Original posting June 2005

Reposted July 23, 2023

Holistic: an unimpaired condition the quality or state of being compete and undivided.

Personal and Organizational Integrity

Alfred L. Forbes, MBA

As I travel around the country working with various organizations, I often encourage my clients to “stand on their integrity.” One client told me they would operate on integrity as much as other people would allow. I pointed out to the individual that as a person of integrity, you cannot wait for others to validate you or give you permission to work with integrity. Personal and organizational integrity need to be the platform on which we stand and from which we operate. The greatest challenge is to be a person of integrity in the presence of opposition, especially when not acting with integrity might actually be fiscally or personally rewarding. Acting with integrity is a journey that requires the individual or the organization to be responsible and accountable for articulating and executing their beliefs, which entails knowing oneself and being true to your moral compass.

Personal integrity: Believing and acting in ways that harmoniously affirms your highest state of consciousness.

“Self-knowledge forms the foundation for building a happy fulfilling life. When our actions are in line with the highest good we are contributing to our sense of wholeness and well being, just as a house built upon a foundation with straight and true lumber creates a framework that perfectly supports its visible outer coverings.” It is important to recognize that standing in your integrity and being morally correct are not synonymous. “The person of integrity may in fact act immorally -- though they would usually not know they are acting immorally. Thus one may acknowledge a person to have integrity even though that person may hold importantly mistaken moral views.”

Standing in your integrity is a conscious activity that the individual elects to engage in, to achieve wholeness. The person of integrity interweaves their beliefs into all of their interactions. They consciously engage others with their truth, which from a world perspective may be morally wrong. Living a life of integrity an individual is willing to live whole life, a full life, based on their beliefs –their understanding of the world. “A person of integrity does not just act consistently with their endorsements, they stand for something: they stand up for their best judgment within a community of people trying to discover what in life is worth doing.”

Being a person of integrity necessitates consistency and commitment; therefore as a person of integrity, you operate from a position of taking action because it is the right thing to do based on your core beliefs. The person of integrity does not waffle on their beliefs, due to peer pressure or popular opinion, and they are not crusaders attempting to persuade the world that they are right; the goal is not to be the moral consciousness for others.

“Integrity is found in a state of being who you are and, allowing others the same right.” The ultimate goal is to take responsibility for one’s action. A person of integrity can respectfully disagree with other individuals of integrity. “For example, we may disagree strongly with the Pope's views of the role of women in the Church, take this to be a significant moral criticism of him, and yet admit that he is a man of integrity.”

Organizational Integrity

The Three Foundational Principles of Business Values

1. There is an objective right and wrong.

It is essential that organizations state their objective right and wrong to establish clarity. This establishes guidelines for the Leadership Team to consistently navigate the organization and creates accountability. The Leadership is accountable for creating an atmosphere fertile for conscious growth, based on the articulated objective values -right and wrong. “Sure there must be flexibility to change with the times, but the flexibility needs to be in procedures, not in underlying values.”

2. The business maintains personal responsibility for its actions.

While the Leadership Team –specifically the board of directors, is responsible for the organization, by articulating and endorsing the organization’s value, individuals of integrity shares in accountability and responsibility for the organization’s activities. Responsibility for ultimate outcomes has to reside somewhere. “To the degree everyone involved accepts responsibility for their piece of the operation, the company will move forward with great strength.”

3. Personal integrity is the rule. There is a commitment to do what is right.

As a person of integrity you endorse the actions of your organization, and therefore you take responsibility to ensure that the organization’s activities are consistent with your personal values and views. By integrating personal wholeness and organizational values, employees and the organization are intertwined and empowered to consciously affirm their highest state of consciousness.

Personal and Organizational Integrity

There are multiple benefits of integrating personal and organizational integrity: affirms and promotes commitment to the growth of the organization,
increases organizational transparency and, engages the Leadership Team and personnel in honest value added transactions