WORDS TO LEAD BY - Integrity

This year we are sharing lessons from a book titled Construction Leadership from A to Z. by Wally Adamchik.

His book explores “26 Words to Lead By.”

This session’s word is INTEGRITY.

INTEGRITY

Integrity – steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code; the state of being unimpaired

“Trust is the great simplifier. If people in business told the truth, 80 or 90 percent of their problems would disappear.” - Will Schutz

If people can’t trust you, they will not want to follow you.

Let’s look at the facets of integrity that relate to leading. Think about the values you stress to your employees. They may include efficiency, teamwork, or service. Do you say a certain procedure is the right way to do things at your place (because it supports those values)? Then do you not hold someone accountable if they deviate from that procedure? Although it may not strictly fit the definition, at root this is an integrity issue: You say one thing but do another. Have you ever told someone you would call them back, and then didn’t?

What about the manager who decides to fire someone and blames it on cutbacks? And then there is the performance review where the manager says everything is “fine” but fails to address a critical performance issue with the employee. In each case, the manager is evading the truth and acting without integrity. His people will have little faith in him and little respect for him as a supervisor. This, in turn, will make him a weak and ineffective leader.

Your effectiveness in relationships depends on how much people see you as living by your word. Where they see it strongly, people trust you more, listen more closely to you, and allow you to influence them. This form of credibility is necessary to lead, to sell, and to address conflicts.

The most important person with whom you must be honest is yourself.

“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” - Mark Twain

Integrity Jumpstart:

• Deliver on your commitments.
• Play by the rules.
• Understand why and when you lie.

Integrity is all about “walking the talk!”

...Do we boast one thing in a meeting and then do another in the field?

Whether it involves environmental stewardship (adhering to the requirements of our permits), quality materials and services (does the material meet or exceed the specifications), customer service (loading their trucks as scheduled), productivity in the field (are we planning properly to be as efficient as possible), or safety (seat belts, turn signals, NO using cell phones while driving) - integrity is doing the right things even when no one will know. Let’s choose to have integrity today and every day!

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc