What is Personal Integrity?

Integrity. There are a lot of definitions for what it means to have integrity. I am working in a corporate environment where there's emphasis on "integrity" and "ethics," but I don't often hear a common understanding of what it means to have integrity. The common definition at my office seems more like "honesty." I think that's a pretty low bar, and a weak standard to bear.

My definition of integrity is more like, "Say what you mean, and mean what you say."

If you understand yourself well enough to know how you feel and to know what you want, then you need to share it. You need to say what you mean--not what might sound good or what you think others want to hear. If you can't say what you want, then no one will ever know! No one can read your mind. Be genuine.

You should share your opinions, and stand behind them with conviction. You should mean what you say.

Now that's integrity.