leadership

Integrity. One word, only nine letters but the weight of it is incredibly impactful. Every time we are faced with a decision we have the choice to demonstrate integrity. I would never pretend that choosing integrity is always easy. Sometimes choosing integrity means you are going against the grain, making the unpopular choice and standing alone. I am not a romantic person who waxes poetic about the virtues of making the right choice. It’s hard if we are being honest. Integrity always costs something. Energy, acceptance, peace, time, companionship – the list could go on forever. So I completely understand that some times it is easier to fit in or just stay quiet because we don’t want to risk the cost of integrity. Sometimes we convince ourselves that the cost isn’t worth it. And there are times when that leaves us a bit uneasy, and there are other times it doesn’t bother us one tiny bit. Can we tell the truth? I am not here to judge. How could I? We are all human and I don’t always get it right. But the thing I am reminding myself of lately is that the systems that are used to oppress others only work because people look away instead of choosing integrity. They thrive on our choices to do what is comfortable instead of standing for what is right. Don’t believe me, watch? A group of people chose integrity in the summer of 2020 when a police officer used his power irresponsibly to murder George Floyd. What if they had chosen to look away? As a matter of fact, I have a better question. Do we think this was the first time that officer had used his power irresponsibly? Unlikely, but what is more likely is that others saw his problematic behavior and chose to look away. It may seem harmless to look away when faced with the cost of integrity, but is it really harmless? It may not cost us, but it costs someone, hopefully not their lives, but the point is that it is not harmless. Many of us are in positions of power in various parts of our lives. What is the cost if we don’t demonstrate integrity, and who pays it? Systems are maintained by people, and when we let our integrity slip, oppressive systems thrive. I can’t determine for anyone if, and when, they should choose integrity, but I do know that even if you don’t pay the cost, someone will. Integrity is not an abstract or nebulous concept, according to the Oxford dictionary it is the actual practice ‘of being honest and having strong moral principles’. I would like my legacy to be that I engaged and spoke up and that I was a person of integrity, I don’t want to be the person who looks away and allows someone else to pay the cost. This doesn’t mean that I will be Don Quixote tilting at every windmill (Do people still know what that means?), but when I am in positions where I need to speak up, I will.