I was sitting in traffic a few days ago, deliberately not going through the light toward the left-turn lane, which was backed up. You know, “don’t block the box.”
The person behind me wasn’t happy about it.
There’s a common saying that “integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.” Which is valid, of course.
But I would say that integrity is also doing the right thing when people are watching – and they disagree with you, and are getting annoyed.
In fact, I’d say that this latter perspective is where integrity really shows itself – or doesn’t.
This is where I get political… you’ve been warned
With the appalling scene in the Oval Office on Friday February 28th, where Trump and Vance, our president and vice president, attempted to bully President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and the subsequent statements by various Republican senators and representatives supporting what happened – well – this is where that second type of integrity is sorely lacking in people who should – and do – know better. As evidenced by the fact that, before that awful meeting, those same congresspeople were posting and speaking in strong support of Ukraine. Afterwards? Well, posts were deleted and tunes were changed, to say the least.
End of politics, mostly, for now
We all face these choices of integrity. It’s part of being human.
And because another part of being human is a very strong, insistent, and inherent need to be part of a group – a need based on the evolutionary reality that a prehistoric human without their tribe was likely to die – when integrity requires us to take a stand against what we think others believe and want – it’s hard.
But who are we if we don’t do that?
How are we leading if we don’t do that? Are we even leading?
Slight diversion into politics
All we have to do is look at the photos of Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, during that meeting. The misery on his face, in his posture, is clear.
End diversion
The risk of standing up for something when it goes against those around us, and especially when it’s against what the people in power want, is significant. Obviously.
But the personal risk to each of us individually, as humans – well – I believe it’s a lot worse than merely “significant.”
It’s uncomfortable to think about times when we may have failed at integrity. And it’s informative and revealing. If, that is, we want to grow as leaders – and as humans.