Happy Sunday all,
I inked a deal with myself when I started this newsletter: write weekly, permit skip-weeks when there's nothing to say. On skip weeks, I agreed to tweet every day as a consequence. (The right one, I generally dislike Twitter.)
Over the past five weeks, I have been out of integrity on my promise. I said I would write weekly or tweet daily, and I did not.
This never seems a big deal at first. So what if I forgot to write? My feelings, however, eventually prove otherwise. I feel like shit after blowing off even the smallest thing. Why is that?
Enter the illusive concept of integrity. A word we all know, but one I feel is misunderstood. Most of us hear integrity and think morality; we twist it with "being a good person" or "doing the right thing." To me, that's not it at all.
This past month I read an essay called Capitalism and Society about "out-of-integrity" behavior and its impact on people, business, and the world. I began summarizing my learnings, and I couldn't stop writing.
Integrity is my favorite concept and I'm excited to share how I use it as a tool in my life and building Huddle. A lengthier-than- normal post follows.
✌️Mike
My feed this week
Capitalism and Society is an HBS white paper about financial scandals, human behavior, and integrity - my only read this past month (91 pages).
What I learned this week
Integrity — A Positive Phenomenon
Why integrity?
I'm fascinated by the concept of integrity - it's improved my work and relationships by quantum leaps. Integrity is a concept my teammates at Huddle have grown to know and love, helping us focus on facts, get to the source of things, build healthy working relationships and keep things fun.
What is integrity?
I grew up thinking integrity was about being a "good person" based on other people's beliefs. I now know integrity is about being myself, acting in alignment with my own internal compass.
Most people I meet don't immediately understand integrity, at least not as I've come to know it. The misinterpretation of integrity comes straight from Webster's Dictionary, which provides two starkly different definitions: one fact-based and one based on subjective moral values.
Fact-based integrity
“The state of being whole, complete, unbroken, unimpaired, sound, in perfect condition, consistent, lacking corruption."
This definition is straightforward - things either have integrity or not. Something is either whole or broken. A task is completed or not. Viewed this way, integrity is something that can be tested and proved.
Morality based Integrity
"The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness."
Whether something is honest or moral is subjective. People, cultures, groups, companies, nations, etc., have different moral values. When we collapse integrity with morality, the byproduct has real consequences: blaming, misunderstanding, diminished creativity, and more.
Integrity is a positive phenomenon.
I employ definition #1 and think integrity is fact-based - testable and trackable. People, groups, and systems with integrity work, and those without it don't. This is what Capitalism and Society call integrity as a positive phenomenon.
You can think about integrity like a bicycle wheel where the spokes are thoughts, words, actions, and feelings. The wheel turns and works as designed when they are all moving in the same direction. Bent spokes make the wheel turn less efficiently, and broken spokes cause the wheel to stop.
Humans have integrity when our thoughts, words, actions, and feelings align — i.e., our system is fully integrated. In a way, integrity means being ourselves, which brings a sense of freedom and presence. When we aren't ourselves, and our words and actions don't line up with how we really feel or what we really think, our system experiences a breakdown.
Here are some examples of out-of-integrity behavior:
I feel sad, but I try to think positively, say positive things, and take positive actions. This never works. We can't feel sad and pretend not to. The only way out of sadness is to admit it.
I think about starting a project; say I will but take no action. This is out of integrity and inevitably won't feel good. The fourth part of the system, feelings, will align with the others.
I say I will deliver work by Friday at 5 pm but blow it off. Not only will I feel bad about my behavior, but my thoughts will also start a riot, coming up with a litany of made-up excuses to defend my behavior.
I meet with someone even though I don't like them or want to. This action is out of integrity because I don't want to go. Your thoughts and feelings aren't aligned with your words and actions.
If something in my life isn't working, I first check to see where I'm out of integrity. The most accessible place to look is my word. This is also what makes integrity testable and trackable. I either did what I said, or I did not.
The "shoulds"
Integrity simplifies the equation of life: things either work or they do not. Removing morality from the equation means we can worry less about the right or wrong decision, or what I call "the shoulds," and focus on what works.
Debating what we should/shouldn't do generally means focusing on societal norms, traits, or beliefs we inherited. While there's nothing wrong with having a moral compass, listening to you can be more challenging.
There's nothing wrong with feeling sad and acting positive, but it is healthier to process and experience your emotions. There's also nothing bad about projects you never start, late deadlines, or meetings you don't want. However, there is an impact. You might feel dissatisfied creatively, get fired, or end up with a tribe of friends you don't even like.
There's a difference between something being wrong or bad and something not working. Making things wrong or bad generally keeps us stuck while determining what's working helps us grow. Living a life of integrity is about aligning your thoughts, words, and actions with your desired results and how you want to feel. It is not about what you should or should not do.
Integrity in teams
On a personal level, the wheel is accessed by doing what you said you would do, then checking to see if your words and actions align with what you think and feel. At the group/team level, integrity is about creating agreements.
At Huddle, we lean into integrity by hosting a weekly meeting where teammates check in on tasks completed and incomplete. We focus on what we said we would do, what we did, and what we didn't. We collectively agree on actions and set off to do them. There is no right, wrong, good, or bad. Projects are completed on time or not. When tasks aren't complete, we try to understand why and the impact on the business and the team.
This could sound like a difficult way to work, but I've found the opposite true. An integrity-based model for company building creates a bias towards action, encourages clear communication, and removes the emotional charge of decision-making. It gives early-stage teams something to agree on and track when there's little data to prove whether actions are working. Consistent action is the only way to collect data and learn. I also feel better knowing I can call myself out for being out-of-integrity, ask for help, and keep moving.
Integrity in society
Our society is constantly debating everything today: politics, race, gender, religion, sex, climate change, guns, and more. Somehow, the information age has made facts less essential. We live in an era of heightened morality, where battling over issues on social media has become routine.
This isn't the path toward solving anything. I think it's the path toward staying stuck exactly where we are. I'd like to live in a world where people value integrity over morality. One where we're less concerned with finger-pointing and fighting and more concerned with high-integrity communication and collaboration. Perhaps it's eutopic, but I think it starts with understanding the difference.1
Try this on
For one week, write down what you say you will do and do it:
Write down what you will do for the week on Sunday night
Include only things you will do
Do not write down things you might do
Put each action in your calendar
Stick to the schedule you created
Do each task at the scheduled time
If you cannot stick to the expected time because life happens
Try to stick to it anyway
Get creative and ask for help
If you absolutely cannot get something done
Tell involved parties right away
Recreate your actions list and reschedule the task
Write me and tell me how it went
Thank you to the Foster writing community and Jennifer Lewis for your support in editing and refining this post
Disclaimer: I am not suggesting there is no right or wrong, or morality isn't valuable. Every society has agreements and laws we follow for the good of people. Agreeing to live in a particular community means having integrity in the community's agreements. I offer only that integrity is more effective in determining what works and what doesn’t at the individual, group, and societal levels. Unfortunately, I have to write this because, during the integrity conversation, a few people always think I'm telling them that it's OK to wreak havoc or harm others. Clearly, I am not.