I have had the honor of playing cribbage with someone who is smarter than I am and who has played hundreds of more cribbage games than I have. For money. Five bucks! Despite my underdog status, I have won an Abe Lincoln or two. How? Because I am playing with a person of integrity. Sometimes I miss counting the points in my hand and he always tells me, allowing me to peg the overlooked points. Sometimes that means that I win because of his generosity. I appreciate the fact that he is fair, honest and helpful, even when it has the potential to cost him personally.
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
– C.S. Lewis
Integrity is a part of a high-trust culture. People of high integrity model the following behaviors.
1. Honesty and Transparency – They live and work by a strong moral compass and ethical values. They share information freely without hiding anything or being secretive. They provide the full truth (vs partial details) and understand that omittance is lying too. They offer transparency in words, intentions, actions and decisions. They admit when they are unsure or uniformed instead of pretending to know the answers.
2. Respectfulness and Humbleness – They treat everyone with kindness, politeness and courtesy. They never take advantage of others. They share the spotlight and never take credit for someone else’s work.
3. Consistency and Reliability – They do what they say they will do, when they say they will do it. You know that you can count on them to follow through on their commitments. They stick to their word, even when it is inconvenient. They are dependable.
4. Accountability – They take responsibility for their actions. They accept the consequences for their actions and own their mistakes instead of blaming external factors. They are likely to apologize first because they value the relationship more than being right.
5. Fairness and Open Mindedness – They give others the benefit of the doubt without jumping to conclusions. They carefully consider other points of view, remember that things are sometimes different than they seem and evaluate people and situations based on facts. They work to find solutions and compromise.
6. Generosity – They give freely, sharing without strings and never as a tactic to gain favor. They do good when they can and always help others who need it. They politely share both positive and negative feedback to facilitate open dialog and improvement.
7. Authenticity and Trustworthiness – They act consistent with their values, even when it may draw criticism or rejection. They can be counted on to tell the truth, do the right thing and keep confidences, no matter what. They candidly share their thoughts and deliver difficult messages with care, compassion and sincerity.
These behaviors are part of the high-trust culture we strive to build on our projects. Model them to provide a great foundation and build strong, long-lasting relationships.
~ Cinda
Cinda Bond, MIPI, has been an OrgMetrics partnering facilitator for more than 10 years. She has facilitated more than 500 sessions for teams throughout the country. She also collaborates with engineering and construction teams to develop large documents containing hundreds of pages for construction contracts and proposals.
For more information please contact Cinda Bond, CindaBond@Orgmet.com / (925)640-9007 (cell), or OrgMetrics RobReaugh@Orgmet.com / (925)449-8300