only virtue. Be balanced about balance."

• …Full congruence. A state of complete congruence among all parts of ourselves at all times is not possible, nor even desirable--without some disharmony, we have left no room for growth, change, motivation, or the unexpected.

• …Our vocabulary. "Reality is dynamic, and our vocabularies change slowly, if at all." Also slow to change are our stories and mental models of ourselves, and our default ways of knowing ourselves and others.

• …The same for everyone. Important expressions of integrity for me may not be at all important for you. While there are some core aspects of integrity that may be universal, their manifestation will be highly individual.

• …The same for a person at all stages of her life. As I proceed through the decades, my highest values and aspirations change. Thus, my integrity--how I will know and manage the congruence between who I am and who I am in the world--will also be in a state of flux.

How doe we know if we are in a state of integrity?

• People know integrity, and its lack, when they see it. The language of the body speaks to the unconscious of others and is extremely powerful. Are people reacting to me in ways I do not consciously understand? Are there areas of myself that are "leaking"--that I have not attended to?

• We see and operate with respect for the "other". A fable will illustrate: "There was a prince of Lu who welcomed a lovely bird into his home, and entertained it with an elegant banquet, fine wine, and classical music. But what was a pleasure for a man was torment to the bird. In three days the bird died. The prince killed the bird with kindness because he did not respect his nature."

Integrity as Outcome-So What?

Why should we care about integrity? One way to understand its importance is to ask the question: "If we had integrity, what would that allow for." Here are some possible outcomes, using the words "I" and "my" for illustration:

• If I operate from integrity, I have less internal "noise", allowing me to be more fully present in my life and work. In other words, sufficient integrity allows me to satisfy my needs so I am present for others.

• By attending to my integrity, I am better "in action" as a leader. "Personal integrity should always be secured before taking external action… [A person in a state of integrity]….refuses to allow [an] opponent to distract him from his [own] integrative efforts." Integrity allows us to "stay centered enough to prevail."

• Every flaw in my integrity is robbing me of the energy I need to get to where I want to go.

• If I become aware of my shadow side, I am less likely to unconsciously project it onto the outer world. In other words, I will no longer keep "good" as the province of myself, while believing "bad" is only "out there". Indeed, I may release the terms "good" and "bad" altogether.

• Integrity is central to appreciating diversity. I am taught to honor, celebrate and appreciate others. How can I do this if I am not knowing, honoring, celebrating and appreciating myself, my growth, and my needs for change?

• Sustained integrity is not possible without renewal. For example, renewal was a key success factor for the companies studied for "Built to Last" in the early 1990's. These organizations knew and flowed with their corporate "true north". They also committed to renewal activities, e.g. sabbaticals, etc., which they saw as intimately related to their corporate integrity.

Evoking Integrity

There are at least two steps to take to develop self-trust, congruence and integrity. The first is to learn to become conscious and aware of ourselves, including our needs and feelings, as distinct from those of others. This is observation of two kinds: passionate as well as detached powers of self-evaluation and reflection.

The second is to take responsibility. In other words, I must be accountable for who I am, what I see, and what I do.

To sustain integrity, one needs the tools of reflection and learning--I must be willing to adopt a "beginner's mind" about myself, from time to time. I must be willing to ask myself key questions such as what values, beliefs, feelings and activities do I want to "hold onto", "let go", "take on" and "move on [from]".

Attached are additional questions to initiate thought, conversation and change. Listed below are some tools that may also be useful.

Tools for Integrity

1. If you had to pick just one symbol or metaphor for integrity, what would it be? Why? What qualities of integrity does that symbol evoke for you?

2. Who is a role model for you, in terms of integrity? Why? What qualities of integrity does s/he represent for you? How you like or not like her?

3. Spend three minutes and write about a time when you have been close to "full" integrity. Close your eyes and touch the quality of that experience. What conditions existed to create that state for you? As you relive that experience, what can you learn that will help you live in fuller integrity today?

4. Spend three minutes and write about how you are in harmony with myself, today.

5. Write yourself a letter--from the elder you to the current you. The elder can be 69 or 79 years old. What would s/he say to you today, about your integrity?

6. Imagine yourself without fears and limitations. What would you--and your life--be like? Take three minutes and write about this. Try to create as vivid a picture a possible. What would you be doing in your life, your career, your family? Would you live in the same city, the same neighborhood, the same house? Please, be as specific as possible.

Skills of Integrity

The key skills for living a life of integrity are courage, honesty, and the arts of strategy, clear thinking, the ability to survive and adapt, to live in balance and proportion, and attention and awareness. In nature, integrity is about "risk and mastery." Clear thinking leads to clear communication, with minimal distortion.

Best wishes on your journey to integrity. It's a trip worth taking.

by Catherine Robinson-Walker