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Integrity should represent the guiding principles that you have built your life around. An individual who demonstrates personal integrity will be trusted by the people they encounter. It is truly an example where actions speak louder than the words you speak.

An individual who models integrity will be honest about themselves and are aware of what they really want and what they actually need. There will be consistency in their actions. Their are traits that individuals will measure your integrity by. If these traits are things that you practice in your daily life, individuals will be more likely to trust you and count on you for your honesty.

Examples of traits that individual use as a measure of integrity:

* If you know that you cannot accomplish a task you know when to say no

* When someone criticizes you constructively, you will have a response that shows you are able to take an accurate look at yourself without getting defensive.

* IF you make a promise you will not break it. You will do what you have stated you will do

* If you make a mistake, you will acknowledge and take responsibility for your mistake.

* When an individual trust you to keep something confidential, you will respect that person and keep it confidential.

If you have received feedback that other people feel they cannot trust you, than there are steps to take to find out exactly what actions are causing people not to trust you. You can ask for feedback about what you do or neglect to do that is causing a lack of trust. This is a time when an individual or individuals are speaking, that you remain silent and listen. Do not become defensive.

When you are dealing with a situation, be cognate of your behavior. Never focus on only one side of an issue. It is vital that you take into account all the facts, and not just the facts that support your personal view. Interact with other individuals that are involved in the situation and have a different perspective from you. A good tool of the trade to use to identify personal bias in a situation, is to look for the words you use that are expressing emotions. Eliminate your emotions and you will have a clearer and more accurate picture of a situation. Individuals will look at you as a person of integrity if you are aware of your own biases and you do not let them cloud your judgement.

Individuals will not view you as a person of integrity if you are an individual that is known to make themselves look better at the expense of others. If you believe that the most important thing is that you win or want to be seen as better than others, than you are not a model of integrity. The big drawback is what goes around will come back to you. If your behavior is not one of integrity, the way you conduct yourself will invite other individuals to act the same way towards you. In other words it will not pay to undermine others for your own personal gain.

People will measure your integrity by the way you act, the attitude you display and if you follow through and help people when you say you will. Even if you act with integrity almost all of the time, individuals will quickly note the time and are more apt to remember when you did something not viewed as modeling integrity. Remember it is important to make ethical decisions and never compromise your own integrity to please others. Stand up for what is right, when someone is pressuring you to do the wrong thing. Integrity will always get you further ahead, those who do not model integrity will at some point get caught in their own web of unethical behaviors.

Learn more about this author, D. P. Noe.
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