Dad often said, “Unless you’re on the battlefield, no one is ever going to give you a medal for doing what is right. That doesn’t mean you should stop doing what is right. Every decision has consequences.”
My definition of integrity is not mine originally; it came from that great philosopher, Anonymous. Integrity is doing what is right because it’s right—every time—whether anyone is looking or not. It’s that last clause that is the sticky part. Every day we are faced with moments, big and small, when decisions have to be made with integrity. The “no one will ever know” or “no one is looking” moments are the trickiest.
You see, someone is ALWAYS watching. Even if you don’t believe in a higher power who “sees all,” that someone who is always watching is perhaps the most important – and that is your subconscious. Our subconscious is the most powerful critic and judge in the universe. When we do something that we know is wrong, even if no one else could possibly have seen it, guilt creeps in at some level. Guilt robs you of your self-esteem. Even if it is a thread of guilt no thicker than half a hair on your head, that niggling little thread worms its way into your subconscious and sets about destroying your self-esteem.
It happens to all of us. Significant leaders are not immune. It’s happened to me more often than I care to remember, in big decisions and small ones. Each time, I have had to backtrack and make amends to lop the guilt off at its source and begin rebuilding my self-esteem. It happens to all of us because we’re all human, and we all make mistakes.
That is why it’s so essential to make the effort every day to do what is right because it’s right—every time—whether anyone is looking or not.
Text SIGNIFICANCE to 411321 for Lauren’s White Paper: Leadership Accountability – It Starts With YOU.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.