Global Integrity 10

Affirming Integrity...at all levels
Moral wholeness for a whole world

The integrity of the upright will guide them

but the falseness of the treacherous will destroy them.

Proverbs 11:3

Integrity is moral wholeness—living consistently in moral wholeness. Its opposite is corruption, the distortion, perversion, and deterioration of moral goodness, resulting in the exploitation of people. Global integrity is moral wholeness at all levels in our world—from the individual to the institutional to the international. Global integrity is requisite for “building the future we want—being the people we need.” It is not easy, it is not always black and white, and it can be risky. These entries explore the many facets of integrity with a view towards the global efforts to promote sustainable development and wellbeing.

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As shared in the previous entry, living in integrity is not being morally perfect. But it does involve: admitting mistakes and wrongdoing; acknowledging our propensity for…hypocrisy; trusting ourselves but not completely. And as this entry asserts, integrity involves finding ways to affirm our integrity: to build it and to safeguard it.

The excerpt below is from part two of a guest weblog I (Kelly) did recently for the CHS Alliance (24 February 2016; see the previous entry. The weblog entry was on Ten Psychological Tricks for Avoiding Accountability. Part two though was more positive in that it focused on ways for preserving and developing integrity. Click on the link in the previous sentence to access the entire entry including part two.

Affirming Integrity
"Here are five suggestions for developing the main tool that we have in our good practice arsenal: integrity…[Integrity is] the core quality and commitment that helps us align our stated values with our actual behaviours as we pursue consistent moral wholeness.

1. Yourself. Examine your accountability practices by reviewing this weblog entry. What are you aware of regarding your strengths and weaknesses? Can you give some specific examples?

2. Colleagues. Discuss this topic with colleagues. To what extent are and can colleagues be accountable with one another? Identify some personal, group, organisational and sectoral vulnerabilities...

3. Managers. Encourage management to consider how they express moral values in the workplace, especially reflecting on how one’s private morality can differ from one’s workplace morality. Crisis times...

4. Leaders. Model and mentor transparency and accountability as leaders. Admit mistakes. Welcome feedback from others.  Encourage colleagues to share “uncomfortable” information with you...

5. Ethos. Cultivate an organisational “culture of integrity”...Intentionally weave transparency and accountability into “how we do things:” our organisational thinking, strategies, polices, and procedures...

Applications
--Which of the five 'integrity affirmations' above would you like to explore more?

--Are there any specific applications for your life and/or work.?