Have you ever felt like your colleagues doubted your integrity? Do they say things that make you think they don’t trust you, don’t believe you’re being honest, or don’t think you’ll live up to your word? Questioning your integrity hurts, doesn’t it? It isn’t a pleasant feeling.
Surprisingly, we tend to associate integrity with being honest or dishonest, which is only a tiny piece of the integrity pie. There’s much more to integrity than simply being truthful or not. But what more is there, and what can you do to maintain your integrity?
1. Acknowledge Your Actions
Are you candid? Candor is one of the really important aspects of integrity. It means that one’s integrity is measured in part by one’s willingness to share uncomfortable truths or important information for the benefit of others, even when it’s hard to do so. When we’re candid, we demonstrate that we have the courage to speak up, even when it’s difficult, for the greater good of individuals or the team. That’s integrity.
2. Show You Understand the Impact of Your Actions
Another aspect you may overlook is believing that you’re fully responsible and accountable while trying to hide that you’re struggling with an issue. Hiding your struggles can undermine and erode your integrity. What you want to do is own up, fess up, and embrace your vulnerability. Your willingness to be vulnerable, admit mistakes, and take ownership will enhance your perceived integrity.
3. Outline Steps to Earn Back Your Colleagues’ Trust
If you’ve been caught gossiping or if you’ve faced legitimate concerns about your integrity, it’s going to be a slow road back. The best advice is not to gossip or give anyone reason to question your integrity in the first place. However, if it does happen, it’s essential to take responsibility and understand that it will take time to rebuild trust.
You will have to talk to your colleagues about what you did, express that you understand how it affected them, and tell them what it is that you’re going to do differently to earn back their respect and trust. You’re really going to have to overcorrect on integrity to have any hope of getting it back.
4. Maintain Your Integrity
Once you’ve lost integrity for a valid reason, rebuilding trust is a challenge. But maintaining your integrity is equally important. Upholding your honesty, transparency, and accountability keeps you on the high road and prevents falling onto the low road in the first place—and that matters, because if you’re not trustworthy, it’s going to be a rough go on your team.
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Now think about another important factor: Do your manager and peers perceive you as trustworthy? In other words, are you reliable? Check out this blog for a few tips and tricks to be more trustworthy by being more dependable.
How Can I Be More Trustworthy?
What To Do With an Untrustworthy Teammate