I hope you are using your time this Summer to give yourself space to rest and renew; to deeply reflect, be inspired, and perhaps spark some creativity as we begin to enter the Fall season.
Lately, I have been thinking about the powerful transformation that happens for my clients through the work we do together on alignment and integrity. I want to provide you with access to these insights.
Let's start by asking ourselves some key questions about integrity.
Why is it important for us to have integrity in our personal and professional lives? When we have integrity, what does it make possible in life?
Michael C. Jensen, Emeritus professor at Harvard Business School, wrote:
Integrity in our model is honoring your word... The personal and organizational benefits of honoring one's word are huge -- both for individuals and for organizations -- and generally unappreciated.
The definition of integrity has two parts, both equally important:
By this definition, integrity is important for one very practical reason -- it creates the conditions in our personal and professional lives and relationships that allow for everything to WORK. In any situation, people want to know where they stand and what kind of response they can depend on from you. Integrity is the foundation by which consistency and trust support us to work effectively, both on our own and with others, to create the results we want. This holds true just as much for our personal goals and intimate relationships as it does for our leadership and professional successes.
A focus on integrity is central to my work mentoring entrepreneurs to step into a higher level of success and prosperity. We look at integrity through the lens of alignment. If someone says that their mission, purpose, and goals are one thing, the rest of their life and business must be in alignment with that as well. This is the equivalent of, walking your talk. Without alignment, there isn't integrity, and without integrity, a person's vision for success and prosperity simply won't work.
Historically, the notion that a person's word is their bond has held true throughout the ages, starting with the Bible. Keeping your word was the basic measure of who you were, as a person. Unfortunately, in today's world, it's much less common to find people who value consistently keeping their word and their commitments.
Are you operating with integrity?
This would mean keeping your word, and when you do not, communicating to those impacted and cleaning up any issues that were created. It also means operating in alignment with your Mission and Purpose in life.
When considering your integrity, you can look at it across 3 Levels:
Here is a list of some of the BASIC MEASURES OF INTEGRITY I use for myself and my clients:
If a situation is not working, are you looking first at where you may be out of integrity or out of alignment with your standards and ideals?
As you can see, your integrity reflects who you are as a human being. It's your deeper alignment with who you say you are and what you say you want. When you're living in alignment and integrity, it allows for greater power, expansion with ease, and more effortless attainment of goals, not to mention more happiness and joy!
The easiest and most direct way to maintain your integrity is to focus on living in alignment with your word. If you simply do this in your business and your life you will see incredible shifts and momentum toward achieving the outcomes you are wanting to create!
xo
Rita