Integrity Is A Lousy Core Value
Most corporations claim to have core values. Most of the values that organizations claim are lousy. They stink. They have no meaning!
- Integrity – Lousy.
- Teamwork – Lousy.
- Service – Lousy.
What does integrity mean? What does teamwork mean? What does service mean?
A corporate value like integrity doesn’t work. It is just another word on a website or on a poster hanging in a cubicle. Who cares what values an individual or a group claims to have! They don’t mean a thing! Unless….
It’s Lousy!
People actually demonstrate those core values!
The idea behind having core values is to declare “How” that organization is going to conduct itself. Who we are as individuals and groups is demonstrated by our behavior not by what we claim to believe!
That is why integrity is a lousy core value. Too many people and groups claim integrity, but few actually demonstrate integrity.
Good Intentions Are Not Enough
Values like integrity, teamwork and service are usually claimed based on a leader’s good intentions. The idea is to have a team that lives out these values.
However, good intentions are not enough. If a leader wants to have a culture where integrity, teamwork and service are actually demonstrated, then that leader has to make it happen!
Three Steps To Building A Team Based On Values
1. Define The Values
This is different from identifying core values. Most companies do that and stop. That is a big problem because different people will define each value differently.
This goes beyond going to Google and finding the best definition of integrity. The leadership must take time to define what each value looks like in practice.
How integrity is demonstrated daily may look different in an engineering firm than it does in a catering business.
- Engineering: We will maintain the confidentiality of all vendor bids until after a contract is awarded.
- Catering: We are all responsible for the actions of anyone wearing our uniform whether they are full or part time.
2. Communicate the Values Frequently
If something is important it is worth repeating. When I think of the things I remember my parents saying, it was not the things they said once or annually. I remember the things they repeated.
If a leader believes the core values he claims and has now defined are important, then he must communicate them frequently and consistently over time.
To make integrity part of an organization’s DNA, it must be communicated by the leadership. This can be done periodically from a podium. But it is most effective when it is a regular part of business. For example:
Consistently opening meetings by challenging people with industry specific case studies around topics of integrity. This gets people thinking about – “What if…?”
These regular discussions prepare people for future challenges and makes the value of integrity real and not just a good intended platitude.
3. Reinforce Values Driven Behavior
Claiming, defining and communicating core values means nothing if this does not drive the behavior of the individuals in the organization. It is the leader’s job to reinforce the behaviors that demonstrate these values.
Claiming a core value is useless unless people actually behave in accordance with that value. Once integrity is claimed, defined and communicated frequently, then individuals have no excuse not to behave in line with that value.
When someone demonstrates integrity, those actions should be rewarded. I suggest, the recognition for a specific act of integrity should be made publicly to not only praise the individual, but also to consistently set a high bar for rest of the group as well.
When someone makes a poor choice, depending on the severity of the action, that person must either be coached or fired. If it is in the area of integrity and integrity has been well defined and communicated, I lean towards firing.
If that person cannot or will not respond to coaching, then it is time to fire them and find a better fit for your team.
The Bottom Line:
Integrity is not a lousy core value. Neither is teamwork or service. They are all great core values —In Theory.
They are lousy core values if the leader does not take the time or effort to define, communicate or reinforce them. Without these steps, these values and all values are nothing but theories.
- If you claim a value and do not make the effort to define what it looks like in action, then it is obviously not very important.
- If you claim a value and do not make the effort to communicate it frequently and consistently, then it is obviously not very important.
- If you claim a value, but you are not willing to fire people for not adhering to that value, then it is obviously not very important.
The whole idea behind values is that they are important because they describe how an individual or a team will operate. If integrity is important enough to the leader, then she will go through these steps.
If she chooses not to define, communicate and reinforce integrity, then integrity IS a lousy core value.
In fact, integrity is truly not her or her team’s core value…something else is.
Question:
What prevents most leaders from placing more importance on values and therefore the culture of their organizations?
Dave,
Of course your title caught my eye. I agree with you that core values must be practiced and truly become a part of what and who the organization is. Your discussion reminded me of a great infantry battalion I had the good fortune to be assigned to during my days in the Army. The stated core values of our unit were:
Mental and Physical Toughness
Marksmanship
and Maneuver Live-Fire
Everything we did as a unit needed to somehow contribute to reflecting and strengthening these core values. Our BN commander emphasized these core values at every training meeting. Our language and actions tended to revolve in some way around these values. A more in depth discussion of this process of defining, communicating and reinforcing core values in an Army unit can be found in “Developing a Super-charged Battalion,” by LTC Bill David – 2-14 Infantry – Golden Dragons.
Enjoyed your article. Thanks.
v/r
Troy Busby
RLTW!
Troy- Great example of how it can be done and the lasting effects core values can have on team members even years later!
Thanks for the recommendation as well. I will look that up and give it a read!
Dave,
Yes, leadership must “walk the talk” in order to role model an organization’s core values consistently and effectively.
Years ago, I was promoted from sales to management, which meant I went from selling machine tool control systems to estimating the field crew installation of each system. It was in this context that I faced an ethical dilemma.
As I was looking over the blue prints and estimating the project, the fax machine went off, and I went over to see what was coming to our office. Much to my dismay, it was a copy of our competitor’s bid. The customer was sending my manager a copy of our competitor’s bid. I had a tough decision to make, and very little time to make it in.
I was young. This was a new job. I had just bought a new home. It would have been easy to rationalize away my core values of honesty and integrity in order to preserve my job. I decided to finish my project estimate without using the competitor’s data. I stood my ground with my boss and insisted my numbers were good. He used the competitor’s information to adjust his part of the project estimation. What happened in the end?
We were awarded the project. We did not lose any money, even with a lower bid. Soon thereafter, I saw that my manager’s business practices did not align very well with my core values,and so I left an otherwise very good job.
Come to find out, the customer had a habit of letting in low bidders to cut costs. Quite often, low bidders lost money on their first few projects for this customer. No doubt, the company I left went on to lose money as well.