Hold onto Your Personal Integrity

You'll be glad you did

The word personal integrity is often thrown around without much thought for what it means.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, integrity is "the quality of being honest and morally upright."

“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” - W. Clement Stone

In the working world, personal integrity is a matter of having and sticking to your personal code of ethics. Your code may vary slightly from others, but if you honor your principles and do what is right, even when it doesn't immediately benefit you, the benefits will be greater and longer term than taking the easy route.

What sort of ethics are we talking about?

Honesty

Don't lie. Even if you are afraid of the consequences. The consequences for lying and getting caught are worse than those for telling the truth. Period.

Beyond lying, honesty covers stealing, misrepresentation of facts (think of accountants 'cooking the books') and other acts which present a false front.

Instead, tell the truth. Respect other people's property, privacy and individuality.

Dependability

If you say you will be somewhere at a given time, be there. If you said the report would be done in a week, get it done in a week. If you are supposed to be at work by 9a.m., be there five minutes before.

When you are dependable, others trust you. They know they can rely on you to get the job done, show up, or provide what you promised. Integrity is trust. Trust is integrity. The two cannot be separated.

By cultivating your dependability, you also cultivate trust.

Desire self-improvement

You know you aren't perfect. You also know that you don't know everything. At least you do if you are being honest with yourself and others.

But, you should actively seek to improve yourself. For instance, visiting this site and learning about the career skills that make you more valuable to employers is part of self-improvement. When you take action to make yourself a better, stronger, smarter person, you show that you care about yourself and others.

Self-Discipline

This term has become a bad one over the years. It is seen as something that most of us lack. Simply put, self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what needs to be done, even when you don't feel like it.

We all have days when the last thing we want to do is go to work, or write that report, or draft those blueprints. It's okay to feel that way. But you have to get up and do what you are supposed to do anyway.

For an excellent series on self-discipline, visit Steve Pavlina's website.

All in all, personal integrity is the foundation on which all other career skills are built. Without it, all of the listening and speaking in the world will not advance your career very far. Be true to yourself.

Return to Career Skills from Personal Integrity

Return To Career Tools HQ Home from Personal Integrity