A cartoon in The New Yorker depicts two executives sitting in jail. One turns to the other and says, “And all along I thought our level of corruption fell well within community standards.” In a survey of 400 managers, 55 percent said they did not trust their top management. We're living in the age of Enron! Will Rogers said, “People's minds are changed through observation, not argument. People do what people see.”  89 percent of what we learn comes through visual stimulation, the remainder through audible stimulation. So it makes sense that the more people see your consistency, the greater their respect and loyalty will be. What they hear, they understand; what they see, they believe and follow! That's why the Psalmist prayed, Guard my life...let me not be put to shame...May integrity... protect me...” (Psalm 25:20-21).

 

When integrity is the referee, your lips and your heart will be in agreement. Your beliefs will be mirrored by your conduct. There'll be no discrepancy between what you appear to be and what your family knows you are, whether in good times or bad. John Maxwell says, “Integrity determines beforehand what you'll be, regardless of the circumstances, persons involved, or places of testing. Integrity is not only the referee between two desires, it's the 'decision maker' between being happy and being fragmented. It frees you to be a whole person no matter what comes your way.” Socrates said, “The key to greatness is to be in reality what we appear to be.” He's right!