Integrity: The Less You Use It, The More You Have - Hot Mess Express

Integrity is defined as: * the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. * the state of being whole and undivided Society today has an integrity deficit. Instead of trading in truths, bullshit and lies are the currency of the times. It doesn’t matter if it’s in relationships, in the workplace, or on the teevee. There is a serious deficit of people who have integrity and are congruent. Nowhere is this more visible than in the political realm. Just today I caught the tail end of an interview with Dr. Gina Loudon. Her brand is built on honesty, truth, and being a psychological, political, and social commentator. Now, according to her bio she’s well educated. Yet in this interview 99% of what came out her mouth was bullshit and lies. Not little ones either. Big, flaming, disproved with 8 seconds on the Google lies. What does this say about her and her brand? What does this say about her expertise? Honestly, what it says is that her brand is not trustworthy and her expertise is a sham. Integrity Breeds Trust There’s an old saying that goes “all a man has is his word” and it’s true. All the awards and accolades you may have earned don’t mean shit if you people can’t trust you. This goes for relationships, in your career, and in building your own brand. While most anyone can bullshit their way to the top, it almost always comes crashing down. The title of this post comes from an old saying my Chief had back when I was in the navy. It is a commentary on being a standup guy and always being truthful. In today’s post truth world it’s especially relevant to be a person of integrity if you want to be a leader. When you have integrity and your congruent with your beliefs, people will look to you as the expert. True leaders have integrity. Con artists have bullshit and lies. Think of the last time someone tried you sell you a bill of goods. Did you feel like you could trust them, go into business with them, hire them, or date them? Probably not. In fact, when they were done you probably rolled your eyes and muttered to yourself what an asshole they were. Mark Twain once said “If you always tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything”. Tell the truth. Be a person of integrity. Always.