One of the interview questions I like to ask is, “What are the most important qualities you look for in a boss?”  The best answer I’ve ever received was integrity.

I didn’t think it was a great answer at the time though, so I asked him to explain why.  His response made me a believer.  “If your boss doesn’t have integrity, how could you ever trust them.  And if you can’t trust them, why would you ever let them lead you anywhere.  If you listed off the next 5, hell the next 20, most important qualities of a boss or a leader, they’d all mean nothing without integrity.”

His answer floored me and has stuck with me ever since.  It made me ask questions of myself too.  Did I possess this holy grail of perfect integrity?  Was I someone my employees could truly trust?  And how could I tell if I didn’t or if I wasn’t?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always believed I possessed integrity.  But would I even know if I didn’t?  So I asked my peers and my employees what integrity meant to them.

While there were some outliers, the answers mostly centered around one common theme.  Integrity is living and acting in conjunction with one’s thoughts, beliefs, and words.  It extends beyond the workplace, into the home and into life. 

While I love the definition, it is unfortunately an impossible litmus.  There are times where we are forced to make a choice that doesn’t entirely fit our philosophy.  Sometimes its because none of the choices fit, but one has to be made.  Other times, its because we don’t have the time to vet all of the options thoroughly and we make a choice we didn’t know would be a contradiction.  And I’m sure there are other reasons beyond this that would prevent one from achieving this definition of integrity.

So I would alter the definition slightly to state that it is about intention and doesn’t require that every action be in total conjunction with one’s philosophy.  Just because we make a poor choice doesn’t mean that we lack integrity.  But if we constantly aspire to it, then we will certainly achieve it, and all those that we interact with, will be better off for it.  Whether it be your employees or your family members, they will all see the strong integrity that you possess even when you might fall short of your intention.

To anyone looking for a great boss or leader to follow, make sure they have integrity.  To anyone looking to be themselves a great leader or boss, make sure you aspire to do everything you do with integrity otherwise everything that you’ve done has been in vain.

What is your take on integrity and what has been your experience with it professionally?  Let us know in the comments.