The Power of Integrity in Your Organization

Seems like the news is constantly filled with business scandals, as a new set of villains become part of  the business culture every year.  These days  it’s Goldman Sachs , sub-prime lenders , and financial regulators watching porn instead of looking for illegal trades.  In the recent past it was Enron, WorldCom and Tyco, and in the 80′s it was junk bonds and Drexel Burnham Lambert.  The cycle repeats itself over and over.  Books will get written, laws will change (sometimes), and we try to learn lessons from the events so they don’t happen again.  But they do happen again.  

We like to think that people are inherently good, and they gravitate towards making the right decisions.  They usually do…. but all humans have flaws. We’re often motivated by the wrong things, and many of us are influenced by our surroundings and the actions of those around us.  We have written before about shaping the culture of a company and the impact it has on individuals within an organization.  In fact, you could argue that the actions of individuals in every one of these popular business scandals have roots in an organizational culture that allowed – or even fostered – the inappropriate behavior.  

There is a famous quote that I often hear attributed to Warren Buffet that says something like ”…. I look for people with integrity, intelligence and energy.  But without integrity, the other two will get you into trouble”.  Every organization – no matter the size – needs to promote integrity in everything they do, or risk the consequences.  Of course, most organizations talk about honesty and integrity - but their actions point to something different.  Think about your organization, and ask yourself some questions: 

• Is our organization’s interviewing focused on hiring for character as much as it is for skills and experience?
• Do we communicate the organization’s hard-to-measure values in addition to the easier-to-quantify goals?
• Do we share information freely throughout the organization?  Or is information (and its perceived “power”) held at the top of the organization?
• Do we treat our vendors well?  Are they partners… or perceived as places to cut costs and squeeze cash flow?
• Maybe most important these days:  does the company ”own up” to mistakes? ….. with customers? …. with shareholders? …. with the public?  

These aren’t the only questions that indicate integrity in an organization, but the answers point to some trends.  And answering “yes” to these types of questions does not guarantee that an organization is immune from poor performance, ineffectiveness, or scandals.  But answering “no” to these questions certainly points to behavior inconsistent with a culture of fairness and integrity.  

An organization that’s not built on integrity is a house of cards – totally unable to support the weight of increased pressure and the expectations of the marketplace.  That’s how people who want to do the right thing – don’t.  It’s often why scandals happen. At the core, great products and services, and great people are critical to success in your organization.  But it’s all for naught if your culture is not built on integrity.