personal statement about integrity

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How to Write a Personal Ethics Statement—And Why Every Professional Should

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What is a Personal Ethics Statement?

Personal ethics are your guidelines for forming relationships, overcoming challenges, and decision- making. A personal ethics statement is a one-page essay that gives a picture of your core values and what potential supervisors, colleagues, or clients can expect from working with you. It can be useful when you’re applying for school , just starting out in your career, looking for a new job, trying to expand your client base, or advancing your career.  

In this article we will discuss personal ethics—which should not be mistaken for professional ethics. Personal ethics relate to the values you hold in personal relationships and daily life, an whereas professional ethics relate to how you conduct yourself in business settings, deals, and professional relationships.  

An important part of your personal ethics statement is identifying your personal beliefs and personal values. Some code of ethics examples include integrity, selflessness, honesty, loyalty, equality, fairness, empathy, respect, and self-respect. This article is a complete resource for forming your personal ethics and transforming them into a compelling personal ethics statement.

Professional Impacts of Personal Ethics

There are many occasions your personal ethics will play a role in your behavior in professional settings. No matter your line of work, it’s important that you maintain unshakable personal ethics in your professional relationships and how you interact in the workplace.

Business Ethics

Business ethics are the practices and policies put into place to ensure people and resources are treated ethically in business dealings. While you’re making decisions in business to benefit a company, you must consider the impact of those decisions on others. Developing your personal code of conduct will help support you in upholding your company policies in the workplace, which will help you maintain personal integrity, as well as avoid potential business scandals . Learn about how to be an ethical leader in a business setting.

With a career in information technology, part of your job involves having access to private or confidential information. Your moral compass plays a significant role in keeping this type of information safe, especially since cyber-attacks—which happen every 39 seconds on average—are so prevalent in modern society. Having a career in IT immerses you in the world of cyber security , where ethical behavior and policy adherence are essential.

Healthcare Ethics

In the healthcare field, you’re responsible for human lives, so it’s no wonder that strong professional competence and integrity are important in how you carry yourself at work. There are plenty of complex issues, regulations, and compliance policies that you’ll encounter in a hospital or care facility, which demands that you seek the guidance of your personal ethics.

Teaching Ethics

Strong moral values are a necessary component of being a teacher. When your job is to sculpt young minds, you have must take responsibility for setting a strong example for them. Part of this is keeping students safe, part of this is treating all students equally and without discrimination. Part of this is creating healthy boundaries between your students and your personal life . If you build a personal ethics statement, you have a north star to look towards in this professional setting as you encounter ethical dilemmas. If you’re planning to become a teacher, you should also consider writing a teaching philosophy statement.

How Do I Write a Personal Ethics Statement?

There are five essential steps to writing—and perfecting—your personal ethics statement: 

1. Know your audience. 

The first step to writing an effective personal ethics statement is knowing and understanding the audience you’re writing for. This one-page piece of writing is supposed to influence the reader, so keeping the motivations and sentiments of your audience in mind while writing is important to completing your goal. Once you know your audience, whether it be an admissions counselor or a potential employer, then you can choose words and reference practices and policies that resonate with them and meet any guidelines in place.  

2. Choose your goals. 

There are two important types of goals to think about when building your personal ethics statement: your short-term and long-term goals. For example, your short-term goal may be getting into college, while your long-term goal is becoming a software engineer. Once you identify these, then you can phrase your personal ethics in terms of how they relate to your desired career path. To build off the previous example, if you aspire to be a software engineer, you can talk about personal ethics that relate to cyber security or the hard work required to get to your desired goal. 

3. Determine your influences. 

What influences the decisions you make? This is an essential step in determining your code of ethics because every choice you make is influenced by internal and external factors. One factor that affects everyone is personal traits. Your personality plays a crucial role in the decisions you make and how you carry yourself with others. Another factor is the people in your life who have helped in shaping who you are today. A third example is momentous events. Everyone experiences wonderful, pivotal moments in their life, as well as tragic and traumatic moments. All these factors play a role in your personal ethics, and they should be included in your personal ethics statement. 

4. Identify your beliefs and practices. 

This step is about writing down examples of how you move through the world and the core beliefs you live by. Compelling stories elicit emotional reactions from your audience and prove that you put your personal ethics into daily practice. Examples are essential to creating a strong personal ethics statement. 

5. Name your “why.”  

Why did you choose the ethical principles that you did? Confidently answering this question and providing details is essential to the authenticity of the statement. Decide why your personal ethics are important to you, how your life experiences brought you to those ethics, and how you’ll continue to keep them at the center of your decisions going forward. This step is important to making sure your audience walks away with a clear understanding of what ethical standards are important to you and why. 

What Should I Include in a Personal Ethics Statement?

Your personal ethics statement should consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.  

Start your personal ethics statement with a one- to two-paragraph introduction. Use the introduction to talk about the life experiences that helped form your ethical background. Maybe you had a major injury in your childhood that resulted in lifelong ability differences, and this made you an advocate for accessibility. Find a personal story that will engage your reader and provide a foundation for your statement.

In the body of your personal ethics statement—about two or three paragraphs—you should list each of the ethical principles that are central in your life. This is your opportunity to make sure the reader knows your core beliefs. If you have a personal mantra, include it here. In this section, true life examples are your friend.

What Should I not Include in a Personal Ethics Statement?

Since a personal ethics statement is a deeply personal piece of writing, it’s important to be honest and authentic. The last thing you want to do is include fake life experiences just to make a point. This also isn’t an opportunity to profess all your life’s mistakes. You are human and your personal ethics statement should reflect that, but in a positive and inspiring light.  

How to Conclude

Every personal ethics statement should have a strong conclusion. Sum it all up in a final paragraph where you explain how your core values make you a great person to have in a professional organization or an excellent candidate for an academic program.

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How to Write a Personal Ethics Statement (With Examples)

A class assignment, a scholarship requirement, or an admissions essay needs you to write the unnerving personal ethics statement. Your personal ethics statement should be drafted in a manner that is likely to impress the audience immediately.

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.” – Jim Stovall, American author

Writing a personal ethics statement may seem like a daunting task, but the reality is far different. Agreed, nobody is used to writing about themselves and the beliefs they possess. But this statement is nothing but a reflection of the writer’s personality on paper. The writer’s ability to distinguish between right and wrong, certain beliefs and opinions are all to be included in this statement that presents your morals and personal philosophies to the reader.

Personal Ethics Statement Format

The general format would be:

~ A striking introduction. ~ Body of the statement – this includes your beliefs, practices, and related justifications. ~ A decent conclusion.

Even though this statement is a reflection of you as an individual, it is still very important to keep in mind the reader who is going to be assessing it. The reader (in most cases, your professor or an admission committee) wants to know all about you in the best-possible way, and the only way to do this is keep your statement simple, emphatic, and honest.

Introduction

There are several ways of beginning your personal ethics statement. You may choose to write a little bit about yourself in order to introduce yourself to your reader. Write about profound moments that you’ve experienced till now, instances from your life that influenced you, and what you feel makes you a good person. Remember to keep it short though, you wouldn’t want to bore the reader with lengthy life stories! Pen down your little autobiography beforehand to avoid a messy start to your statement. For those who aren’t really comfortable with writing about themselves in their statement, you may choose to begin with a quote by your favorite author that is in line with what you are going to be writing. You may also begin with the importance of personal ethics.

Body of the statement

The body of the statement has to include all your core beliefs, your thoughts and opinions about what is correct individual behavior according to you, and reflect your views and philosophies. You may have to follow certain guidelines, depending on the reason why you’re writing it, but the core of the essay has to be a reflection of you and your feelings. Here are a few important points to remember when writing the body of the statement.

• Personal ethics are beliefs that you base your opinions and actions on. Hence, it is highly recommended that you mention only the ethics that you strongly believe in. In simple words, include only the practices that you unfailingly preach. Anything that is not from your core belief system will make itself apparent and establish itself to be untrue right away. For example, if you aren’t a vegetarian yourself but you write about vegetarianism being the need of the day, it will become obvious to the reader that you don’t believe what you write, and the concept of a personal ethics statement will become invalid.
• Since childhood, you have been taught how to differentiate between right and wrong. Include those morals in your statement, and don’t hesitate to provide short justifications for possessing a particular belief. Keep in mind that these beliefs belong to you, and don’t exclude any thoughts that you feel may seem unusual to the reader. For instance, if you are strongly against products made from animal hide, include your honest opinion in your statement.
• Every statement has its own requirements, and you will have to compile only those ethics that match the nature of the statement. For example, if you are writing this statement as a prerequisite for a scholarship, you will have to write about your personal ethics regarding academics and related activities. In such a case, your views about global warming probably won’t help the statement much, unless, of course, you are an environment student!

Once you have listed all your personal ethics, you can conclude your essay. It may be a good idea to conclude with the need and importance of personal ethics. You may choose to include the use of personal ethics in daily life in your conclusion. You may also want to write the ways in which following personal ethics has made you a better person.

Once you are done with writing your personal ethics statement, check it thoroughly for any factual, grammatical or spelling errors. Also, make sure that your statement is free from plagiarism and is truly a reflection of your own self.

Examples of a Personal Ethics Statement

A generic example of a personal ethics statement.

The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘ethics’ as “Moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.” Ethics are an important part of our daily lives, and our personal moral beliefs are responsible for several of our judgments and actions. I believe that there are times in every individual’s life when (s)he has to choose the right alternative, distinguish between right and wrong and support what is appropriate for society as a whole, which is when the personal ethics system comes into the picture.

My personal ethics consist of qualities that always help me pick the legitimate option in sticky situations. I am an honest person―the truth always matters to me more than anything else at any given moment. Since childhood, this quality has always directed me away from petty distractions that many children face at some time or the other―cheating in class examinations, and stealing, for instance. I have always stood up for what is right, and this has helped me become the person I am today.

I also consider my hardworking and sincere nature to be one of my biggest strengths. I believe honesty and hard work are intricately linked, and this has always shown me the importance of dedication and sincerity for fulfilling my ambitions, which is why, I am not afraid to take up seemingly difficult tasks. I am not afraid to stand up for what I truly believe in, and being a rational person, I rarely let emotions take control of any situation, which is extremely necessary at times when justice has to prevail.

I strongly believe that in order to receive fair treatment from others, it is very important to treat others the way you want to be treated. Thus, I try my best to be polite to everyone I meet. This ensures that I don’t add to anyone’s problems, if any, and assures polite interaction for most of the time.

I also deem consistency as one of the most important personal ethics one should possess. My work is always consistent in nature, and I strive hard to deliver results that are not sporadic.

However, every coin has two sides and just like my strengths, I too possess my share of weaknesses. Sometimes, I am too frank while expressing my opinions, and that has the ability of hurting people, though unintentionally. My tendency to grab the lead also sometimes labels me as a dominating person when working in a team. I also tend to react strongly to unfair criticism, which is a strength and weakness at the same time.

I would thus like to conclude by saying that personal ethics are important not only in a professional or academic setting, but also in every individual’s personal life. My personal ethics will always influence my decisions and actions during any dilemma, and if I come across any more ethics that will help my personal and professional growth, I will not hesitate to adapt to them.

The Personal Ethics Statement Of An Aspiring Journalist

As an aspiring journalist, writing about personal ethics is provoking endless thoughts in my mind―what is right, according to me, and what is wrong? Are my beliefs in accordance to what society thinks and feels? Will my personal ethics help me go a long way in my career? As I go on thinking and penning down my thoughts, I am relieved, and proud to say that my list of ethics answers every question in my mind affirmatively.

I will always strive to be excellent at everything I do. I will not settle for anything lesser than the best, and will do everything I can to achieve the best results in all my professional endeavors. I will not procrastinate when it comes to my work and will deliver the expected results on or before time.

As a journalist and person, I will always be sincere and honest in everything I do. I will not bend any facts or rules just for personal benefit, and will always be dependable, trustworthy and reliable for the organization. I promise to build my reputation only on the basis of merit, and nothing else.

With integrity comes courage. I will never hesitate to stand up for what is right, and will do so even if I am in a difficult situation that demands me to ignore what is wrong. I will always support the truth and never let anyone influence me to do otherwise. I will not give in to peer pressure and will never let the fear of failing affect my actions.

I will always strive to remain humble and grounded. I will not let any accolades or praise affect my attitude, and will always be polite to my peers, superiors and juniors. I will make sure to never hurt or mock anyone intentionally.

I would like to conclude by saying that it is the responsibility of every journalist to abide by ethics that will benefit not only themselves, but also their working environment, and society as a whole, and my list of personal ethics will definitely help me fulfill this responsibility.

The Personal Ethics Statement Of A Student

Mr. Henry Kravis, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, famously said, “If you don’t have integrity, you have nothing. You can’t buy it. You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral or ethical person, you really have nothing.” I agree with Mr. Kravis’ views. Personal ethics are very important for every individual, be it a student, an employee, or a businessperson. I believe personal ethics are not limited to an academic setting or workplace, but extend to the family and society as well. As an individual, a daughter, and a student, I abide by some basic personal ethics which help me become a better person everyday.

I believe that to gain respect from others, you have to give it first. I strive to respect everyone I come in contact with, as I know they all might have overcome obstacles or faced tough times to get to where they are today. I don’t assign respect as per status. I have immense respect for my professors, for my peers, and for everyone else who is around me.

Integrity and Honesty

Integrity and honesty are two values which I promise to abide by in every situation. I will never engage in plagiarism, cheat, or break any rules which might result in someone else getting hurt. I promise to stand up against all that is wrong, and will always support nothing but the truth.

Intellectual Knowledge

I will always strive to expand my intellectual knowledge through thorough and comprehensive reading, and attending various seminars and lectures whenever I get the opportunity.

Conducive Behavior

I will always try my best to help those in need, be it my peers, family members, or anyone else who requires it. I will never let myself become the reason for someone else’s troubles and will always behave in a co-operative manner. I promise that I will always have a healthy competitive spirit, and I will never let competition affect my attitude towards my peers, superiors or juniors.

Effective Time Management

I promise to manage my time effectively and never let pressure affect me in a negative manner. I will try my best to balance my time between my studies and recreation, and will not let one aspect of my life affect the other.

I believe that all the qualities I have mentioned in my statement are necessary in order to be a good, sincere student. My personal ethics help me form judgments and base my actions in a certain way. I am confident that abiding by them will always lead me to the right path, in every phase of my life.

The outline examples given above are sample personal ethics statements that might be used as reference by students or working professionals alike. These statements are just a loose idea of what a personal ethics statement should be like. Add your list of personal ethics, compile your thoughts and opinions, and simply pen down what comes to your mind when you think of your beliefs and morals, and you’re good to go!

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15 Best Integrity Examples

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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Integrity is the trait of sticking to your ethics and moral principles at all times. Examples of a person with integrity include someone who keeps their promises, takes personal responsibility for their actions, treats others with respect at all times, and follows the rules.

When you apply for a job, you’re often asked to show an example of how you have integrity in your application letter. The following integrity examples can help you think up ways you might have shown personal integrity in your life.

• Examples of Integrity

1. Keeping Promises

A person who keeps promises is showing that they stand by their morals and ethics. If they didn’t keep the promise, they would show they do not have the trustworthy, honest, committed , and dependable characteristics that you need in a friend or reliable colleague. You’d probably not confide in them again!

2. Keeping Secrets

Keeping secrets is an ideal way to demonstrate your integrity to people who confide in you. By demonstrating that you can keep a secret, people will develop greater trust in you and believe that you have moral fiber. In a job application, for example, you could talk about how you have consistently shown your ability to be trusted with sensitive company data.

3. Not Letting Someone Else Take the Blame

Everyone with a sibling remembers a time in their childhood when their brother or sister got blamed when it was really your own fault. As an adult, you should have the integrity and moral character to step up and admit fault to protect innocent people from getting into trouble for something you did.

Related: 27 Examples of Morals

4. Not Gossiping

Gossips are people who share knowledge about people that might be embarrassing to the person being talked about. An example might be talking about a relationship break-up behind someone’s back. They might not want you to talk about it because it’s upsetting to them!

If you gossip, people will see you as someone who doesn’t act with integrity. You are saying hurtful things.

In the workplace, a gossip might not get a promotion because they’re seen as being untrustworthy with sensitive information.

5. Doing the Right thing without Expecting a Reward

A great proactive way to show your integrity to others is to do the right thing, even when you don’t expect a reward. This might mean giving money back to the cashier when they give you too much change or helping out a friend by paying for their meal.

When you do this, you show that you’re a moral person. You’re doing things not for the social status or expecting to get something for yourself. Instead, you’re acting out of a sense of universal ethics.

6. Paying your Taxes

A person with integrity will make sure that they pay their taxes because they know it’s the right thing to do. They know that the rules of fairness mean they have to contribute money into the pot in order to get the roads, firefighters and other services that they rely upon.

7. Being Polite even when someone is Rude to You

A person who keeps their calm and is polite to rude people does it out of integrity. They are being polite because they hold themselves to high standards and a high moral character. By not losing your cool and remembering your manners, you’re showing that you have high self-standards.

8. Telling the Truth

As children, we used to tell lies whenever we thought we could use them to get our own way. Then, in our teenage and early adult years, we developed the moral codes in our minds that we needed to be more honest when under pressure. We learned that telling the truth even when it doesn’t benefit us is the right thing to do because it’s consistent with a universal moral code that we think everyone should follow.

9. Admitting you Made a Mistake

In sports, you often see sports starts hiding their mistakes to advance their games. For example, in baseball a catcher might drop a ball but stand up and pretend they caught it to the umpire. This does not show integrity!

The sports star with integrity would admit they dropped the ball and carry on with the game. This is because they believe in the spirit of sports: competing on your merits and playing within the rules.

A sports star who admits their mistakes might not be popular at that very moment, but children watching at home will see someone who is an excellent role model for how we want people to behave in life.

10. Working Hard at School or Work

Some people come to school and just play around all day. They don’t pay attention to their teacher or care about their learning. These people are showing poor integrity. They aren’t demonstrating respect for their teacher or the other students around them.

Similarly, at work, there is always that person who cuts corners and plays on their phone when they should be paying attention. These people don’t respect the fact they’re being paid to work, not play. A boss will see this person as having poor work ethic and low trustworthiness.

11. Not Cheating in a Test

Sometimes, everyone will get the chance to cheat. It might be because the teacher has left the classroom so you can quickly search for the answer online, for example.

But it is this moment where we can see who has integrity and who doesn’t. The person who cheats on the test is demonstrating low levels of integrity. They are showing that they will do the wrong and untrustworthy thing if they think they can get away with it.

12. Giving Credit where Credit is Due

This one is common when we see leaders with integrity. They are people who actively go up to others and say “You did a great job. You deserve to be congratulated.”

We can use the example of Lewis and Clark, the pioneers who went on an early European expedition across North America. These two got a lot of credit for their hard work, despite the fact most of the praise should have gone to their native American guide, Sacagawea . A person with integrity should have at every opportunity spoken about Sacagawea’s important contribution to the mission rather than taking all the credit themselves.

13. Apologizing for your Mistakes

When children do the wrong thing, we often ask them to apologize for their mistakes. We encourage them to calm down and help them realize why what they did was wrong.

But we often see adults refusing to apologize for their mistakes. Sometimes they will flat-out refuse to even admit they made a mistake when they clearly did.

But a person who apologizes for their mistakes is a person with integrity. They have the strength to acknowledge they can improve and the honesty to admit it.

14. Following the Spirit of the Rules

Sometimes you can act without integrity while still following the rules. This often happens when people engage in tax evasion.

The key idea of taxation is that everyone pays their fair share so the roads get built and the fireman comes to put out your house.

But some people choose to hide their money in offshore accounts and tax havens. These people pay less tax than the rest of us because they have clever accountants. While this isn’t illegal, some people also might also consider it unethical.

The people avoiding taxes are getting all the benefits of public services but aren’t paying into the funds that pay for all those services. They are avoiding their responsibilities to society, which isn’t something someone with integrity does.

15. Standing up for What’s Right (Even when it’s Tough)

A person with integrity will always stand up for justice. Even when the people around them are encouraging them to break the law or do the wrong thing, they will stand their ground with the knowledge that the right and honorable thing must be done.

We have role models throughout history who have shown us this. Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr. all stood up for justice despite being persecuted.

Why is it Important to have Integrity in the Workplace?

Integrity in the workplace means being a trustworthy, hard-working, and respectful employee.

These are important traits to have because it means that your colleagues and your boss will value your presence.

It could help you to get the next promotion (the boss will promote the person they think is the best and most mature employee) and help to create a better and more comfortable workplace for everyone.

Why is it Important to have Integrity at School?

Integrity in school means being a mature student who the teachers and your classmates can trust to do the right thing at all times.

A student with integrity will be trusted with more advanced tasks and activities, will be liked more by others, and will probably get good grades (because they will work hard and do their homework)!

Why is it Important to have integrity in your Personal Life?

While integrity at school and work are important, personal integrity is by far the most important of all the traits.

Personal integrity means respecting and honoring your parents, partner, and children. It means always doing the best by them and trying to live up to the values you were taught as a child.

Your integrity will help you in life. You will be more liked, have more friends, and get into far less arguments with loved ones!

Who are some Examples of Leaders with Integrity?

Many people who act with integrity are punished for doing so. They are harmed for standing up for their morals and principles. Below are a few:

• Nelson Mandela – Nelson Mandela went to prison because he stood up for equal rights in his country. He was widely considered to be a political prisoner because of his moral stance.
• Rosa Parks – Rosa Parks kept her seat on a segregated bus despite knowing it would lead her to prison. Why did she do this? Because she believed it was the right thing to do . She stood by her moral convictions no matter the consequences.
• Alexander the Great – Legend says that Alexander the Great always led from the front when he took his troops into battle. He never asked other people to do things he wasn’t willing to do himself.

What’s the Difference between Honesty and Integrity?

Integrity and honesty are regularly confused. Being honest is part of integrity, but integrity is far more than that.

To have integrity means to not only be honest but also be guided by moral principles. You stand up for the right thing (even when it’s hard), you are polite, and you speak up when you think justice should be done.

Take, for example, gossiping. An honest person could also be a gossip (so long as what they’re gossiping about is true). But a person with integrity does not gossip because they are guided by their moral character, which says gossiping is wrong.

Related Required Skills For Students And Employees

Here are some other skills you might need to be able to demonstrate as a successful employee or college student:

• Examples of Honesty
• Examples of Talents
• Proactive Examples
• Adaptable Examples
• Types of Skills
• Skills for Teachers
• Soft Skills for Teachers
• Examples of Patience
• Morals Examples
• Persistence Examples
• Passionate Examples

Integrity is one of the most important traits you can develop in life. It is a trait that leaders and wise people need. But it’s also a trait that will get you a lot of respect from the people around you and may even make you a lot of friends! The true sign of a person with integrity is someone who does the moral thing even when it’s hard. Examples include apologizing when you’re wrong, choosing not to cheat, and choosing not to gossip.

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Number Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Word Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Outdoor Games for Kids
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 50 Incentives to Give to Students

1 thought on “15 Best Integrity Examples”

Dr. Drew, thanks for your systematic article. I have combined some points and revised their sequences. Hope you like these revisions. 1. Follow the spirit of the rules 2. Do the right things without expecting a reward 3. Stand up for what’s right even when it’s tough 4. Keep promises & secrets 5. Admit and apologize for the mistakes you made 6. Tell the truth, not let others take the blame 7. Work hard at school, not cheat on tests 8. Work hard at work, and pay taxes 9. Give credit where credit is due

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What is personal integrity and why is it important?

When you hear the word “integrity” it can feel weighty and a little bit ambiguous. You might know it’s a good thing to have but aren’t exactly clear on what personal integrity is or how you can demonstrate that you have it.

However intangible it might seem, personal integrity is a critical life skill. It can lead you to be the person you want to become and keep you on track when you stumble off your path.

Let’s break down what personal integrity is and why it’s important in your life. Plus how to show you possess it and how it can impact the people around you.

What is personal integrity?

Personal integrity is defined as having strong morals or values and following those principles in both your words and actions.

The concept of having integrity is really quite simple—living with integrity means you uphold your values, no matter the situation or who is watching. You live to your own moral standards and uphold your personal commitments.

An easy way to think about integrity is when what you say aligns with what you do. For example, someone would show a lack of integrity if they say that honesty is one of their values but they’re dishonest or don’t share the entire truth with others. If honesty is one of your moral principles, you’ll find a way to be transparent with others, even when it’s difficult.

When you have personal integrity, you’re also true to yourself and what you believe in. You don’t let others influence you easily, and you stick to your ethical principles when it comes to what you want in life and the type of person you want to be.

What is an example of integrity in a person?

An example of artistic integrity is an artist who becomes famous and develops their artistry in a personally meaningful way. Rather than conform to popular demand, they uphold their artistic values and focus on goals related to their own intellectual virtues. Their artist integrity involves maintaining honesty and staying true to their vision and moral compass - especially when faced with challenges or temptations.

How can you demonstrate personal integrity?

An easy way to demonstrate personal integrity is to make sure what you say aligns with what you do.

If you decide to make a commitment to pacifism, your display of strength will not include physical violence. Rather you would be focused on nonviolent communication, peaceful solutions, and conflict resolution.

You can also show integrity in terms of being upfront about any potential mistakes you’ve made. Persons of integrity may act as a positive model and report if others are acting outside of agreements or policies. Keeping yourself and others honest is a strong contributor to having integrity. If you’re ever in doubt about how you can show integrity in a situation, just ask yourself what the right thing is to do. That’s your best way forward.

Someone would show a lack of integrity if they say that honesty is one of their values but they’re dishonest or don’t share the entire truth with others. If honesty is one of your moral principles, you’ll find a way to be transparent with others, even when it’s difficult.

Personal integrity is demonstrated by the way you live your life day in and day out. Being consistent with your values and principles is the biggest way to show you have personal integrity and can be relied upon to do the right thing, even when no one is watching. When you live with personal integrity, you become a positive model for those around you.

Why is personal integrity important?

Personal integrity is important for a lot of reasons. Overall, it shows your strength of character and can lead you to have a more meaningful life. When you have integrity, you’re committed to doing the right thing, no matter what. A person with high integrity is more likely to feel content in life since they know what their values and priorities are and aren’t afraid to take action to pursue them.

Demonstrating integrity can make you more friends, too. Others value integrity in the people they surround themselves with. Soft skills like integrity are highly praised in the workplace too. If you dream of a leadership role it's important to act within your moral principles.

And finally, as the data above shows, if an organization’s culture lacks integrity, it can also negatively affect employees and the business’ overall performance. A company actually performs better when there’s an environment that values integrity, and employees are held to high ethical standards. Leadership can model professional integrity—but remember, everyone can show up as role models at work.

Statistics on aspects of integrity

Integrity can have a significant impact on your mental health. It is also linked to the success of business organizations. Here are some ways integrity might show up in your personal or professional life:

• It is well known that holding intrinsic values, such as personal growth and affiliation, is positively associated with happiness 1 .
• Studies have shown that people who think about their highest values before a stressful event experience less stress 2 .
• Knowing your values helps you distinguish between what seems urgent and what is truly important 2 .
• 33% of workers across 13 countries said they had observed misconduct in their workplace in the previous year 3 .
• In the United States, 30% of workers have witnessed rules violations at work 3 .
• Both employees and C-suite leaders place a high premium on integrity among executives 4 .
• Only 21% of employees believe they work in a business with a strong ethical culture .
• 40% of employees said their companies had weak or weak-leaning ethics 5 .
• More than 50% of the 10 largest corporate bankruptcies since 1980, such as Enron, WorldCom, and Lehman Brothers, resulted from unethical business practices 6 .
• The ethics of an organization’s culture plays a significant role in creating and sustaining value.

How do you show personal integrity?

You can also show your personal integrity if you are upfront about any potential mistakes you’ve made or that you’ve witnessed from others and feel obligated to report. Keeping yourself and others honest is a strong contributor to having integrity. If you’re ever in doubt about how you can show integrity in a situation, just ask yourself what the right thing is to do. That’s your best way forward.

Living a life of integrity

You can't live a life of integrity if you don't know what you value. Getting clear on your soft skills will help you see the areas in your life in which you thrive—and the blind spots that might need some development.

Fingerprint for Success is a self-development platform with a mission to make human growth accessible to all. We've developed a highly accurate assessment , based on 20+ years of evidence-based research .

To get started, take the free assessment and uncover your top motivational skills . Your dashboard will show your results instantly so you can get a big-picture view of your results—that are as unique as your fingerprint.

F4S dashboard

If you want to uncover what integrity means to you, create a personal goal and our AI Coach Marlee will reveal a personalized coaching plan—just for you!

Coaching can help you reflect on what is most important to you so you can develop your sense of personal integrity. It can also help with landing your dream job .

What are the fundamental values of personal integrity?

1. determine and follow a set of core values.

It’s impossible to have integrity if you don’t have a moral code that you set for yourself and follow. Your values can be written down, or you could create a personal mission statement for yourself. For some people, it’s helpful to follow a philosophical or religious doctrine to help them shape their morals and values.

Some example personal values you could jot down include:

• Authenticity
• Reliability

However you decide to form your values, it’s key that you follow those principles in all situations to develop and uphold integrity. Your values are your roadmap to success in personal integrity.

2. Be honest

Honesty is also a critical part of having personal integrity. In addition to following a set of values , you should also be transparent and honest about your actions because you have nothing to hide.

Everyone appreciates honesty, even though it can be difficult for the truth-teller and the receiver of the truth. By making honesty a priority in your life, you’ll be able to maintain your personal integrity.

3. Help others

A person who wants to help others spreads a lot of good in the world and usually shows good moral character. If you value generosity and good deeds, you’ll also want to make sure you follow through on those values and take action.

You can help people who you interact with day-to-day or reach out to volunteer organizations to do service work in your community. However you choose to give back, it’s important to do so authentically and not just to maintain appearances or check off a box.

4. Lead by example

One of the most ineffective types of leaders is someone with the philosophy, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It’s hard to respect someone who doesn’t follow through on what they say they’ll do, and even harder to work with or for them.

One of the best ways to demonstrate that you have integrity is to act according to your values, whether the people around you follow those principles or not. While you may not have direct reports, you can still lead others to act with integrity. You’ll be seen as someone with good character if you can follow your morals while everyone else follows their whims—and you may even inspire others to follow your example .

5. Take responsibility

There will probably come a time when you don’t demonstrate integrity or slip up on your values. This is normal and remember that everyone makes mistakes.

How you respond after recognizing that you messed up is important. If you avoid taking responsibility and find excuses for why you didn’t behave according to your morals, you’re digging yourself into an even deeper hole showing a lack of integrity.

When you’ve messed up, own up to your mistake and hold yourself accountable for any repercussions. Not only will other people respect you more for your responsibility, but you may also repair any broken trust that resulted.

Feeling unmotivated?

Find out how to unlock your motivation.

What is professional integrity in the workplace?

Professional integrity in the workplace is related to following ethical principles and values that guide behavior and decision-making within an organization. It plays a crucial role in shaping a productive and healthy work culture .

Here are four examples of integrity in the workplace and how to demonstrate personal integrity:

1. Follow company policies

The reason company policies are created in the first place is to ensure the business maintains or develops an ethical culture. Companies often have a set list of values, policies, and mission statements that outline the corporate integrity. The conception of integrity is to align employees on what is expected and important to the organization.

By committing to a firm adherence to these workplace rules and statements, whether it’s a vacation policy or anti-harassment policy, you show that you find the guidance valuable and respect the company's approach to integrity.

2. Respect all coworkers

While you may not be everyone’s best friend, it’s still important to show respect and kindness to everyone in the workplace. There will be times when you may disagree with someone and it would be easy to gossip about them. However, hold yourself to the principles you value and take the high road.

You’ll be seen as a mature and capable professional and will gain even more respect from your boss or colleagues. Respect also shows up by allowing others to contribute equally during meetings, being flexible with different working schedules, and asking for input or feedback .

3. Speak up about any misconduct

The phrase, “If you see something, say something,” applies pretty well here. If you see any of your coworkers or leaders acting in a way that doesn’t reflect the company’s values or could be considered unethical, you should take the opportunity to speak up.

It can feel intimidating to come forward about workplace misconduct, especially if the person you’re reporting is a friend or your superior. But if you don’t say something, who will? A common excuse people use when not reporting unethical behavior is they believe someone else will report it. When no one does and the behavior goes unchecked. Uphold the professional integrity of your workplace by holding yourself and your colleagues to ethical standards.

4. Be accountable for mistakes

There are also situations where behavior isn’t necessarily unethical but doesn’t reflect your integrity. If there was a mistake made, own up to your oversight and take responsibility for making it right. Putting blame on others or avoiding any confrontation expands the issue and doesn’t show good character on your part.

Additionally, you can show personal integrity through how you go about your work and your personal commitments. For example, if you hand in a project that was done with little effort because you were feeling lazy on Friday afternoon, that doesn’t hold up well if you or your organization values high-quality work. You can hold yourself accountable by planning out time to work on projects so you don’t wait until the last minute or by being honest with your business partners to find a reasonable deadline where you can showcase your best work.

The best way to develop personal integrity in all aspects of life

You likely act with personal integrity already, but if you think that you have some areas to work on, you’re not alone. Integrity is a lifelong journey that requires patience as you cultivate this critical life skill.

You’ll also need to give yourself some grace. There will be times along the way when you don’t show integrity or aren’t as honest as you could have been. You can use these experiences as learning opportunities to find out what went wrong, and then own up and correct your mistake.

Regardless of where you are in your journey to demonstrating personal integrity, you’ll never improve if you don’t get started . Begin by reflecting on areas in your personal life or workplace where you can demonstrate integrity. Then, you can focus on developing the five attributes of personal integrity: follow a set of values, be honest, help others, lead by example, and take responsibility. Ask a trusted friend or a life coach to help keep you accountable, and you’ll see that showing integrity will soon become second nature.

• https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0209821
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/201811/9-surprising-superpowers-knowing-your-core-values
• https://magazine.ethisphere.com/what-the-data-shows-a-global-view-of-workplace-integrity/
• https://execed.economist.com/blog/industry-trends/why-integrity-remains-one-top-leadership-attributes

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How to Write Your Personal Code of Ethics + Examples

• POSTED ON June 1, 2024
• by Marcjean Yutuc

In a world where external codes of ethics often shape our behavior, it’s essential to remember that your personal values are equally significant. While your workplace may provide a code of ethics outlining professional conduct and expectations, crafting your own personal code of ethics empowers you to align your actions with your deeply held beliefs and ideals. 

This blog will delve into the importance of developing a personal code of ethics, offering insights into how it can enrich your life and decision-making process. As you read further, you’ll discover inspiring personal code of ethics examples that will help you envision and craft your unique ethical framework. 

Join us on this enlightening journey as we explore the profound impact of creating a personal code of ethics in the realm of personal development and ethical living.

What is a code of ethics?

To understand the essence of a personal code of ethics, let us first uncover what “code of ethics” means. A code of ethics is usually a set of principles that a company, organization, or business follows. Its primary purpose is to guide the organization members on how to properly conduct business that is in line with the company values. Usually, these values include integrity, honesty, and professionalism. 

Otherwise known as the “ethical code,” an organization’s code of ethics is an umbrella term that covers areas concerning professional conduct. These areas include business ethics, code of conduct for employees, and code of professional practice. Simply put, it ensures that everyone within the organization follows a standard when it comes to ethical behavior in their everyday work.

An organization’s code of ethics may differ greatly from another organization, but in general, they all are similar in the sense that they govern members to do what is right. They are usually under the basis of what is generally accepted by society as right or wrong.

What is the importance of having a personal code of ethics?

If you’re still not convinced that you need a personal code of ethics, below are some key reasons why having one is essential.

It gives you a foundation to help you make big decisions

A lot of people struggle with the decision-making process. If you look towards more successful people and influential leaders in your organization or community, you will find that they have some personal code of ethics that guides them. 

A personal code of ethics is particularly important if you are in a position that requires you to make decisions frequently, such as if you are a leader or manager. It will serve as the foundation upon which all of your decisions can stand. You will feel a lot more determined and stand by your decisions with conviction if you know that they are grounded upon your own belief system.

Read more: Decision-Making Tips for Business

It functions as a standard for good behavior

In connection to making good decisions, having a personal code of ethics allows you to make good choices that align with good behavior. Usually, a personal code of ethics is morally aligned to help a person act not only in his own best interest but also in the community or surroundings around him.

It allows you to lead others effectively

A good leader has to be concise, quick to think, empathetic, and have a good moral compass. A personal code of ethics helps you become the most effective leader you could possibly be for the people around you. You don’t necessarily need to be a manager to practice leadership skills . Inspiring the people around you and even self-governance are equally just as important.

It instills a sense of trust in people around you

If you are an effective and moral leader, it will be easier for people around to trust you. Moreover, people usually trust those whom they have similar values with, or whose values they can relate to. If people are aware of your personal code of ethics, they will know exactly how to approach you and what things you may or may not appreciate. This predictability further fosters a sense of trust.

It is a source of self-motivation

Since a personal code of ethics allows you to steward yourself, you will also find that you can motivate yourself. You will find it easier to start projects and finish them on time since you have a sense of accountability towards yourself through your personal code of ethics.

Learn more: What Causes Lack of Self-Awareness

How to write a personal code of ethics

If you agree that having a personal code of ethics is a good idea, here are some pointers to consider when drafting your own code of ethics to serve as your guiding principles:

Why are you writing a personal code of ethics?

The first thing you need to uncover before you even begin is your motivation for writing a personal code of ethics. What do you think is its purpose for you? How do you plan to use it, and why do you think you need one?

Knowing the reason why you are writing a code of ethics for yourself will help you determine where to start as you write it. It will also help you tailor your code of ethics to achieve a specific goal you want to reach or a personal challenge that you want to overcome, similar to that of a personal mission statement.

One way you can determine the purpose of your personal code is through mindfulness. Learn more about how you can use spiritual mindfulness to experience personal growth through this course:

Spiritual Mindfulness: A Powerful Course For Personal Growth

This course helps you build a strong connection with yourself, so you can gain clarity and come to know your true purpose in life. Taught by an experienced spirituality expert, it cuts through the noise of complexity and is delivered in a way that’s easy to understand even if it’s your first time taking a personal development course online.

What are your top personal traits?

How would you describe yourself? While this question may seem like something you would only hear during a job interview , it is important to ask when trying to determine which values are on the top of your list as you write your code of ethics.

To do this, make a list of the traits or characteristics that strongly define who you are. Examples are kindness, honesty, passion for excellence, prudence, hard work, diligence, and respect for others. Apart from introspection, you may also ask people around you to describe you or see if they agree with your own list of characteristics.

Knowing the personal traits you possess will allow you to create a more honest personal code of ethics that you can stick to with ease because it reflects values that are already inherent within you.

Describe your relationship with others

Another thing you have to consider before crafting your code of ethics is the nature, state, and quality of your personal relationships. Make an assessment of how you relate to those around you, at work or at home. 

Coming to terms with the state of your relationships allows you to see areas where you may want to improve. Would you want to communicate better with the people around you? Do you think you should treat others with more kindness? How would you want those closest to you to remember you?

Write a set of statements that you would like to follow

This is the part where you begin to draft your personal code of ethics. Based on the traits that you possess and the relationships you currently have, what characteristics would you like to move forward?

It would help if your statements are to the point and realistic so that you are more likely to follow through.

Set clear guidelines for each statement

A statement alone may not be enough to help you decide whether or not to pursue an activity or behavior. There are a lot of possible grey areas that may surround a specific code. That is why it is important to set clear guidelines that explain each statement in more detail. 

Professional versus personal code of ethics

The main difference between a personal and a professional code of ethics is that the former relates to the person’s values in life, whereas the latter relates to the person’s values in the workplace. 

For example, a personal code of ethics will let you tell the truth because you believe in honesty and integrity. On the other hand, a professional code of ethics demands that you tell the truth because it is specified in the code of conduct that lying is a misdemeanor in the workplace. Another example is respect. While a personal code dictates that you respect older people, people in service, and the authorities, a professional code dictates that you respect your boss and higher management.

That means that a personal code of ethics encompasses a person’s entire personal life and personal choices while a professional code of ethics is purely related to the rules found within your job.

Incorporating a personal code of ethics into your daily routine using tools like the  Notion app  can help you stay aligned with your values and maintain consistent ethical standards in your personal and professional life

Personal code of ethics examples from thought leaders

My personal code of ethics is based on a few simple values that are important to me. First and foremost, I value honesty and integrity above all else; being honest and having integrity is the cornerstone of living a good life. I also appreciate compassion, kindness, and respect; I believe that we should all treat others with compassion, kindness, and respect, regardless of who they are or what they have done. Finally, I believe in continuous learning and improvement; it is essential never to stop learning and growing as a person. We should always be striving to improve ourselves and the world around us. 

Randy VanderVaate | CEO and Founder, Funeral Funds America

We all have beliefs, and we use those in our personal and career life. As a founder, I have various codes of ethics, but I stick with the influential one, “respect doesn’t require a higher social level.” I always devote myself to this to bring understanding and stop society’s discrimination against those trying to live honorably, even the means of minimum wage income. Let’s be open that money and position are not the reason for getting the courtesy we deserve.

April Maccario | Founder, Ask April

A personal code of ethics refers to our values and beliefs that guide our decisions and actions. As a founder, part of my personal code of ethics is to treat others the way I want to get treated. I believe that we cannot demand from others what we cannot give ourselves. So, if we want other people to show us kindness, respect, or other good things, then this is also how we should treat others.

Sonya Schwartz | Founder, Her Norm

My personal statement is inspired by my favorite poem “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann: I will always speak my truth clearly and calmly and prioritize listening to others. There is always someone better or worse than me, so I will not compare myself with others. I will be doing my work with my heart, and besides a healthy discipline, I will be gentle with myself. There is only one life, so I should live it the best I can. I will be cheerful. I will strive for happiness.

Rafal Mlodzki | CEO, Passport Photo Online

In our lives having high ethics is essential. I have a personal code of ethics that I consider in both my personal life and career. In every part of my daily existence, I constantly maintain my integrity. I understand that integrity is cliche, but believe me it is something that makes a big difference. I constantly exercise integrity because good deeds are rewarded at the end of the day.

Darryl Higgins | Founder, Athlete Desk

For me, a code of ethics is a foundation for effective communication in both personal and professional life. By adhering to the values and principles outlined in the corporate code of ethics, I can better understand the expectations of the people I work with and foster positive relationships with them. A solid code of ethics serves as a framework for making ethical decisions, and that’s where success comes from!

Greg Larnell | CEO, Custom Writings

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This course is ideal for business professionals, parents, and students who want to maximize their potential, improve their mental health, and achieve personal growth in every aspect of life.

Key Takeaways

Writing your personal code of ethics is a journey of self-discovery. It can be a challenging process, but it is also an incredibly rewarding one. By taking the time to reflect on your core values and beliefs, you can create a roadmap for living a more authentic and fulfilling life.

But the journey of personal development doesn’t end here. If you’re eager to further enhance your skills and explore a wide range of personal development resources, subscribe to Skill Success All Access Pass . With this subscription, you gain access to our extensive library of courses, including an array of personal development courses that can empower you to become the best version of yourself.

 Subscribe now and continue your pursuit of personal development excellence!

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2023. It has been updated for freshness and accuracy.

Marcjean Yutuc

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• Oct 12, 2021
• 12 min read

How to Demonstrate Integrity in the Workplace (10 Examples)

Integrity is an essential quality in every workplace. Here, we discuss important examples of integrity in the professional sphere and the positive impact this can have.

Valerie David

Lifestyle and Career Expert

Reviewed by Chris Leitch

Although employers don’t usually list ‘integrity’ under the list of skills and qualities that they are looking for in job vacancies, it’s something that’s desired from an employee and is a valuable quality to have. Integrity encompasses honesty, dependability, morals, ethics and honour. It means being thoughtful of others and always doing the right thing, even in difficult circumstances.

This act of honesty in the workplace creates an environment of trust, compassion and teamwork, which is why it’s so valued. So, to prove just how important integrity in the workplace is, here are 10 distinct ways of acting with integrity.

1. Work when you’re on the clock

Integrity in the workplace begins by showing up on time and dedicating yourself to your job. Although you don’t have to be glued to your screen for the entire workday, you should prove to your employer that you’re there to work and not spend hours by the water cooler talking about personal issues with Jane from accounting. After all, you’re hired to do a job and work your scheduled hours.

Dave arrives at the dealership and, as usual, sees some of his fellow mechanics standing around talking, texting their friends or watching videos on their phones. Dave gets right to work at his scheduled start time. As much as he’d like to stream movies on his laptop, he knows that a four-wheel brake job requires his full attention. He focuses on his work and gets the car back in safe, working order. Because he worked diligently with no distractions, the customer gets their car back sooner than expected.

Dave resisted the temptation to slack off , even though he had something he was more enthused about than work that day. He showed integrity by not only doing his job but giving it his full attention to do it correctly. He considered the needs of the customer, as well as his employer, ahead of his own interests.

His efforts resulted in a satisfied customer; therefore, Dave’s bosses will be more likely to consider him for a promotion as they know that they can depend on him to deliver a good and efficient service.

2. Admit your mistakes

Mistakes are easy to be made, but the way you handle it and rectify it is what matters the most. As appealing as it may be to let the blame fall elsewhere, it’s still a better option to maintain your integrity and own up to your mistake. Most bosses will appreciate your honesty, and your coworkers will be happy you didn’t throw them under the bus. This, in turn, fosters a sense of trust in the workplace, making it a positive environment for productivity and teamwork .

It’s the day before the trade show, and Helena realises that some of the equipment will arrive late because she initially typed the wrong date for delivery. Mistakes like this have happened before, and Helena knows she could probably blame the shipping company and save herself from the wrath of her bosses. Instead, she calls the company and manages to get a delivery that will only be a few hours late. She then informs her supervisor about the error, apologising and letting her know she has done her best to mitigate the inconvenience.

3. Keep your promises

Everyone makes promises at work, whether it’s promising your boss you won’t be late again or assuring your team that you’ll get a complex report in by the end of the week. Making promises is easy; the important part is keeping them.

Manoj has been hoping to get a promotion at work , so when his boss asks for volunteers for a new marketing campaign, he quickly steps forward. As the weeks pass, though, he realises it’s more difficult than he’d realised to juggle his regular workload with this new assignment. He brainstorms with two more experienced colleagues and partners up with a designer in another department to help him get the project done on time. Even though he misses out on some plans with friends, he stays late every night for a week to get all his work in as promised.

This is a perfect example of integrity in the workplace because it requires making the right choice even if it’s more difficult. Manoj has now proven to his coworkers and his boss that he’s reliable, resourceful and true to his word. That will likely be remembered when it’s time to decide on promotions.

4. Give credit where credit is due

In 1777, Samuel Adams wrote ‘give credit to whom credit is due’, a wise bit of advice that we can still follow to maintain our integrity. In the workplace, people will need to work collaboratively, and if you praise each other, you’ll lift up each other’s spirits and produce a higher standard of work.

Nina has been struggling to gain approval from her new boss, Mr Nguyen, who has exacting standards about even the tiniest details. It’s a welcome change when he calls her into his office to praise her for her work but, unfortunately, Nina soon realises his appreciation is mostly for the new streamlined format for invoices that her assistant Jane designed. Nina informs Mr Nguyen that she is pleased he approves of the new format and gives Jane credit for her ingenuity.

It would have been easy for Nina to simply accept the praise from her boss since the work came from the department she manages. By being honest, however, she has shown that she is a leader with integrity. This should impress her boss, who will also realise she inspires creativity and teamwork . Nina’s staff will respect her and will work harder, knowing their accomplishments are valued.

5. Follow the rules

Part of having integrity in the workplace is living by the rules and regulations that your company has carefully crafted to guide employee actions and behaviour. These rules help you avoid bad habits like an unprofessional wardrobe and poor email etiquette, but also help you comply with laws and ethical standards.

Ned phones a patient at home to let her know about her latest test results. He checks the patient’s privacy form and sees she has only given permission to leave a non-specific message to call the doctor back. When the patient’s husband answers the phone, he asks to know the reason for the call. He sounds caring and concerned, but Ned cites patient confidentiality and politely ends the call.

Sometimes company rules may not make sense to you, and you’ll feel tempted to override them. Ned might have been sympathetic to a worried husband and given him details about the test. He showed integrity by sticking to the rules, however, even if they made him uncomfortable. He put the patient’s rights above his own feelings and showed his employers he can be trusted with confidential information.

6. Treat people with respect

Another way to demonstrate integrity at work is to follow good office etiquette and treat everyone with respect. This means being polite, professional and considerate, even those you might not get along with .

Mari is part of a team that has spent the last six months developing new software for a client. In a meeting with management, discussion gets heated about some problems with the design, and one of Mari’s colleagues blames her for all the issues. Though the accusation stings, Mari remains calm and asks him to explain in more detail so she can address his concerns. She doesn’t interrupt and then suggests the other team members offer their input. Together they explore the problems with the software and work towards a solution.

When things are going well, it’s easier to be cordial to your colleagues. In this case, Mari was confronted with an antagonistic situation and might have lashed out to defend herself. Instead, she made the effort to keep things civil and let everyone have a voice in the discussion.

7. Stand up for what’s right

Many of the examples of integrity in the workplace involve keeping the peace, playing well with others and putting your employer’s best interests ahead of your own. There are times, however, when having integrity means going against your colleagues or bosses.

Hector walks into the break room at work and hears a couple of his coworker friends making crass remarks about one of the female coders. Hector remembers a Daily Life article his girlfriend showed him about calling out sexism. He grabs an empty mug from the counter, dubs it the ‘Sexist Moron Jar’ and demands his buddies cough up $5 each.

Calling out sexism, racism and other bigoted comments is not an easy task at work. Depending on whom you’re addressing, it can make things socially uncomfortable or put your job security in jeopardy.

As with any communication at work , it’s important to know your audience. Hector’s joke might be an effective way to shame his friends without causing an argument, but it’s probably not the wisest course to take with his boss. A subtler approach is usually recommended, especially with an isolated comment that can be reproached with ‘I know you probably didn’t mean it this way, but…’

It won’t lessen your integrity to be cautious of your actions. Always try the least aggressive reactions first. If you see repeated patterns of bad behaviour, however, report it to an approachable superior or go directly to HR.

For particularly hostile environments , your best bet will be to leave for a better company and encourage others to do the same. Sometimes a high turnover of employees and subsequent loss of productivity and profits is the only way to get a company to change its ways.

8. Demonstrate flexibility

How do you respond when unexpected obstacles show up? No one enjoys for their plans to be derailed by an unforeseen hurdle. That said, how you approach such hurdles will say a lot about you. Being adaptable and flexible will allow you to overcome any situation and illustrate both your positivity and commitment to do a job well done and deliver results, despite any difficulties.

Emma and her team have been working on an in-depth marketing campaign for an external client. After weeks of meetings, discussions and revisions, the campaign is nearly ready. However, days before finalising, the client decides that they want to take a different approach, making major changes to the initial vision for the campaign.

While Emma and her team feel a tinge of frustration, Emma leads by example and instantly finds a new way to salvage most of her team’s work and repurpose within the new campaign approach. Her flexibility has a positive impact both on her team and her work, leaving both the apologetic client and her anxious supervisors with a feeling of relief.

9. Be considerate of others

Being considerate of others and their needs is an essential aspect of having integrity. Even if you’re not asked directly, offering help when someone might need it or covering for someone when they’re dealing with an emergency shows you have strong character and empathy. Of course, being considerate doesn’t mean you should be prioritising everyone else’s needs above your own, but if you’re willing and able to lend them a helping hand, then you should.

Mark has finalised his tasks for the week and is about to log off from work for the weekend. His colleague Sarah is about to do the same when she gets handed a last-minute urgent task by their manager. This means Sarah will be unable to pick up her daughter from school, leaving her in a tight spot. Being in the same department, Mark, who has no plans for the rest of the day, other than his weekly grocery shopping, offers to take the task off her hands, allowing Sarah to leave work on time.

The following week, Sarah covers for Mark when he has a family emergency, causing him to leave mid-task. By being considerate of each other, they manage to create a solid support system within the workplace.

10. Express gratitude

We often forget, or underestimate, how impactful gratitude is. Just as it is important to offer help, it’s equally important to be gracious when others provide help to you. A simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way but taking it a step further and recognising someone’s contributions and help while expressing your gratitude is even more powerful. Taking the time to do this will help you build trusting relationships with the people you work with.

John and few other colleagues offer to help you with a big project that is due soon. Although they’re not officially assigned to the project, they distribute pending tasks among themselves and start working on them. At the end, the project is delivered successfully and on time. You make sure to acknowledge their help, giving them credit where it’s due, but also ensure to thank each of them individually and express how glad you are that they were a part of it.

Recognising someone’s efforts and commitment is essential, and in this case, it once again helps build stronger team dynamics and a more positive work environment.

Final thoughts

As you can see, having integrity at work isn’t always the easiest path to take. That said, it is the most personally rewarding, and it helps create a positive and healthy environment in both business and life.

Further workplace reading:

• The Importance of Communication at Work
• Strategies to Excel at Work
• Job Satisfaction and Happiness

Can you think of some other examples of integrity in the workplace? Let us know in the comments section below.

This article is an update of an earlier version published on 4 August 2019 and contains contributions by staff writer Melina Theodorou.

Workplace Etiquette

Work Performance

Stepping Stones to FI

September 1, 2019 ·

The Power of Personal Integrity: How To Lead Your Best Life

Goal Setting · Goal Setting Basics

Integrity is the seed for achievement. It is the principle that never fails. – Earl Nightingale 

What if you were able to not only achieve every goal you set your mind to , you were able to obliterate them and achieve success in a fraction of the time you expect? 

What if you were able to live your very best life? Be the very best version of yourself? 

How might your life be different? Would you be working the same job or would you switch to a new career that pays more and provides satisfaction and fulfillment? Would you finally pay off that debt, save more money and start building your net worth? Would your family and relationships thrive? Would you finally make it through that 30-days without sugar challenge?  

And how might your life change if you realized that all of this isn’t that hard ? You really can achieve all of your goals in a fraction of the time. You can live the life you want. 

All it really comes down to is self integrity . 

After all, you know it’s important to be honest and keep your word in all areas of life, with your family and loved ones, as well as in your career. But what about with yourself? 

I would argue that this is the most important, and often most overlooked, form of integrity. With personal integrity you can live a more meaningful life, true to yourself. 

With personal integrity, when you tell yourself you are going to do something, no matter how big or small , you follow through and do it. Which means, when you set a goal, you follow through and achieve it.  

Personal integrity is the key to achieving the life you want to live. 

In this post I’ll review what personal integrity is, why it is so important to achieve, and finally, some ways to develop and practice it.

What is personal integrity?

According to dictionary.com, integrity is the “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” Merriam Webster even adds that “integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge”. 

In other words, integrity is the stuff of superheroes and famous legends like Abraham Lincoln,   Rosa Parks and Gandhi. 

Which implies that to live your life with integrity requires saintly morals and perhaps even sense of purpose bigger than oneself. And that’s just too much to live up to. 

So we sprinkle integrity throughout our daily lives and attempt to adhere to a set of moral principles and personal values. This encompasses all areas of life, making us better employees, friends, parents and spouses. We’ve got people to please after all!

So it’s fairly clear that integrity makes us better citizens. Maybe even better role models if you work at it. But that’s all about how your actions affect others. 

What about how your actions affect yourself? 

It might be a pretty big ask to transform into a modern day Gandhi, but how might your life change if you lived a life of personal integrity? A life where you are “trustworthy” and “incapable of being false” to yourself ? 

Personal integrity is like the smaller, overlooked underdog component of integrity. It’s the Cinderella of integrity. An overlooked and mistreated step-child that’s actually about to transform you into a sovereign power to be reckoned with. 

But if that visual isn’t enough, here are some additional ways to define personal integrity:   

Save this article for later by adding it to your favorite Pinterest board!

Be honest with yourself

Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people. -Spencer Johnson

Honesty is not telling a lie, right? Well, it can be quite a bit more than that. 

It takes extra effort to engage in self-reflection in order to decipher what you are feeling and why you are behaving or reacting a certain way. 

Being honest with yourself is having the strength to recognize the real reason behind why you aren’t making progress . It’s foregoing confirmation bias and honestly accepting that the real reason you aren’t losing weight is because you are still overeating, not because your genetics are working against you.  

Personal integrity is being honest enough with yourself that you can ditch the excuses and accept your reality. 

Accept your limitations

We all have certain strengths. So naturally, we also come with a host of weaknesses. It takes strength of character and personal integrity to accept our limitations. 

As an example, within my society organization for my profession, I was placed into a leadership role and have the responsibility to recruit volunteers and organize new committees. This isn’t something I have experience with. And apparently, this isn’t something I have a strong interest in. The result is that nothing has happened over the last two years. 

Sure, I had a grand vision of what could be. However, it’s time to accept that this is personal limitation for me. I can hide from it and hope that no one notices that progress isn’t being made, or I can accept that I’m not ideal for this position and either find appropriate training and mentoring, or delegate the task to someone better suited. 

In all honesty, I’m downright embarrassed by my lack of progress. It’s much easier to ignore the issue and wait until the end of my service and hope that the next person in line will do a better job. 

Or, I can accept my personal limitations and brainstorm how to overcome them. 

Follow through on your word

What is the single best gift that you can give to yourself? 

Give yourself the gift of follow through. If you make a promise to yourself, keep it.  

What might you have accomplished by now if every time you told yourself you would do  something, you actually followed through with it? How many goals would you have crushed by now? 

When you tell yourself you will do something, you need to find the inner strength to actually do it. 

Why is personal integrity important?

So we’ve reviewed what personal integrity is. And even hinted at what you can gain by practicing it. But is it really that important? Here are three reasons why personal integrity will help you. 

Ability to follow through on your goals

If you’re able to be honest with yourself about what it takes to achieve your goals and use self-reflection to adjust your actions, and you follow through on your word, what’s to stop you from achieving your goals? Nothing! 

Develop self awareness and confidence to achieve big goals

Again, this ties in the ability to self-reflect and stay true to your personal commitments. As you practice self integrity and start making progress, you gain the experience and confidence to keep going. One small success will lead to another, larger success. Pretty soon, you’re ready to take on bigger goals. 

When things don’t work out, using personal integrity will also help you understand why, stay honest with yourself and your limitations, and find a way to make adjustments to keep going. Once you develop this skill, giving up is unnecessary. If you want to achieve that goal, you will.

Live a life of meaning and purpose

This is my favorite reason of all to practice personal integrity. 

As you develop your personal integrity, you become a stronger individual. You become capable of achieving what you put your mind to. 

You may start out with personal goals like paying off debt or losing weight. But once you finally achieve these goals, and learn how to tackle even bigger goals, a whole new world of opportunity becomes available. 

If you don’t love the life you live right now, you know you can change it. That is very empowering. Change is difficult and scary. But when you know you can achieve the things you put your mind to, you grow as an individual and start striving for more. That need for more brings meaning and purpose to your life, and even better, the lives of others. 

11 ways to develop personal integrity

Step one is to be truly honest with yourself. Are you really putting in the effort necessary to achieve your goals? 

If you feel like you are stuck and you aren’t making progress, or feel that progress is just too slow, you probably aren’t really putting in the full effort necessary. 

Ask yourself: “Am I really putting in my best effort? Is there something more I need to do?”

Then be really honest about that answer. 

Keep in mind that you aren’t accepting defeat or failure. If you aren’t putting in the full effort, why is this? Is it not your skill set? Did you set an unrealistic goal? Do you need more outside support or motivation? 

Once you accept the honest answer to these questions, you can empower yourself to make small changes that will finally drive progress. 

Stay true to your word

If you have that inner conversation with yourself that today is the day that you give up sugar for a week, or start walking 10,000 steps every day, or simply won’t spend a single penny, do yourself the favor of staying true to your word. 

Even if no one else knows about the commitment you made to yourself. 

Give yourself that precious gift of follow through. In return, you develop personal integrity and actually achieve the goals you set for yourself. 

Write a personal mission statement

If you feel like you are coasting through life without any particular direction, it may be beneficial to write your own personal mission statement.

Think about the principles you wish to lead your life by. Do you want to contribute to a cause? Teach and mentor others? Single handedly take on global warming? Maybe you just want to be an amazing and supportive partner and raise your children to be strong and confident adults. 

Whatever is important to you and provides purpose, write it down. Turn it into a statement by which all decisions you make and goals you set will work towards fulfilling your personal mission statement. 

Even better, use this statement along with your long term 10-year goals to build the life you want to live.

Strive for personal development

I have to admit, I love a good personal development book. There is just so much to learn from other people! I can’t be great at everything, but I can certainly learn from someone that’s great at their one thing . 

Sometimes I get so excited about a new skill that I’m learning that I tell anyone and everyone about it. And then I’m surprised that my conversation is met with disdain! All I can think is “but this is a super cool technique I can use to be better at crushing my goals!” and all the other person seems to think is “I’m already awesome and you don’t need to teach me how to be better”. 

Sorry to break it to you but we all can strive to be better people. We can learn to treat ourselves better, be better partners, parents, sons or daughters, workers and citizens. Most people don’t bat an eye at the thought of taking a class to learn how to speak another language or cook an amazing meal. But the thought of reading a book on communicating better with your partner is overlooked and viewed as an admission of failure to communicate in the first place. 

If you strive to learn a new skill, you are not admitting failure! You are simply honing a new skill. 

And becoming a better person. 

Sure, it takes time. And effort. Start small by reviewing what you like, and what you don’t like, about yourself and your life and then think about ways you can make a small improvement. Add these to your goals and work on them daily. 

Think before you commit

If you’ve read this far and feel overwhelmed by all the things you have to do to develop your personal integrity and change into this new and improved individual, this step will help!

Think long and hard before you make a commitment to yourself. Before telling yourself that you’re going to do a 30 day no-spend challenge, be sure you don’t have any unexpected expenses coming up! Or if you agree to give up sugar for a month, be sure someone isn’t throwing you a big birthday party tomorrow and expecting you to appreciate your favorite cake. 

Before you commit to something, Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this a reasonable commitment?
• Do I have time to fulfill this commitment?
• Do I have the skills, support and resources to follow through?
• Is this really important enough that I will move heaven and earth to follow through on?

If you encounter a lot of inner opposition to these questions, break your goal down into something smaller and more manageable so that you can actually follow through. 

Learn to say no

Sadly, you can’t do it all. Don’t even pretend you can. 

Every day we have to prioritize goals and tasks. Protect your time and learn to prioritize your personal commitments. Learn how to say no to everything that isn’t essential. It doesn’t have to be a permanent “no”, just a “no for now”. 

You may even find that you can minimize overwhelm and be more productive in all areas of life once you learn how to prioritize your top tasks, protect your time and say no to everything else. 

Surround yourself with role models

If you want to soar with the eagles, don’t slum it with the ducks.

No, that isn’t an official motivational quote. I did hear it on a podcast at some point though. Regardless of who said it or how, the point is clear. Surround yourself with people you want to be. 

If you want to be successful and rich, start networking with successful business owners and start learning from them. But if you continue hanging out with friends that don’t motivate you to do better and be more, you won’t actually be motivated to make progress. You’ll continue to stay a duck.  

Reflect on your growth

As you make progress, take a moment to look back and see how far you’ve come. 

This is one step I struggle with the most. My personal goal is financial independence. As a widowed single mom that started with nothing, I have made so much progress over the years. Every single time I feel overwhelmed, that I’m not making progress fast enough or that I’ve somehow failed because I’m still working away at my goal, I remind myself of just how far I have come. 

Acknowledge each success and be proud of your accomplishments. 

This can be very motivating and provides reassurance that you will eventually get where you want to be.

Reflect on your failures

Admitting one’s own faults is the first step to changing them, and it is a demonstration of true bravery and integrity. – Philip Johnson 

You may have noticed by now that many of these steps intertwine together. Being honest with yourself and being open to self-reflection opens the door to accepting your weaknesses. But that’s okay! 

Recognizing a weakness, or even a failure, is an opportunity to learn, make adjustments, and strive to change and become better. This adds to your personal development and only makes you stronger. 

Seek counseling when needed 

Recognizing a failure does not make you a failure. While the process of developing personal integrity makes you stronger overall, you are likely to encounter emotional roadblocks along the journey. 

Allow yourself the grace to address larger personal fears and emotional challenges that prevent you from making progress. Seek support, be it from friends, family, your church or professional counseling. Again, this is in no way an admission of fault or failure, it is accepting help where needed so that you can be the very best version of you. 

Research demonstrates a clear relationship between volunteering and level of self-reported happiness, regardless of socio-economic background. 

Giving back helps provide the purpose and value in life that makes you feel connected and happy. This in turn builds upon personal integrity and enables you to embrace challenges, achieve your personal goals and live your best life. 

How to maintain personal integrity

Developing personal integrity is a lifelong pursuit. It doesn’t happen overnight and it isn’t a trait that you either have or you don’t. Being human, mistakes happen and we fail from time to time. The amazing thing about personal development is that mistakes are learning opportunities and failures make you stronger. 

As you develop your personal integrity skills and become better and setting and achieving the goals you set for yourself, it will become easier to maintain those qualities. However, there are a few things you can do to keep up the momentum and progress.

Be consistent

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not. – Oprah Winfrey

Even if no one sees or knows the effort you put behind your actions, be consistent. 

There will likely be so many times that you just want to quit and go back to doing what is easy. It could be that no one seems to know what you are doing and you don’t feel supported or acknowledged. Or, you just want to take a break and go back to Netflix binging. Perhaps worse, you could be feeling the high of success and not feel it necessary to keep plodding on with another goal. 

Just like a tough workout at the gym, real progress is made when you’re exhausted and just want to quit, but you keep pushing through anyway. So just keep going. Keep pushing to be the best version of you and consistently strive for progress. 

Keep a scorecard

When players are keeping score, you hear more running, scuffing and frenzy because the team is playing with intent . There is more meaning, drive and effort behind every single move. 

This applies to your own efforts as you go through life. As you make personal commitments and goals for yourself, track your progress in order to stay motivated and consistent. Better yet, make it a game with a score. You become more intentional in your actions and driven to succeed. 

What does a scorecard look like? It could be as simple and crossing off days on the calendar every time you complete your daily tasks. When that calendar is posted on the refrigerator and everyone in the house can see whether you followed through on your tasks or not, you have more incentive to consistently cross those days off. Or, it could be a spreadsheet with a chart that tracks your progress. 

The key is that your scorecard is easy to see and easy to use. And you have to know, with one glance, whether you are winning or losing. 

Putting it all together

Integrity is the ingredient that will enable you to forge rapidly ahead on the highway that leads to success. It advertises you as being an individual who will always come through. Whatever you say you will do, do it even if you have to move heaven and earth. – Mary Kay 

Personal integrity is that magical skill that will enable you to achieve your goals and live your best life. It is the ability to be honest with yourself, accept your limitations and follow through on your word, no matter what. 

With personal integrity, what’s to stop you from living your dream? 

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Integrity in the Workplace (What It Is & Why It’s Important)

A recent Global Integrity Survey from EY reported that 97% of respondents agree that integrity is a vital foundation for any corporation (Gordon, 2022).

Despite the sweeping agreement that integrity offers significant value to organizations, EY highlights a widening gap between awareness of integrity’s role in business operations and diminishing standards of conduct (Gordon, 2022).

As such, organizations must be proactive in creating a culture where integrity can take precedent.

Read on to see what integrity in the workplace looks like, the benefits of being a leader of integrity, and practical pathways to becoming more consistent.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Leadership Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or others adopt positive leadership practices and help organizations thrive.

This Article Contains

What is the meaning of integrity, understanding integrity in the workplace, 2 examples of moral virtues in the office, leading by example: integrity in leadership, how to promote a culture of workplace integrity, ways in which integrity at work can promote wellbeing, worksheets from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

What does it mean to have integrity? According to Peterson and Seligman (2004), integrity is a character strength involving honesty, morality, and trustworthiness.

A key feature of individuals with integrity is their ability for consistency and self-concordance — that is, alignment between their values and behaviors.

Integrity in the workplace encompasses a range of qualities and behaviors that reflect honesty, ethics, and consistency in work-based actions.

Importantly, integrity can occur at an individual level (i.e., leaders and employees can align their words and deeds; Simons, 2002) and at the organizational level (i.e., corporations can be committed to fair governance and sustainable, ethical behaviors that give back to society; Gordon, 2022).

Within the workplace, integrity can play out in a number of ways on both the individual and organizational level.

At the individual level, this may look like:

• Being honest and trustworthy
• Adhering to company values
• Being consistent
• Being professional
• Making decisions ethically

At the organizational level, this may look like:

• Building a culture of integrity through leadership
• Making ethical business decisions
• Having clear corporate social responsibility commitments
• Adhering to regulations and laws
• Operating with fair and transparent governance

In short, workplace integrity can operate on two levels: the personal integrity of each employee and the integrity of the corporation. However, there is one key behavior that characterizes both: ethical behavior that serves to uphold moral principles.

Corporations are failing to engage in integrity in a meaningful way, and as such, mismatches between senior management’s perceptions of integrity and those of the employees are widening (Gordon, 2022).

It is therefore vital to start with the basics: understanding the myriad benefits that a culture of integrity provides to an organization.

4 Reasons it is important

Integrity in the workplace is crucial for several reasons.

1. Positive work environment

A workplace culture based on integrity creates an environment that breeds positivity and support, and is one where employees feel able to work ethically and to raise concerns without fear of retaliation (Gordon, 2022).

The behavioral integrity of leaders is also directly correlated to increased organizational commitment, employee retention , and job satisfaction (Davis & Rothstein, 2006).

2. Ethical conduct and risk management

Integrity helps prevent unethical behavior such as fraud, corruption, and misconduct. Indeed, fraud and risk assessments are critical corporate integrity action points (Gordon, 2022).

When employees uphold moral principles and adhere to ethical standards, they contribute to the culture of integrity and compliance within the organization.

3. Credibility, reputation, and brand image

Integrity builds trust and confidence in coworkers, clients, and stakeholders (Engelbrecht et al., 2017).

Organizations with a reputation for integrity are also more attractive to customers, investors, and potential employees. Maintaining integrity enhances the organization’s brand image and credibility in the marketplace and reduces the severe reputational damage that can follow unethical behavior (Cialdini et al., 2004).

4. Long-term success

Organizations that prioritize integrity are more likely to achieve long-term success and sustainability (Nink & Robison, 2020). By building trust with stakeholders, maintaining ethical standards, and fostering a positive work environment, they create a solid foundation for growth and resilience.

When organizations thoughtfully take the time to plan their workplace integrity strategy, they are able to reap numerous benefits and simultaneously avoid some serious pitfalls that can have disastrous implications for brand reputation.

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Below, we outline memorable real-world examples of integrity in the work domain. What you may notice is that all of them involve a leader with unwavering integrity.

1. Ben & Jerry’s social justice campaigns

In June 2020, amid widespread protests against racial injustice and police brutality following the killing of George Floyd, Ben & Jerry’s (n.d.) released a statement addressing systemic racism and calling for concrete action to dismantle it. The statement was titled “Silence Is NOT an Option.” In the statement, Ben & Jerry’s expressed solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and pledged to support efforts to combat racial injustice.

Ben & Jerry’s decision to speak out against racism and support the Black Lives Matter movement demonstrated incredible organizational integrity. The company aligned its actions with its values despite enormous risks to the brand, such as backlash from consumers or political scrutiny. The company chose to prioritize its principles of justice and equity.

In the years following this example, Ben & Jerry’s has continued to be vocal in its support of human rights and social justice issues.

2. Patagonia’s environmental stewardship

Patagonia, an outdoor clothing and gear company, is well known for its commitment to environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility.

One notable example of its organizational integrity occurred in September 2022, when Patagonia founder and CEO Yvon Chouinard announced he was donating the entirety of Patagonia’s future profits to climate charities (Gelles, 2022).

Chouinard has been vocal about the urgency of addressing climate change and the importance of businesses taking responsibility for their environmental impact. This decision received widespread media coverage and praise from environmental activists, consumers, and stakeholders.

It exemplifies how integrity in the workplace can be manifested through concrete actions that align with organizational values and contribute to broader social and environmental goals.

These examples demonstrate that it is possible for organizations and leaders to do the right thing and boost their positive reputation by doing so. Yet there are as many, if not more, examples of corporations and leaders behaving badly. To combat this, companies must look to their leaders.

It is likely not surprising to hear that leaders are the vanguards of organizational culture and brand image. Therefore, leaders who live by their values and champion honesty and ethical decision-making shepherd organizations toward success.

Below, we outline the key attributes of leaders with integrity (Nink & Robinson, 2020).

1. Honesty and transparency

Leaders with integrity are honest and transparent in their communication . They share information openly, even when it’s difficult or uncomfortable. They do not withhold or distort information for personal gain, and they can be trusted to make the right decisions.

2. Consistency, reliability, and accountability

When leaders are consistent with their words and actions and align their behavior with their values and principles, they demonstrate reliability.

Leaders with integrity are unwaveringly reliable. They fulfill their commitments and take responsibility for their actions and decisions. This includes being accountable for mistakes and errors, learning from them, and taking steps to rectify any negative consequences.

3. Ethical decision-making

Leaders with integrity evaluate situations and make decisions based on ethical principles, even when it might be easier to act otherwise or when facing pressure to compromise. They consider the impact of their decisions on stakeholders and society as a whole.

4. Courage and conviction

Integrity requires courage to stand up for what is right, even in the face of opposition or adversity.

Leaders with integrity have the courage to speak truth to power, uphold their principles, and defend the interests of their team and organization.

5. Respect, professionalism, and empathy

Trustworthy leaders show respect, courtesy, and empathy toward others, valuing diverse perspectives and experiences.

They listen actively, seeking to understand different viewpoints, while treating individuals with dignity and compassion. Leaders with integrity foster a positive work environment by valuing diversity, promoting inclusivity , and working tirelessly to uphold principles of equity and justice in their interactions and decision-making.

6. Leading by example

Leaders with integrity lead by example, embodying the values and behaviors they expect from others. Their actions inspire trust , credibility, and excellence in their team members, stakeholders, and the broader community.

7. Adherence to company values

Beyond self-concordance, leaders also actively align their actions with the values and mission of the organization, even when faced with difficult decisions or conflicting interests.

Overall, integrity in leadership is about being authentic, ethical, and principled in one’s conduct, and this sets the tone for organizational culture and shapes the direction and impact of the entire organization.

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It is not just leaders who should bear the burden of generating and maintaining workplace integrity, though their role is integral.

All employees and the organization as a whole must work together to build a culture of integrity (Kayes et al., 2007).

Below, we look at several concrete approaches that can elevate any organization’s integrity approach.

Psychological safety

Trust is one of the foundational pillars of workplace integrity. Not surprising, trust also provides the foundation for psychological safety .

As such, one way leaders can seek to build integrity is to make the work environment safe for their employees. Psychological safety in the workplace involves leaders actively driving out fear from their team members by promoting open feedback , focusing on team relationships, rewarding failure, and showing humility.

Authenticity

To be a person of integrity involves a degree of authenticity , and to be authentic requires self-awareness of your values and beliefs . The two are inherently linked, such that authenticity can be thought of as the embodiment of an individual’s values.

According to Oyserman (2001, p. 16150), values are “priorities, internal compasses or springboards for action — moral imperatives.” So values themselves are not actions but rather guiding principles for action. Moreover, values are more than individual preferences; they are social contracts about what is right and good.

Authenticity can be further understood as the “unobstructed operation of one’s true or core self in one’s daily enterprises” (Goldman & Kernis, 2002, p. 2) and comprises four components (Kernis & Goldman, 2006):

• Self-awareness
• Unbiased processing of the self
• Self-concordant behavior
• Relational openness

To build authentic leaders, organizations could collaborate with their employees to shape company values that align with personal values and use 360-degree feedback to help build awareness.

Beyond these two specific pathways, organizations can also look to take a systematic and comprehensive approach to building integrity in the workplace by providing education and training on the “why” of integrity (the benefits) and the “why not” (the consequences for transgressions).

Integrity can further be assessed in performance metrics and built into leadership training programs. On a more systemic level, an organization’s processes and policies can be audited to focus more on ethical operating (Kayes et al., 2007).

If you’re looking for more information about authenticity, you may enjoy this TEDx talk by Herminia Ibarra on the authenticity paradox.

Earlier in the article, we outlined some of the reasons why integrity in the workplace is important. In this section, we expand on one of those reasons.

Below, we outline several ways integrity can have a positive influence on employee wellbeing.

1. Reduced stress and anxiety

In an environment where integrity is prioritized, employees experience less stress and anxiety related to ethical dilemmas or concerns about dishonesty and unfair treatment (Prottas, 2008).

When employees can rely on their colleagues and leaders to act with integrity, this reduces uncertainty and fosters a sense of psychological safety, contributing to better mental and emotional wellbeing.

2. Enhanced job satisfaction

Employees who work in an environment characterized by integrity are more likely to have greater job satisfaction and be more committed to their organization (Davis & Rothstein, 2006).

When employees trust that their organization operates with integrity and treats them fairly, employee engagement increases, leading to greater overall wellbeing.

3. Healthy relationships and collaboration

Integrity promotes healthy relationships among coworkers based on mutual respect, honesty, and trust.

Collaboration becomes more effective when built on a foundation of integrity, as employees can rely on each other to uphold shared values and work toward common goals (Edmondson, 2018).

Having positive interpersonal relationships contributes to a supportive work environment where employees feel valued, understood, and supported, enhancing their sense of belonging and wellbeing.

4. Organizational citizenship behaviors

Employees who perceive their organization as having integrity are more likely to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors, such as helping others, volunteering for extra tasks, and advocating for the organization (Dineen et al., 2006).

These behaviors contribute to a positive work environment and enhance employees’ wellbeing.

Taken together, the benefits to be gained from workplace integrity abound. Specifically, integrity promotes wellbeing by fostering trust, reducing stress, enhancing job satisfaction, facilitating healthy relationships, and fostering a positive organizational culture where employees can thrive.

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To further highlight the link between authenticity and integrity, below we outline worksheets and exercises that help leaders identify their values and lean into authentic behavior in the workplace.

One excellent way to help zone in on our authentic selves is to write a mission statement . In this worksheet, leaders are encouraged to identify what they stand for and what they plan to do.

To act with integrity relies largely on being able to uphold one’s values. In the core values worksheet, individuals are provided with an extensive list of values and invited to consider which values resonate with them.

Another important skill required in order to identify your values and core self is self-awareness. One exercise promoted to boost self-awareness is the Johari window .

Lastly, leaders may be interested in the following article on authentic leadership , which outlines the characteristic traits of authentic leaders along with exercises and training to help individuals foster an authentic leadership style .

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop positive leadership skills, check out this collection of 17 validated positive leadership exercises . Use them to equip leaders with the skills needed to cultivate a culture of positivity and resilience.

According to Nink and Robison (2020), as the world of work continues to shift in line with hastening technology, trust will become the ultimate brand attribute. Yet as it stands, only 40% of employees in the United Kingdom and 36% in the United States think their employer “would do what is right.”

This highlights a significant gap between expectations of workplace integrity and reality.

To address this gap, organizations must create a culture of integrity, where values are embodied throughout the hierarchy of the company and there is zero tolerance for noncompliance or transgressions (Kayes et al., 2007).

Leaders play a pivotal role in creating such an environment and could look toward developing their own skills of self-awareness, authenticity, and empathy.

But ultimately, integrity in the workplace is more than just a boon for businesses; it’s about building a brighter future where honesty, accountability, and ethical leadership pave the way for a stronger, more trustworthy society.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Leadership Exercises for free .

• Ben & Jerry’s. (n.d.). Silence is not an option . Retrieved March 8, 2024, from https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/media-center/dismantle-white-supremacy
• Cialdini, R. B., Petrova, P. K., & Goldstein, N. J. (2004). The hidden costs of organizational dishonesty. MIT Sloan Management Review , 45 (3).
• Davis, A. L., & Rothstein, H. R. (2006). The effects of the perceived behavioral integrity of managers on employee attitudes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Ethics , 67 , 407–419.
• Dineen, B. R., Lewicki, R. J., & Tomlinson, E. C. (2006). Supervisory guidance and behavioral integrity: relationships with employee citizenship and deviant behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology , 91 (3), 622–635.
• Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth . John Wiley & Sons.
• Engelbrecht, A. S., Heine, G., & Mahembe, B. (2017). Integrity, ethical leadership, trust and work engagement. Leadership & Organization Development Journal , 38 (3), 368–379.
• Gelles, D. (2022, September 14). Billionaire no more: Patagonia founder gives away the company. The New York Times . https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/climate/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html
• Goldman, B. M., & Kernis, M. H. (2002). The role of authenticity in healthy psychological functioning and subjective well-being. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association , 5 (6), 18–20.
• Gordon, A. (2022, February 4). Tunnel vision or the bigger picture: How a focus on enhanced governance can help reimagine corporate integrity . EY. https://www.ey.com/en_gl/forensic-integrity-services/how-a-focus-on-governance-can-help-reimagine-corporate-integrity
• Kayes, D. C., Stirling, D., & Nielsen, T. M. (2007). Building organizational integrity. Business Horizons , 50 (1), 61–70.
• Kernis, M. H., & Goldman, B. M. (2006). A multicomponent conceptualization of authenticity: Theory and research. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology , 38 , 283–357.
• Nink, M., & Robison, J. (2020, December 14). Want a company with more integrity? Leaders set the tone . Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/327521/company-integrity-leaders-set-tone.aspx
• Oyserman, D. (2001). Values: psychological perspectives. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 16150–16153). Elsevier.
• Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification (vol. 1). Oxford University Press.
• Prottas, D. J. (2008). Perceived behavioral integrity: Relationships with employee attitudes, well-being, and absenteeism. Journal of Business Ethics , 81 , 313–322.
• Simons, T. (2002). Behavioral integrity. Organization Science , 1 , 20–35.

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Best Personal Ethics Statement Example, Meaning, and Guide

Table of Contents

In need of a personal ethics statement example ? You need to read this article.

Your code of ethics is the framework within which you build relationships, face adversity, and make important life choices. This article focuses on personal ethics, which is not to be confused with business ethics. Business and coworker ethics differ from personal ethics.

This article provides an all-inclusive guide to creating a powerful personal ethics statement. Following our guidelines and example can yield a statement that will stand out while applying for jobs, classes, or programs.

Meaning of Personal Ethical Statement

A personal ethics statement is a brief essay outlining your principles and the experience you will provide to future employers , coworkers, and clients. It can help you get into school, get your first job, find more clients, or move up your current position.

Belief and value declarations are essential components of a personal ethics statement. Integrity, selflessness, honesty, loyalty, equality, justice, empathy, respect, and self-respect are all tenets of a moral code.

How to Construct a Personal Ethical Statement

A personal ethical statement requires the following five phases to be written and polished to perfection:

1. Who is your Audience?

To wow your readers with your ethical statement, you should start by learning as much as possible about them. Writing this one-page paper with the reader’s goals and emotions in mind can help you achieve your goal of persuasion. To impress an admissions officer or future employer, adjust your wording and references to their needs.

2. Determine What You Want to Accomplish

When crafting your ethics statement, it’s crucial to consider the near and distant future. To become a software engineer can be a long-term objective while attending college might be a short-term one. When you know what you want to do professionally, you may frame your ethics regarding that goal.

If you want to be a software engineer, you can discuss your ethics concerning cybersecurity. You can even write about the dedication and perseverance you’ll need to get there.

3. Figure Out Who or What Has Impacted You

Why do you think the way you do? Considering the internal and external elements that play into every decision is crucial to developing a personal code of ethics. Unique qualities are something that influences everyone.

Your personality heavily influences the choices you make and the way you act with other people. The individuals you’ve known and interacted with also play a role in who you are now.

Wonderful, defining moments in one’s life, as well as tragic, painful ones, are shared by all. These are all important considerations that should be reflected in your ethical statement.

4. Figure Out What You Think and How You Act

The next step is to document some working instances of your worldview and guiding principles. Evoking solid feelings in your listeners and demonstrating that your principles inform your daily actions are two goals of telling compelling stories. Providing concrete examples is crucial to developing an exciting personal moral statement.

5. Explain Your “why”

Justify your moral compass by explaining why you settled on those particular tenets. This question must be answered with conviction and specifics provided if the assertion is to be believed.

Consider how you arrived at your ethics, how your experiences have formed them, and how you wish to continue making decisions based on them. This is the first stage in ensuring listeners fully grasp what ethical standards mean to you and why.

How to Present a Personal Ethical Statement

It is recommended that your ethical statement have an introduction, the main body, and a summary.

Write an introductory paragraph (or two) for your personal ethics statement. Talk about how your upbringing and early experiences shaped your morals in the introduction.

Maybe you’re an accessibility champion because of a traumatic childhood injury that permanently impaired you. Find anecdotes that illustrate your point and put your argument over.

Within the main body of your personal ethics statement (two to three paragraphs), you should detail all of the values you hold dearest. Incorporate your motto if you have one. Real-world situations are beneficial here.

Because of the intimate nature of a personal ethics statement, an author must adhere to the highest standards of integrity. Don’t makeup anecdotes to prove a point.

Notwithstanding, this is not the time to admit every failure you’ve ever had. Your personal ethics statement ought to acknowledge your humanity while also being encouraging and motivating.

Personal Ethical Statement Example With INK

Personal ethical statements are thought-provoking to write. The style you compose should be determined by whom you’re writing for. Here’s a great one for your perusal.

I always strive to act with integrity and honesty in all my dealings. I am committed to being open, truthful, and fair in everything I do.

I’ve got a personal ethical statement that I try to live by. It is important to me to be honest and truthful with others and myself. I also believe in treating everyone fairly, no matter who they are or what they have done. Finally, I strive for compassion and understanding in all my interactions with people.

A personal ethical statement example like the one above is helpful to all audiences. But, the best approach is to develop one that fits your needs. Because it’s personal, it should reflect your experience.

Your ethical statement is not simply a list of rules to follow. It should remind you what you believe in and why you believe it.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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30 Prompts for Reflection on Your Integrity

The word integrity is related to the roots of words like “integrate” and “entire,” and its Latin root means “wholeness.” Integrity thus implies the state of being complete, undivided, intact, and unbroken. Such a state contrasts with one that is scattered, fragmented, and incomplete.

When you profess to one principle, but act in a way contrary to it; when you say you’ll do something, but fail to fulfill that promise; when you disregard a business’s or your employer’s rules, even though you implicitly agreed to them in using its service and taking your job; when you act one way as an anonymous avatar online, and another in real life — in short, when you treat others in a way you wouldn’t want to be treated yourself — you create a rupture, a rift, in your character. You divide one part of yourself from another.

In contrast, when you act in line with your conscience, and follow the golden rule, your life becomes a consistent, unified whole. Integrity is really the bond that holds a man’s other virtues together; it is the mark of a man who has successfully integrated all good principles.

It behooves us, then, to regularly check in on how we’re living day to day, and with that in mind, we’ve created 30 questions designed to act as prompts for reflection on your integrity. I originally got this idea from What’s Your Emotional Age? — a book published in 1936. I took some of the questions provided in it, updating some with more modern language, and then created more having to do with contemporary ethical quandaries.

Some of the questions may seem to deal with very small, even trivial issues, where the decision one makes doesn’t really carry much moral weight. But research has shown that people don’t suddenly wake up one day and commit a huge ethical violation; instead, studies have demonstrated that big moral mistakes are invariably preceded by smaller ones . The slide towards ethical ambiguity begins with little, seemingly insignificant choices. Once someone makes such a sidestep, he rationalizes his choice, and his view of what is right and wrong subtly shifts. His ability to commit such acts, and still see himself as a good person, increases. To soothe any cognitive dissonance that remains, he will then act dishonestly again, to further cement and justify his choice. A cycle thus begins that can put a man on a path that takes him further and further from his original principles and intentions.

Thus, in both small choices and big, it pays to be vigilant in assessing whether we’re acting with integrity. It requires the acknowledgment that we can be dishonest by way of commission (a direct action) and omission (the failure to do something) alike. And it calls for the kind of frank, unflinching self-awareness born of introspection. Reflecting on the questions below, as well as those you come up with yourself, will be a help in this ongoing, and never-ending, process.

• Have you ever borrowed a book or another item from a friend without returning it?
• If a cashier hands you more change than you’re entitled to, without noticing it, do you accept it?
• Have you ever borrowed small sums of money and failed to return them?
• Do you “theater hop,” watching two movies even though you only paid for one?
• Have your ever kept somebody else’s newspaper or magazine when it was wrongly delivered to your home?
• Have you ever returned goods as damaged or defective when you yourself damaged them?
• Have you ever sent a text, had an online interaction, or searched the internet for something you would be ashamed to have your significant other read?
• Did you ever keep library books without paying for them?
• If you find a wallet or purse with money in it, do you attempt to find the owner or give it to an official , or do you keep it and say nothing?
• Did you ever buy something at a store, use it once with entire satisfaction, but then return it and claim it to be unsatisfactory?
• If you could obtain a million dollars by some shady trick without much danger of being found out, would you take it?
• Did you ever take a towel or other object from a hotel?
• In school did you ever cheat at examinations?
• Have you ever “ghosted” someone you were dating — ceased communications without offering an explanation?
• Have you ever taken some small thing at a store — when nobody was looking — a piece of candy or fruit or even a small piece of merchandise?
• Have you ever tried to get a child’s price on a meal or attraction for a child who in fact exceeded the age limit for the discount?
• Did you ever push ahead of somebody in line or get ahead of your rightful turn?
• Have you ever told someone you would be praying for them, but then failed to say a single prayer on their behalf?
• Do you accept a paycheck for 40 hours of work, when you really do significantly fewer and spend a lot of your hours goofing around/surfing the internet?
• Are you currently in a romantic relationship you know you’re going to end, but continue to delay having the break-up conversation?
• If you get to the parking lot of a store, and realize there’s an item in your shopping cart you didn’t pay for, do you go back inside to pay for it or take it home with the rest of your items?
• Do you show up for meetings and appointments at the time you agreed to be there?
• Do you visit a blog/website (which costs the site’s owner money in server costs) while using ad-block, without financially supporting the site in another way?
• Have you ever inflated or outright fabricated something on your resume?
• Have you ever accepted the credit for an idea or project that was really due someone else?
• Have you ever taken home your employer’s office supplies for personal use?
• Have you ever made an anonymous comment online that you would have been ashamed to have attached to your real name?
• Have you ever framed and filtered a picture on Instagram in a way that made the experience depicted seem far more interesting/exciting/exotic than it really was?
• Have you ever said you’d go do something and failed to show up?
• Have you ever disclosed a piece of information to others that a friend told you in absolute confidence?

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How and Why You Compromise Your Integrity

Internal family systems therapy can free you from self-sabotaging defenses..

Posted July 19, 2017 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

Perhaps the most important thing you possess is your integrity. It’s your word of honor—what makes you honorable. Yet at one time or another, you’ve certainly violated this trustworthy, most “sacred” part of yourself. Why? Whether to yourself or others, what is it that, from deep within, compels you to go back on your word?

The present post will seek to clarify this all-too-common situation. Plus, it will suggest why you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself when this “self-violation” occurs (as in, “What part of me impelled me to do that? Was that really me?!” ). For ideally, such a lapse shouldn’t lead to self- shaming or contempt. Rather, it should signal that it’s time to mobilize your self-compassion.

So, to start, have you ever considered that the word integrity intimately relates to the kindred integration ? Because if the different parts of yourself—each harboring a voice and agenda of its own—aren’t well-integrated, it may be impossible (across a large variety of situations) to keep your integrity intact.

To best understand how your integrity relates to your level of integration, consider how dictionary.com portrays the word: (a) “Adherence to moral and ethical principles ...” and (b) “The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.” Note how this second definition, contrasting with yet complementing the first, implies that to be virtuous, honest, and have moral rectitude, you need to be “whole,” which is to say, unified —or, to employ my preferred term, integrated .

Moreover, “whole” implies that the various parts that comprise something are balanced and relate to each other concordantly. Viewed in human terms, personal integrity depends, simply enough, on the individual’s being integrated . And the dictionary’s extended definition of that concept amply supports this contention, emphasizing that “combining or coordinating separate elements ... provide[s] a harmonious, interrelated whole.”

I’ll provide an example to explain why, if you’re to be true to yourself and others, you need to get your different parts to collaborate, to work in unison. But first I’d like briefly to say something about i nternal family systems therapy (IFS).

This highly regarded treatment modality, created by Richard Schwartz in the 80s and increasingly prominent in the therapy world today, posits that, as in families, all individuals are made up of parts. When these parts conflict with one another or are extreme, they're functioning either to protect the individual from re-experiencing intolerable emotional pain (as Schwartz’s so-called pre-emptive “managers”)—or, if that pain has already been aroused, to "put it out" (Schwartz’s reactive “firefighters”).

Sadly, the consequence of all these self-protective parts' efforts to escape one's (unrectified) emotional suffering is frequently some form of psychological dysfunction: from mood, anxiety , and personality disorders , to eating abnormalities , to psychophysiological disturbances , to all kinds of compulsive/addictive behaviors.

It’s like having an orchestra inside you, whose members aren’t playing as a cohesive, coordinated unit. The effect is hardly anything like melodic music. What’s produced is a bumbling, incoherent cacophony. For the conductor, or orchestra’s “leader”—which Schwartz defines, transcendently and idealistically, as the beyond-ego self —is absent, missing in action. Continuing with this metaphor, the goal of therapy is to locate the conductor’s whereabouts and free him or her from the various instrumentalists, who have taken over their maestro’s responsibility, so that the whole ensemble can finally make the harmonious music for which it was designed.

Moving beyond this metaphorical description, as regards which other parts the managers and firefighters are protecting against, these are what Schwartz calls the “exiles”—your most vulnerable, deeply wounded parts that have yet to be healed and which both the managers and firefighters have resolved to keep buried.

Why, exactly? Mainly, for fear that the emergence of these exiles could overwhelm the system, with such out-of-control, traumatic feelings as guilt , shame, panic, terror, rage or despair. And just as only the empowering self can synchronize all one’s internal voices, it’s the self alone that—once disentangled from the person’s maladaptive, though well-meaning, parts—can both heal the exiles and transform the managers’ and firefighters’ burdensome, misguided, and outdated roles.

Here’s an example (admittedly, somewhat extreme) of how an individual’s protective, non-integrated, parts can make it virtually impossible for a person to uphold their personal integrity:

Say, you were brought up in a home with an alcoholic father who, when inebriated, would routinely rage, throw things, and frighten the entire family; and a codependent mother, totally preoccupied and obsessed with your father’s hazardous drinking. In such a family, neither parent could possibly be there for you—to adequately respond to your thoughts and feelings, needs and desires. Growing up in such conditions might have affected you in various ways—none of them conducive to feeling safe, loved, or secure.

In all likelihood, you would have ended up with many adverse feelings and thoughts about yourself, such as being:

• unimportant (because of not feeling recognized; given enough time and attention );
• inadequate (because of being frequently criticized);
• lonely (because of not feeling understood, or sufficiently bonded to your parents);
• powerless (because, however negatively you viewed the situation, you could do nothing to change it);
• in danger or unsafe (because your father’s angry flare-ups were unpredictable and your resulting anxiety was simply a way of trying to “prepare” yourself for them);
• shameful (because, after all, you “belonged” to this alcoholic family);
• worthless (because of feeling ignored; not feeling appreciated or valued);
• uncared about (because you couldn’t experience your parents’ being devoted to you); and lastly, if you thought all of the above was grossly unfair to you,
• strong, deep-seated (but much-too-dangerous-to-express) distrust and anger.

So, what does all of this have to do with your integrity? Consider that as children none of us can emotionally survive if we’re constantly focused on one (or more) of these so- stressful feeling/belief states. Consequently (and almost instinctively), different parts of our personality change , or adapt, to such ongoing abuse and neglect by taking on various protective roles. Inasmuch as when you’re young, your emotional resources, or resilience , isn’t well-developed, you’re left feeling acutely vulnerable, particularly since you can’t help but remain so dependent on your caretakers.

Accordingly, your defenses against emotional pain and suffering need to be as strong as is the hurt you urgently need to escape from. And basically, it’s your defenses , or adapted parts, that end up holding your essence—or self—captive (which, in turn, was overcome when your vulnerable parts [now exiles], in desperation, “merged” with it).

Obviously, your integrity, your “wholeness,” can come only from your integrated self. And that self must harmoniously incorporate—not be sabotaged by—its different parts. Being “centered” in the self necessitates that all your various parts be led by the self. As the seat of your consciousness, this very essence of you also constitutes your moral and ethical core.

And it should be added that, to Schwartz, your self—once revived—naturally displays the qualities of “calmness, curiosity, compassion, connectedness, confidence , creativity , courage, and clarity” (Schwartz’s “8Cs” of self). And does this amalgam of positive personality characteristics not coalesce to form one's integrity?

Additionally, your various parts—to supply you with yet another extended list of adjectives (!)—are by nature innocent, spontaneous, humorous, joyful, adventurous, fair-minded, understanding, forgiving , empathic , grateful and loving. But if their natural roles got subverted by an overwhelming need to protect your far more sensitive, scared, or shamed parts, these positive qualities got contaminated (or desecrated). Because of disturbing experiences (generally in your youth), these parts felt forced to take on distorted, constricting roles—which also pretty much detracted from and devalued the healthy dominance, or leadership , of the self.

That compromised self, with all its lucidity and wisdom , became “managed” almost out of existence. So you may no longer be at liberty to consistently manifest who you were meant to be. For your self has in various ways been cast aside by your protectors, and so unable to function fully. In fact, when many people are asked to identify their true self (i.e., apart from their specific beliefs and behaviors), they frequently draw a blank, sometimes not even sure that they have such a self (!).

So though the abuse you may have suffered was probably never intended—that is, your caretakers weren’t actually motivated to act harmfully toward you or interfere with your wholesome development—you yet felt compelled to hide aspects of who you were to better “fit in” with them.

Being true to yourself requires that your self be “whole”—integrated, and with executive control over your subordinate parts (or sub-personalities). But when these parts become extreme and frozen in time, any of your exiled parts threatening to surface propel them into action to take over control of your thoughts and actions. And that’s what, periodically, sabotages your personal integrity. For at this point you can’t come from self, but only from protective parts that (never really having grown up themselves) still feel compelled to react, supposedly to safeguard your “inner child’s” fragility.

In fact, as adults, all your overreactions (and we can all overreact at times) are so because you’re not merely reacting to some in-the-moment provocation but also to much older threats the present situation is reminding you of—and which still carry a significant emotional charge. This is, after all, what it means to be “triggered.” In such instances, your best judgment—which belongs to your non -reactive self (vs. your highly reactive parts)—isn’t available. For when these parts intercede, your emotional equilibrium is undermined ... as is your integrity.

Can you relate to this expression (taken from Richard Schwartz’s Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model , 2001 ): “I didn’t want to do it, but I couldn’t stop myself.” ? For such a bemused, disappointed declaration encapsulates everything I’ve been discussing.

Here are two instances of your violating your integrity because your still juvenile protective parts—which assume they’re acting in your best interests—actually act counter to it:

• You’re about to embark on an important home project, which you promised yourself and your family you’d undertake. But then old fears of failure, associated with parental shaming and rejection, kick in. At which point one of your protective parts intervenes and compels you to procrastinate , make excuses for yourself, avoid committing yourself to it. Such an “intervention” prevents the particular exile involved from having to re-experience any quivering anxiety or trepidation. But it ends up with your feeling that much worse about yourself and sacrificing more of your family’s trust.
• Your partner offers you a practical suggestion about something you’re working on and you suddenly go ballistic on her, telling her to mind her own business, that she’s always trying to control you, and then harshly criticizing her for whatever you can think of. What’s happening here is that her (innocent) suggestion, however obliquely, reminded you of how your parent(s) regularly got on your case whenever you made a mistake, making you feel you weren’t good enough, that you were defective; unlovable. So your externalizing old feelings of inadequacy or unacceptability (i.e., unreasonably projecting them onto her) protects a scorned exile part from feeling its original humiliation and sense of worthlessness.

Moreover, your present-day explosion can be seen as “acting out” whatever ancient, undischarged rage you once harbored toward your parents by redirecting it toward your partner. But afterwards, you may regretfully realize how much you’ve hurt your spouse, how much additional distance you’ve now put between the two of you, and how exaggerated your reaction was in the first place. And you probably won’t even understand why in the moment you acted so “out of character” and couldn’t help but go nuclear on her. Here again, one of your protective parts has taken over, seeking to spare you from intolerable emotions just beginning to emerge from an exile—but with considerable collateral damage.

I could provide numerous other examples, especially as relates to intimacy barriers and to various compulsive/addictive behaviors—almost all of which have immediate analgesic, consciousness-altering effects. But by now you can probably grasp how your intrusive, no-longer-appropriate “protectors” interfere with both your personal, and interpersonal, welfare.

For these are the times when your defensive emotions and impulses supersede, or overrule, your self. And that’s when your thoughts and actions betray your integrity. For these bothersome intruders do not express your true self—the literal “home” of your integrity—but represent ill-considered behaviors that make very little logical sense. All the same, they do make a great deal of psychological sense once you can identify what these avoidant, escapist, or aggressive parts of you are trying to protect against (namely, the resurgence of old, still-unreleased emotional pain).

... Which is why your endeavoring to fully resurrect the self, and transform its well-intentioned but misguided parts, is one of the highest, noblest endeavors you could ever undertake.

So—are you up for it?

Two earlier posts of mine in Psychology Today closely complement this piece: The Paradoxical Rationale for Self-Sabotage, Part 2 (2010) and What Your Anger May Be Hiding (2008).

For those of you interested in learning more about the IFS model, besides the references listed below, your search engine will direct you to an abundance of articles on the subject—as will YouTube, which will display a large assortment of videos dedicated to it.

© 2017 Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

Internal Family Systems. The Center for Self Leadership. https://selfleadership.org/ (the official website for IFS)

Murphy, B. About internal family systems therapy. http://www.selfledsolutions.com/resources/aboutifs.html

Schwartz, R. C. (1995). Internal family systems therapy. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Schwartz, R. C. (2001). Introduction to the internal family systems model. Oak Park, IL: Trailhead.

Schwartz, R. C. (2008). You are the one you’ve been waiting for: Bringing courageous love to intimate relationships. Oak Park, IL: Trailhead.

Sweezy, M. & Ziskind, E. L. eds. (2013). IFS: Internal family systems therapy: New dimensions. New York, NY: Routledge.

Sweezy, M. & Siskind, E. L., eds. (2017). IFS: Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy. New York, NY: Routledge.

Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D. , is the author of Paradoxical Strategies in Psychotherapy and The Vision of Melville and Conrad . He holds doctorates in English and Psychology. His posts have received over 53 million views.

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How to Develop Personal Integrity

Last Updated: April 18, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Klare Heston, LCSW . Klare Heston is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker based in Cleveland, Ohio. With experience in academic counseling and clinical supervision, Klare received her Master of Social Work from the Virginia Commonwealth University in 1983. She also holds a 2-Year Post-Graduate Certificate from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, as well as certification in Family Therapy, Supervision, Mediation, and Trauma Recovery and Treatment (EMDR). wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 97% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 150,291 times.

Personal integrity involves being the best, most honest and morally-sound version of yourself. Your integrity may stem from your religious beliefs, your personal goals in life, or from some other formative experience. When you work on improving your personal integrity, you enrich your own life and improve the lives of others.

Things You Should Know

• Practice truthfulness, loyalty, and compassion, all while following your own personal mission.
• Inspired by your values, choose a social cause to work towards in your day-to-day life.
• Regularly incorporate mindfulness, meaning, and purpose into your daily routines.

Living with Greater Integrity

• Always be truthful with others, even when it lands you in trouble.
• Lying is almost always the wrong thing to do, especially when you lie for your own gain.
• If you're worried honesty might hurt someone's feelings, it may be best to say nothing at all. Excuse yourself by saying something like, "I don't think I'm the best person to give an opinion on _____."
• Living honestly includes being honest with yourself at all times. Check in with your thoughts/feelings, acknowledge how you feel, and be aware of how those feelings influence your behavior. [2] X Research source

• Try to be understanding of how others feel. If someone did a poor job at work, for example, consider that they might be having an exceptionally bad day.
• Be kind to other people, even in minor ways. For example, when you go to the store, ask the hard-working cashier how their day is going, and wish them a good rest of the day.
• Help others whenever possible. You can do this through acts of charity, or by simply offering a helping hand to someone in need at work or on the street.

• Write out your goals and your values. Think hard about what kind of person you want to be and what you hope to achieve in your lifetime.
• Commit to developing yourself in meaningful ways. Remember that personal transformation takes a lot of work and dedication.
• The goal of your mission statement should be to provide you with guidance on a day-to-day basis. Whenever you feel lost or uncertain, your mission statement should help ground you.
• These statements should not be something you have to make up on the spot. Even if you've never articulated them, you should have a clear understanding of what guides you in life.
• Keep this list hung in a place you'll see every day. Stop and take a moment each day to ask yourself whether you're behaving in a way that will help you live out your statement.

• Focus on what matters most to you. Let the things that are important to you determine how you treat others and how you live your life.
• Never compromise your values. Anything that is truly a personal value to you will not be compromised because it's convenient.

Standing for Something

• Think about what you are most passionate about.
• This can be derived from your moral, ethical, spiritual, or artistic values, or it may simply be based on an injustice that you believe needs to be corrected.
• The things that are most important to you may be rooted in your life, your community, or the world as a whole. However, it's easiest to implement changes if you focus your efforts on what you can do locally.
• It may be helpful to remember the popular phrase, "Think globally and act locally." Let your cause be of interest to others, but work on affecting change at home before you expand outward.

• If your cause is important to you because a given change would make life better for you, you may not be thinking outwardly enough. However, that isn't necessarily an absolute.
• For example, you may be motivated to raise awareness of cancer and organize donations for cancer research because a family member was afflicted by the disease. This is still community-oriented and does not serve to gain you personally, so it is a cause with great integrity.

• Monetary donations are always helpful to existing (and legitimate) nonprofit organizations. Just make sure your money is going to actually help further the cause by asking how donations are spent.
• Search online for an organization to volunteer with. You can spend your time helping social, civic, environmental, cultural, and educational causes while also improving your community. [6] X Research source
• If an organization does not yet exist for your cause, start one!
• You can find some helpful information on starting a nonprofit organization by browsing through the National Council of Nonprofits' website, or by reaching out to your state association of nonprofits. [7] X Research source

• If you're sacrificing your values in favor of an easy gain, you're not adhering to those values.
• Your values should guide your efforts to help the cause you've chosen. Make sure you live with purpose and dedication.

Design a meaningful life that you feel good about living. "The challenge of life, I have found, is to build a resume that doesn't simply tell a story about what you want to be, but that tells a story about who you want to be."

Finding a Moral Purpose in Life

• There is no absolute meaning to life. Every person creates meaning from their own lives. Life means something different to everyone. [8] X Research source
• The meaning of your life should be what you believe your life is ultimately building towards.
• Do you want to dedicate your life solely to getting rich, or do you believe life should include helping others in some way?
• You may find that living a life of integrity and strong moral character can give life meaning in itself. However, this is something that only you can decide for yourself.
• If you believe religion can help you find your purpose in life, then pursue it. Find a religion that speaks to you, do some research online, and join a congregation near you.

• Be honest and critical in your assessment. If there's room for improvement, acknowledge it.
• If you haven't been living in a way that serves your purpose, that's okay. The important thing is recognizing this and making changes going forward.
• If you currently spend any of your time, money, or efforts thinking about or actively working towards your identified purpose in life, then you're already on your way to living with meaning.

• Focus on your senses. Think about the way things look, sound, smell, feel, and taste, and try to be aware of your reaction to all of that sensory information.
• Concentrate on your breath. Breathing mindfully, being aware of the sensation of each inhalation and exhalation, can help you remain focused and in the present moment.
• Try meditation. Meditating, whether through mindful breathing or mantra recitation, can help you gain a deeper awareness of your thoughts and your actions every day.
• Consider exploring religion. Not everyone needs religion, but many people find it gives their lives greater purpose and a sense of morality.
• You can find meditation and mindfulness classes in your community by searching online. You can also find information about religious organizations near you by searching the internet or by talking to practitioners you know.

Expert Q&A

• Integrity is about demonstrating consistency across the board, especially when no one is watching. It doesn't matter how much integrity you act with around friends if you treat strangers very poorly, so strive to be consistently moral and kind. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235267
• ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/rajeevpeshawaria/2014/11/17/emotional-integrity/#67e60c118e19
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-workaholics/201110/the-loss-integrity
• ↑ http://www.learnhowtobecome.org/volunteer-and-nonprofit-careers/
• ↑ https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/how-start-nonprofit
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-second-noble-truth/201305/your-purpose-in-life

About This Article

To develop personal integrity, try your best to be honest and keep your promises to people, which will help you be true to yourself. You should also be compassionate towards others, as this will make you less selfish and improve the relationships around you. Additionally, try to find your own meaning in life by writing out your goals and values, which can give you greater perspective in life. You can also write a mission statement about what kind of person you want to be and what steps you can take to get there. For example, if you want to be a less selfish person, you might set yourself the goal of volunteering for a charity once a month. For more tips from our Social Work co-author, including how to find ways to live with greater mindfulness, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Statement of Integrity and Code of Conduct

Purdue University has a tradition of ethical conduct spanning its history. As a land-grant institution, we demonstrate our responsiveness to our constituencies and extend to them access to our knowledge resources. We nurture relationships with other partners in education who support our vision or join us to foster common interests. We integrate our mission with our responsibilities. We contribute our knowledge resources impartially in serving our public purposes. As faculty, students, staff, and administrators, we are a community of dedicated learners, scholars, professionals, and practitioners — all contributing our talents to uphold our standards, and improve ourselves and the broader community in which we live and work. Our responsibilities and obligations toward the advancement of learning, discovery, and engagement in the University and in Indiana extend to our nation and the world. This statement of integrity is meant to provide an overarching declaration that informs specific policies and procedures regarding conduct, enforcement, and accountability. Such policies and procedures either exist in official University documents or will be developed as necessary.

At Purdue, integrity is indispensable to our mission. We act with honesty and adhere to the highest standards of moral and ethical values and principles through our personal and professional behavior. We demonstrate our understanding of these values and principles and uphold them in every action and decision. Trust and trustworthiness go hand in hand with how we conduct ourselves, as we sustain a culture that is based upon ethical conduct. We expect our actions to be consistent with our words, and our words to be consistent with our intentions. We accept our responsibilities, share leadership in a democratic spirit, and subject ourselves to the highest standards of public trust. We hold ourselves accountable for our words and our actions.

We champion freedom of expression. To ensure our integrity, we safeguard academic freedom, open inquiry, and debate in the best interests of education, enrichment, and our personal and professional development. We embrace human and intellectual diversity and inclusiveness. We uphold the highest standards of fairness, act as responsible citizens, respect equality and the rights of others, and treat all individuals with dignity.

To fulfill our goals as a learning community, we insist that the objectives of student learning are not compromised. We treat all students equitably, and our evaluations of learning achievements are impartial based on demonstrated academic performance. As students, we understand that learning is the most important goal and we embrace ethical values and principles, and reject academic dishonesty in all our learning endeavors. In the realm of new discoveries, we place the highest value upon truth and accuracy. We acknowledge the contributions of others. We place a higher value on expanding and sharing knowledge than on recognition or ownership.

We work diligently drawing from the strong work ethic of our state of Indiana and are committed to always acting in the best interests of the University. We pledge to make wise use of our resources and to be good stewards of financial, capital, and human resources. We operate within the letter and spirit of the law and prescribed policies, and strive to avoid impropriety or conflict of interest.

As members of the Purdue community, we demonstrate unyielding and uncompromised integrity in support of the highest standards of excellence for the University. As individuals, we all contribute to this Purdue standard of integrity as an exemplary model for all universities.

Ethical Values and Personal Integrity

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Integrity: character; Value: belief, principle

Ethical values are beliefs that provide guidelines for acting rightly in specific roles or for living morally in general. Personal integrity is consistently sound moral character.

Introduction

In addition to defining key terms, an account of ethical values and personal integrity must explain where ethical values can exist and where they originate; question whether values are ephemeral or enduring, and explain why some values endure while others do not; examine whether there is one greatest ethical value or if there are many values of equal importance; suggest how to resolve conflicts among ethical values; inquire whether values are relative or universal; clarify the relationship between ethical values and personal integrity; and point out obstacles to developing ethical values and personal integrity. This article sketches ways to approach each of these tasks by appealing to ancient and modern philosophy and moral...

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Cook, J.L. (2022). Ethical Values and Personal Integrity. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_914

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_914

Published : 06 April 2023

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

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Online ISBN : 978-3-030-66252-3

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Statement From U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle

I would like to start by extending my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, as well as those who were injured during this senseless act of violence.

Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump. 

Since the shooting, I have been in constant contact with Secret Service personnel in Pennsylvania who worked to maintain the integrity of the crime scene until the FBI assumed its role as the lead investigating agency into the assassination attempt. I have also been coordinating with the protective detail for former President Trump and have briefed President Biden on the details of the incident.   

The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again. We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action.

The incident in Pennsylvania has understandably led to questions about potential updates or changes to the security for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The U.S. Secret Service, in conjunction with our Federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety partners, designs operational security plans for National Special Security Events (NSSE) to be dynamic in order to respond to a kinetic security environment and the most up-to-date intelligence from our partners.

I am confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place, which we have reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting. The security plans for National Special Security Events are designed to be flexible. As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the President, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees, volunteers and the City of Milwaukee. In addition to the additional security enhancements we provided former President Trump's detail in June, we have also implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign. 

The Secret Service is tasked with the tremendous responsibility of protecting the current and former leaders of our democracy. It is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously, and I am committed to fulfilling that mission.  

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Research Misconduct

Learn what research misconduct is, how allegations are handled, and find resources to address misconduct.

NIH aims to enable scientific discovery while assuring honesty, transparency, integrity, fair merit-based competition, and protection of intellectual capital and proprietary information. As the largest public funder of biomedical research, NIH sets the standard for innovation and scientific discovery. We promote the highest levels of scientific integrity and public accountability in the conduct of science.

The scientific research enterprise is built on a deep foundation of trust and shared values. As the National Academies wrote in their 2019 On Being a Scientist report, "this trust will endure only if the scientific community devotes itself to exemplifying and transmitting the values associated with ethical scientific conduct" Falsifying, fabricating, or plagiarizing data—all forms of research misconduct—are contrary to these values and ethical conduct.

What is Research Integrity?

Failing to uphold research integrity undermines the public’s confidence and trust in the outcomes of NIH supported research. Research integrity includes:

• the use of honest and verifiable methods in proposing, performing, and evaluating research
• reporting research results with particular attention to adherence to rules, regulations, and guidelines
• following commonly accepted professional codes or norms

Shared values in scientific research

• Honesty: convey information truthfully and honoring commitments
• Accuracy: report findings precisely and take care to avoid errors
• Efficiency: use resources wisely and avoid waste
• Objectivity: let the facts speak for themselves and avoid bias

How does research integrity affect you?

• Researchers rely on trustworthy results of other researchers to make scientific progress.
• Researchers rely on public support, whether through public investments or their voluntary participation in research, to further science.
• The public relies on scientific progress to better the lives of everyone.
• The public could actually be harmed by researchers who are dishonest and act without regards to integrity

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This page last updated on: July 15, 2024

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‘Hill Street Blues,’ ‘Doogie Howser’ actor dead at 90

• Published: Jul. 15, 2024, 10:38 a.m.
• EmilyAnn Jackman | [email protected]

James B. Sikking, actor best known for his roles in the TV shows “ Hill Street Blues ” and “ Doogie Howser, M.D. ” has died at the age of 90.

The actor passed away at his Los Angeles home on July 13 of complications from dementia, according to a statement his publicist, Cynthia Snyder, sent to Variety on Sunday.

“In a remarkable career, Sikking’s wonderfully exciting face gave us drama, comedy, tragedy and hilarious farce. His career spanned over six decades in television, film and on stage,” the statement read. “His talent, integrity and imagination intrigued and delighted audiences.”

The late actor’s career started with stage work and small parts in such 1950s movies as “Five Guns West” and “The Revolt of Mamie Stover.”

He did guest stints on such television series as “Perry Mason,” “General Hospital,” “The Outer Limits,” “The Fugitive,” “Rawhide,” “Bonanza,” “Ironside,” “Starsky & Hutch” and “The Rockford Files,” before becoming a series regular on ABC’s “Hill Street Blues” portraying Lt. Hunter. The show ran for seven seasons.

Following the ending of “Hill Street Blues,” Sikking landed the role of Dr. David Howser in ABC’s “Doogie Howser, M.D.”

Sikking’s film credits include 1984’s “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” as Captain Styles, “Point Blank,” “Made of Honor,” “Fever Pitch,” “Charro!,” “Final Approach,” “Ordinary People,” “Terminal Man” and many more.

His television credits also included “Brooklyn South,” “Invasion America,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and an appearance in a 2012 episode of “The Closer.”

The youngest of five, James Barrie Sikking was born on March 5, 1934, in Los Angeles to Andy and Sue Sikking. He graduated in 1959 with a degree in theater arts from UCLA, where he met his wife Florine Caplan. The two were married for more than 60 years.

The late actor is survived by his wife, their son Andrew, their daughter Emily, and four grandchildren.

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