In the recent discussions about honesty vs. integrity, some of my LinkedIn colleagues brought up “courage,” “congruency,” and “justice” and “fairness.” How do these qualities fit in? Here’s what some professionals had to say:
Less we forget Courage. These are behaviors I associate with the three:
- Integrity is what “we” do when no one is looking
- Honesty is the ability, when confronted with a situation, to accurately portray the events
- Courage is the ability to, prior to any external exposure, come forth with what the events were
Posted by Jim Katzenberger
And, this comment:
Honesty is telling the truth.
Integrity is telling the truth always.
We need both in this world, driven by greed and quick results.
While we are at it, add ‘justice’ and ‘fairness’ also
Posted by Ram krishnan
I thought these comments added depth to the discussion. Here are some of my further thoughts.
Honesty/Integrity is something I have been playing with a lot over the last couple of months, especially within the context of congruence. I have found that congruence incorporates honesty and integrity, and by reference, courage as well.
It’s when your internal and external stories match. It’s what draws me closer to some people and drives a wedge in the relationship with others. It’s a constant struggle for me, as I am sure it is with all of us. However, it’s the one thing that disappoints me the most about others when I find that the stories they tell about themselves are just not true. Their internal story and external story doesn’t match.
Courage is a great part of congruence, and something that has been missing in the discussion to this point. Thinking it through…it takes courage to be open to others. It takes courage to tell the truth. It takes courage to live an intentional life. It takes courage to say “yes” when it is time to say “yes,” and “no” when you should.
But what is justice and fairness? I don’t believe there is any such thing as true justice or true fairness, just as there is no one truth. All exist in comparison, don’t they? Fair is different for everyone. It differs person to person, group to group, neighborhood to neighborhood, country to country. Truth, fairness and justice are only as you experience it. What was the truth or fair at one time, in the harsh light of retrospect seems less so.
For instance, Ignaz Semmelweis was the first physician to think that small particles caused disease. This was 50 years before our understanding of germs. There was no Nobel Prize for him. Instead of being rewarded for his forward thinking, he was ridiculed and died disgraced and penniless. He had the courage to tell the truth as he knew it. In retrospect, we see what the truth was.
It was widely believed in the 1800’s that if you went faster than 30 mph you would suffocate. Any contraption that allowed manned flight was surely impossible. True for the time? Sure. True ultimately? No.
So ultimately, does that make truth, justice, fairness, honesty and integrity flexible and situational? Probably.
So let’s go back to the concept of congruence, and perhaps we can find the definition of honesty and integrity within the meaning. Congruence is living according to your beliefs, to the truth as you know it. Honesty and integrity are intrinsic issues that are judged extrinsically and systemically. Honesty, integrity and congruence all live within us on a personal basis. However, it is judged in comparison to others and to societal norms.
What are your thoughts?
There’s an interesting post over on Lisa Petrilli’s C-Level Strategies blog, What Millennials Told CEOs They Want from Leaders. (Photo: Photostock.) I’ll re-post some excerpts here before commenting:
Great Leaders: Was Steve Jobs Good at Leading?
Next, try to name the leaders of General Motors, TiVo and AOL… right, I’d have to go look them up too. Most senior leaders are highly qualified, experienced and deeply engaged in their work. I’d venture that by the time they get to be CEOs, they’ve passed a few hurdles. They’re smart. They know how to lead and influence people. But what makes for great leaders?
What makes a good leader stand out? What makes a leader so strong that their companies are enabled to gain lasting success?
It’s curious when you think about leadership and Steve Jobs, for example. After reading the biography by Walter Isaacson, you understand why Jobs had such a terrible reputation as a leader. And yet his followers and fans and — more importantly — his company Apple thrived under his leadership (although there are plenty of examples of his misguidance).
It’s interesting to read his history and how it evolved in relationship to the company he founded. Strangely enough, as he matured with age, his company followed, although he never became transformed or excelled in leadership qualities. Do you think of Steve Jobs as a great leader?
He was an incredible innovator, no question. But there has to be more to the story. When other intelligent, creative CEOs die, they don’t get the kind of reverence and admiration that followed Jobs’ unfortunate death to cancer in his 50s. How does someone with such poor people skills become an icon?
Searching for an understanding led me to Simon Sinek’s amazing TedTV Talk, from September 2009. If you have 15 minutes, you may want to look at it. For a better understanding of Sinek’s ideas and how great leaders get that way, read his book Start with Why.
Sinek says that, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy into why you do it.” Leaders who want to succeed should clearly communicate what they believe and why they’re so passionate about their cause. Maybe that explains the adoration of Jobs in spite of the fact he was a poor leader.
Love him or hate him, Jobs intuitively knew how to tap into people’s emotions and desires. He knew how to challenge the status quo, and he knew millions wanted to follow him down that path.
The question I ask you readers is this:
Do you know what lights the hearts and emotions of your followers, your clients, your customers? Are you tapping into your “why?”
Of course, to answer that you’ve got to know what inspires YOU, what your core purpose and values are, and what your mission is.
Ah yes, clarity about that will make it easier for you to inspire the people you want to influence. Are you clear about what inspires you?