The word ‘integrity’ is used so loosely these days in so many situations that I believe it has lost its purest meaning. When used inappropriately, I baulk at the message being told and question how real the sentiments are of the person using the word ‘integrity’ in their statements.
‘Integrity’ is often used in politics when a government minister or shadow minister accuses their political opponents of their misdeed, failure or weakness, and for us to later find out that the person making the accusation have themselves failed to live up to the values they have been expounding.
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Businesses too tout the word ‘integrity’ to their customers and, company boards promise standing up for ‘integrity’ to their shareholders. Such usage sets a very high bar when applying this noun to describe themselves or their businesses. As we have found over the years, all too often it wouldn’t take long before ‘cracks’ appear in their promises or commitments. Sometimes these crashes in reputation can lead to judicial prosecution for commercial or criminal misconduct of the very ones who proclaimed their integrity.
Unfortunately the word ‘integrity’ has become such a by-word, that we can described it as simply puffery when those using the word in describing themselves are not held to account.
The etymological background of the word, stemmed from around 1400s, from the word ‘integrite’, meaning “innocence, blameless; chastity, purity,” which arose from the Old French ‘ingrité’ and directly from Latin integritatem meaning, “soundness, wholeness, completeness,” and figuratively used for, “purity, correctness, blamelessness.” During the mid-1500s, a sense of “soundness of moral principle and character; entire uprightness or fidelity, especially in regard to truth and fair dealing” became evident in use in society.
The Book of Proverbs is full of exhortations about the word ‘integrity’. Here are a few.
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.(10:9)
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. (11:3)
The righteous who walks in his integrity – blessed are his children after him! (20:7)
Better is a poor person who walks in integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool. (19:1)
Photo Credit: Steven Pereira
One day recently I was searching for a book for my leisurely reading from the many on my bookshelf. The book was ‘Speeches that Changed the World – the stories and transcripts of the moments that made history’ which I started reading some years earlier. Admittedly I have a habit of picking up a book, reading a little of it and then putting it down to be continued another day. Of course, most of the books I pick up either have plenty of pictures or are chapter based, so it does not matter where I start or finish. The ‘Speeches’ book was one of those books which could easily be picked up and read over a period.
This time I was aiming to read the speech by Mahatma Gandhi, as I knew he was listed in the Contents of the book. Though a fan of this ‘giant of a man’, figuratively speaking as he was slightly above five feet; and having seen the movie ‘Gandhi’ and buying the video by the same name, with actor Ben Kingsley who played Gandhi; I did not read Gandhi’s recorded speech in the first instance of buying the ‘Speeches’ book.
That morning, prior to searching for a book to read, in my daily devotional reading I came across references to Gandhi and the word ‘integrity’. As it impacted my consciousness, I thought then that I should search out that book and see if what Gandhi had to say to an audience at the Benares Hindu University in 1916 when he was sharing his early thoughts on India’s need to gain independence was worthy to have been captured by the book’s publisher. Two sentences from his speech were enough to see inside the man who proclaimed it. Gandhi said, “I have turned the searchlight all over, as you have given me the privilege of speaking to you, I am laying my heart bare. Surely we must set these things right in our progress towards self-government”.
When I juxtapose this reading and the man (Gandhi) who gave it, with what I read on integrity and have seen and heard the hypocrisy of those who use the word, I am again reminded how flippant the world is today, where the word ‘integrity’ does not come close to relating to the character of the person proclaiming it.
American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead stated, when speaking of today’s world, “What people say, what people do, and what people say they do, are entirely different things”. An article by Margaret Mead about integrity goes on to say that amazingly, there are some who actually promote this inconsistency. An example was given of a popular fashion designer who had said, “The crux of a person’s identity…resides in the trappings, not in the person himself…one needn’t be well-read, so long as one surrounds oneself with books…In short… one can seem to be what one wants to be”.
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The trouble is, while we may make an impression with “trappings”, the real ‘you’ always comes through. Mead had said that impressions are like shadows – they disappear when a strong enough light is shown on them.
Integrity shows that you truly are who you appear to be.
I believe that the greatest demonstration of leadership is the leader’s integrity. I would go as far as to say that integrity is like the ‘blood’ that flows through the leader’s veins. The leader stands or fall on his or her application of integrity. It requires being consistent in one’s core values, thoughts, and actions. The measure of integrity is who the leader is. Gandhi, a leader, showed himself as a virtue of integrity. I have observed that people with integrity always stand out. Their team know that and those in their presence can sense and see that.
Author Pat Williams tells of Gandhi’s trip to England to speak to Parliament at the time the British Government had opposed India’s independence and as a result Gandhi had often been threaten, arrested and jailed. He said that Gandhi spoke eloquently and passionately for two hours, after which the packed hall gave him a standing ovation.
Photo Credit: James A. Mills of Gandhi in London, circa 1931 [Source: Britannica Kids No copyright infringement is intended]
Williams relates the story that after the speech a reporter asked Gandhi’s assistant how the statesman had been able to deliver such a speech without notes.
This is what the assistant said. “You don’t understand Gandhi. What he thinks is what he feels. What he feels is what he says. What he says is what he does. What Gandhi feels, thinks, says and does are all the same. So, he doesn’t need notes”.
Now that’s integrity.
Here’s another exhortation from the Book of Proverbs, not only for leaders, but for all people living life consistently with integrity as a hallmark: Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. (Proverbs 4:25-27)
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