Credibility and Integrity

This past week I was pleased to have the opportunity to connect with two people at the opposite ends of the career spectrum.  My first meeting was with a young man starting to chart his career course, having recently completed some academic upgrading and in the throes of a job search.  A man focused and intent on making his mark in the world.  Later that same week I renewed acquaintances with a colleague of mine that I had last worked with 10 or more years ago.  From my perspective, an accomplished leader, somebody who has made key contributions in his home province and across Canada.  A man who has already made his mark but remains focused on continuing to do so.

Two people at quite different stages of life and career.  Yet we ended up covering a least one topic in common.  How to maintain one's credibility and integrity during challenging times, when to stand up for what you believe in and when is a battle important enough to justify standing up and bearing the potential cost - including a radical change in one's career path.  There certainly has been more than enough in the news over the last few weeks to bring up this topic for discussion.  This includes the relatively unprecedented resignation of a Member of Parliament from the governing party and the battle between the Board of Alberta Health Services and the Minister of Health over senior executive compensation and, more particularly, at risk pay or bonuses. 

In both cases, the protagonists took a stand on a principle - transparency, democracy, autonomy, integrity, authority, accountability - to justify a stand and an action.  A high price was paid by the principals in each case.  The MP now sits as an independent, has lost access to government resources, and likely faces a huge uphill battle to be reelected if he chooses to run in the next federal election.  The ruling party faces the dilemma of being accused by one of its former stalwarts of turning away from its fundamental values and principles that first brought it to power.  In Alberta, the Board of AHS was summarily dismissed from their roles by the Minister of Health.  The Minister of Health and the provincial government now face public scrutiny and political attack for making such drastic move.  It is likely that each group or individual would identify that they acted on a fundamental principle, took a stand to maintain their personal or organizational integrity, and further needed to do so to maintain their credibility.

I'm not going to use this forum to land on either side of these particular issues although I do have a decided view in both circumstances.  Instead, I see value in using these stories as a base from which to address a question posed to me by my young colleague - when is the right time to take a stand on an issue?  No small question.  A similar topic came up in conversation with my senior colleague.  However, in that discussion we did not need to deal with hypotheticals.  We had both lived the experience of dealing with challenging situations that called us to make choices - could we live with and be party to a particular decision or direction OR would we advocate for something different, even if we could reasonably expect negative consequences to our current positions?  Both of us could recount in clear detail the circumstances in which we had held true to core beliefs and values.  All the more memorable no doubt since the outcome was indeed a radical change in our employment status.

My senior colleague and I both agreed that there was no "scientific method" by which we had determined which hill to die on.  The decision was arrived at more subjectively.  We did agree, however, that there were fundamental values at play for the both of us.  Moreover, these values did not simply exist or demonstrate themselves in our work environments.  We both saw a consistency and authenticity at play as we brought our whole selves to work that was a product of multiple experiences in our personal and professional lives.  It was clear as well to me that both of us were in fact clear on what our personal lines in the sand were.  We knew what was important to us and were not prepared to pay any price to sustain our positions.  It boiled down to what was the "right thing to do " based on our core beliefs.

When I tried to answer the question of my young colleague in this regard I immediately suggested that I perhaps wasn't the best person to ask for advice on when or when not to take a stand.  While I wouldn't describe myself as somebody who sees issues in purely black and white terms I definitely have a pronounced sense of right and wrong, and maybe more particularly a perspective on what seems fair.  So, the reality of that for me has been a decided willingness to tilt at windmills, being a champion of difficult causes and being the first one over the hill to take the spear - really prepared to make a difference in my sphere of influence. 

What I did recommend was that my young colleague seek clarity on his personal values.  I have spoken to this in some of my previous blog entries (e.g., Courage...or calculation, Charting Your Leadership Course) and would continue to emphasize that if you don't clearly identify what's critically important for yourself you will likely be making compromise after compromise in your life.  A key symptom of having sold away yourself to the decisions and values of others is that you will no longer find joy in your work.  In fact, I would suggest that you could be downright miserable, disenchanted, demoralized and fatigued as you consider each day's work.  You no longer serve a purpose, your purpose, with credibility and integrity.

Finally credibility and integrity aren't created overnight or simply because one holds high position or ultimate power.  Credibility and integrity come from a well-established set of values, consistently articulated AND ACTED UPON, over a long period of time.  An individual or organization rapidly loses credibility and does damage to the perception of integrity if decisions take on the character of convenience or expediency.  I have often suggested that credibility and integrity can be looked upon as a personal credit rating.  It takes a long time to build up your credit rating.  However, make too many withdrawals or miss too many payments and you rapidly throw that good work out the window.  It all catches up to you at some point. 

Be clear about your values and what's important to you, act consistently with those values in your personal and professional life, and be prepared to take YOUR stand when you are being pushed away from your core self.  Others are watching you, evaluating your strength and your convictions, but you are in control of your personal credit rating - your credibility and integrity. 

It's all about you and your leadership. 
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.