Integrity. The first of our core values and the foundation of our company culture.
The dictionary defines integrity as, “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness”. We’d like to add our interpretation to the definition that it also means, “Doing the right thing when no one is looking.”
This is why integrity is an integral part of our company culture; of our core values.
It is a critical component during our hiring process; we expect our team members to have this core value on day one—that it is integral to their belief system. It is our duty as we serve our clients to bring together the best team for them—values included.
KimbleCo follows the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) and when it comes to hiring talent, it is all about getting “the right people in the right seats”. The right people are “the ones who share your company’s core values.” (Gino Wickman, Traction).
People that embrace integrity usually operate with it routinely and on a consistent basis. But we all know that there are those times we are faced with challenging situations and we are called to think carefully about what integrity means and how we move forward in it. Our team discusses our core values on a regular basis, especially when we are faced with a critical situation. We are open. We are honest. We discuss our core values and how to stay true to them. This openness also links to our core value of communication and transparency.
Integrity influences actions both big and small. To us, it means things like:
Maintaining confidentiality.
Highlighting the successes of others (giving credit where credit is due).
Being respectful.
Being honest (even if it may be difficult to do so).
Owning up to failure (don’t let someone take the blame for something you did).
Being responsible.
Following up on what you say you’ll do.
Giving others the benefit of the doubt (assume positive intentions).
Being kind.
Being patient.
Walking in the other person’s shoes (have empathy).
We can demonstrate integrity in our personal lives as well such as going back in to pay for an item if you realize something in the bottom of your cart was not rung up. Or giving back change if a cashier accidentally handed you too much. It’s the small actions that demonstrate integrity as much as the large ones.
Integrity may seem like a tall order when you get down to the details. But we think it’s the way most of us want to live and how most of us would like to be treated. And, we believe that we will feel good about acting in integrity even in challenging situations.
In our opinion, integrity is best summed up by another well-known quote: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31).
This core value is one we pride ourselves on at KimbleCo and it’s one that our clients can trust will show through in our work. Professionally, personally and otherwise.
How are you showing integrity in your business?