Understanding the "Core Values" of Honesty and Integrity

Often I hear that Honesty and Integrity are core values - as they should be. Would you ever Hire someone who wasn't honest or exhibited Integrity? How often though have you employed someone to be disappointed on these values.

The challenge is that you need to go to a deeper level so your people can understand what it really means in your organisation. The words are like the outer layer of an onion and you need to peel back the layers until you get to the real "core" of the definition for your company.

In our company "Live what we teach" defines Integrity for me. We have a client who is a painting contractor that has "3 coats means 3 coats". Isn't this a lot easier for his staff to understand than Integrity.

The difinitions are different for every company. What does the inside of your onion look like for Honesty and Integrity in your company.

Core Values - Honesty and Integrity

Often I see companies with "Honesty and Integrity" as core values. While these as essential elements of any company, do your people really know what they mean.

Today with your staff ask them to write down what their definition of these two values. When you have collected all the answers how many of them are the same?

The difficulty with these two words is that they mean different things to different people. So how can you align peoples behaiviour in your business or organisation when no one is clear on the definition?

Have fun with the exercise and tomorrow I will discuss what to do about it

Karl