Overall
- Be curious about other people
- Follow through on commitments
- Tactfully resolve interpersonal problems
- Take responsibility for mistakes
- Seek inner balance and calm – “put on your own mask before assisting others”
Personal Integrity
Align actions with stated values
a. Identify your top 3–5 core values and use them to guide choices.
b. Ask: “If someone watched this decision, would it match what I claim to believe?”
Keep small promises
a. Integrity is cumulative—being reliable in small commitments builds the discipline needed for larger ones.
b. If you can’t meet a commitment, acknowledge it early and renegotiate.
Practice honest communication
a. Tell the truth even when it’s awkward or disadvantages you.
b. Use clarity over convenience: “Here’s what I know, here’s what I don’t.”
Use reflective habits
a. Daily or weekly reflection improves self-awareness of gaps between behavior and values.
b. Journaling, after-action reviews, or simple “What did I do well? What can I fix?” questions work well.
Build moral courage incrementally
a. Start by speaking up in low-risk situations—this builds the ability to speak up when stakes are higher.
b. Surround yourself with people who reinforce integrity rather than undermine it.
Corporate / Organizational Integrity
Make values operational, not ornamental — Translate values into observable behaviors (“We respect customers” → “We respond within 24 hours and document concerns clearly.”)
Reward integrity, not just performance
a. Promote people who model ethical behavior—even if they deliver slightly less output.
b. Measure “how” results are achieved, not only “what” is achieved.
Build transparent systems
a. Use open decision logs, clear audit trails, and accessible reporting channels.
b. Transparency reduces room for misconduct and builds trust.
Create safe reporting
a. Encourage people to raise concerns without retaliation.
b. Offer anonymous channels and guarantee follow-up.
Ensure leaders model the behavior
a. Integrity cannot be delegated. Employees follow what executives do, not what they say.
b. Leaders should admit mistakes, share their reasoning, and show consistency.
Remove perverse incentives
a. Misaligned KPIs often drive unethical behavior (e.g., sales quotas with no guardrails).
b. Include ethics, fairness, or customer impact in performance reviews.
Build ethics into processes
a. Pre-mortems on risk (“How could this go wrong ethically?”)
b. Clear conflict-of-interest rules.
c. Routine ethical impact assessments for new products or policies.