How often do you evaluate your personal beliefs?
Do you live firmly by your beliefs and values?
From my experience in the Engineering and Construction Industry, integrity is king. You can nearly walk into or view any fortune 500 organisations’ website and bingo! You will find integrity in the company values. However based on the Oxford English Dictionary definition of integrity, I am convinced that integrity is not the answer. Below are the following definitions of integrity found on Oxforddictionaries.com:
1. THE QUALITY OF BEING HONEST AND HAVING STRONG MORAL PRINCIPLES;
2. THE STATE OF BEING WHOLE AND UNDIVIDED;
3. THE CONDITION OF BEING UNIFIED OR SOUND IN CONSTRUCTION; AND
4. INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OR LACK OF CORRUPTION IN ELECTRONIC DATA.
From the looks of things, this seems pretty clear. In fact, I agree with the above. However, many organisations like to reduce integrity to the following:
To do as you say and say as you do.
And this is where it all falls down. This notion of acting and saying with unity is so wrong. In fact; acting, speaking whilst being embedded within your personal morals and values just doesn’t cut it any more.
We want remarkable, right? We want to be working in the most remarkable team. We want to be the most remarkable entrepreneur or manager. We want to be the most remarkable athlete, husband, wife, father, mother, son, student, facilitator, coach, you name it! The world rewards remarkable. Very good isn’t safe any more. In fact, it’s risky to be very good.
Then, you’re probably thinking what separates the remarkable people of the world from the very good people.
One word. That’s it. Congruency. These people are forever in a state of being congruent. These people are in a state of complete alignment and harmony with themselves. Not only do they say how they act, they also think how they act and more importantly they feel and acknowledge that what they’re doing on this earth is their genuine calling. Their actions are morally and ethically aligned with who they are at heart. These people, companies, athletes, mothers and fathers are the leaders in their fields. There’s even a Theory of Congruent Leadership (for those who are interested: http://www.web.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1879459/Toward-the-theory.pdf)!
So look around you, who are the leaders that you know of that inspire you the most? Which leaders have truly inspired and why? Have you seen how they inspire action? These people have always had a vision which they are willing to stake their entire dependence upon. With this type of conviction, it’s hard to argue that these leaders weren’t congruent with who they are. They, no doubt, are (or were) more in tune with themselves than any other person on.
So, how does one become more congruent? It’s pretty simple actually.
All it takes is listening to your internal dialogue and working out who you really are, what you stand for and determining your personal mission statement. For me, this all was kicked off by reading Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. The book identified something to me which truly changed my life…
Congruency comes from the heart
Be congruent. Be remarkable. Embrace it.
