Integrity in behaviour

The second of Baptistcare’s values is integrity and respect in personal and organisational behaviour.

I’ve flown in a few light aircrafts in my time, but the most memorable was a flight in a Lake Buccaneer, which is a very small (four seater) amphibious aircraft. The flight from Derby to Cockatoo Island in the far north of WA was not without some trepidation but the most frightening part was trying to land and take off from the crocodile infested ocean around Cockatoo Island. People in the industry describe the Lake Buccaneer as having the aerodynamics of a dead cat when the power goes, and it’s probably just as well that I didn’t find out till after the flight that it had sunk on two previous occasions in its life.

I wouldn’t describe the aircraft as having integrity, but it worked. It got me to Cockatoo Island and back without crashing, sinking or falling apart, although the way it rattled and roared I had my doubts on a number of occasions.

The way we behave in the workplace or for that matter, in our family and social life, may be acceptable by some standards. We can get things done that are expected of us and generally speaking we get by without any major problems. But can we described as having integrity in our behaviour?

Quite often integrity isn’t obvious until there is a crisis. When the storm breaks or the seas are rough I think we can judge a person’s integrity by the degree to which they display a wholeness of character that doesn’t resort to defensiveness, anger or blame.

I’d be interested to hear your comments about how we can show integrity in our personal and organisational behaviour.