Authentic Integrity

Authenticity isn’t usually the right professional goal. Our teams expect consistency, regardless of how we actually feel. (Vulnerability is different. I’ll talk about it another day.)

But there’s one aspect of authenticity that is always valuable: authentic integrity.

Leaders we trust get better outcomes. Their teams have lower turnover. They get more done with less. Their employees are more engaged. And the whole team tends to be happier and healthier.

Hiring for authentic integrity is difficult. Because the opposite of integrity is rarely frank dishonesty. It’s performative integrity: the practice of acting with integrity only when it places us in a positive light.

Performative integrity infects our media, our entertainment, and our politics. This is a tragedy. We cannot let it become normal in the domains we control.

The most pressing concern is performative integrity in our teams. Do your reports take responsibility for everything their team does, or do they push blame downward? Are they trusted by their employees? Do they make the right long-term decisions, even when it makes them look bad today? Is integrity rewarded, or do you allow people to get ahead despite their dishonesty?

And could the same be said of you and me? If not, it’s time to change.

The pursuit of authentic integrity is one of the highest-return investments an organization can make. The moment-to-moment cost may feel high. But the long-term benefits are sublime.

Don’t let anything get in the way of your team’s integrity.

(Please consider sharing this post with someone who might find it helpful. And if you never want to miss another post, please subscribe.)