The Integrity Advantage: Cultivating Honesty and Moral Principles in Business

A Business Without Integrity Will Fail

We speak about growth, vision, staff, and leadership. But all of this will fail without integrity. Let’s look into what integrity is and why its crucial to the success of your business.

What is integrity?

Integrity is defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.”

It is doing good even when no one is looking, it is being honest at every turn, and it is setting an example as a leader. Integrity is built on your actions not on your words.

You cannot be a good leader without integrity. While many do try, a leader without integrity unravels. You need to be making decisions that are in the best interest of their company, staying true to their founding principles, and not making decisions with selfish intent.

Let me put integrity into a metaphor. Imagine you land on a new planet filled with Martians. You need to lead these people and gain their trust, but you do not speak their language. How do you get them to trust you, through actions and showing them why they should follow you.

What is integrity within a business?

There are many businesses out there who are driven purely by money. They cut corners, overwork staff, and do whatever it takes to make an extra buck.

While these businesses may achieve short-term success, they fail over the long term.

A business needs to run on integrity, being good to their customers, staff, and community. They also need to stay true to their founding principles, an integral part of the business.

Every job has worth.

Every job in an organization fulfills a crucial role, but often it can be difficult to show that worth. You as a leader can help others to find their worth in their roles:

1. Share the passion & vision. – the first step is to ensure every employee understands and believes in your core values as a business. Share your passion and vision often to increase your team buy in.
2. Create a safe environment. – Create a plan where people can grow, learn, and fail. If an employee gets belittled every time they fail, they will not step out of the box.
3. Create accountability. – We work harder for something if we are held accountable. Create accountability in every aspect of the business, allowing for both freedom and accountability.
4. Lead by example. – You cannot expect your team to work harder than you do. Lead by example, show others how to make the business a success.

If your team truly believes and sees the purpose in their role then they will put in the extra effort to go above and beyond what is expected of them.