During my many, many years as a professional in the work place, I often wonder in amazement at the complete disrespect and lack of integrity some businesses promote. When leaving elementary school for good, I naturally assumed the days of "liar, liar, pants on fire" were over. Alas, I was wrong.
Maybe everyone has forgotten what professional integrity mean. Lets review. Professional integrity can be best stated as the uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character and honesty.
But all is not lost, integrity can be promoted and exemplified in the workplace. It start by developing and maintaining a highly professional and respectful workplace. Below are 5 areas of focus on:
- Ethical Leadership: Managers lead by example to create a professional working environment for everyone.
- Active Management and Supervision: Everyone in management takes responsibility for their team, and actively manage work performance.
- The Right People: Every employee carries out their work duties in accordance with the companies and managers expectations.
- Effective Processes: Risk management processes exist and are complied with by management and employees.
- Confident Professional Reporting: Inner-office reporting facilitates early detection to issues and to work on continuous improvement.
These are a good starting points to keep in mind of you find issues within your organization. It's everyone's responsibility to build workplace integrity and foster higher professional standards. An ethical and professional workplace is the best defense against risks to integrity, including improper conduct, misconduct and corruption.
