What does integrity mean as a core value?
Integrity as a core value means acting in line with your principles, so that what you believe, what you say and what you do match, including when nobody is watching.
Some people are the same person in the meeting and in the corridor afterwards. That’s the aim when integrity is a core value. What you believe, what you say and what you do line up, especially when it would be easier if they didn’t. Being whole matters to you as much as being good. Most people would say they value integrity. For those who hold it as a core value, the difference is how uncomfortable it feels when those three drift apart.
What does integrity look like in practice?
- You flag your own mistake before anyone else finds it.
- You keep a small promise even when nobody would notice you’d broken it.
- You’d rather lose a deal than win it with a claim you can’t stand behind.
- You talk about a colleague the same way whether or not they’re in the room.
- You turn down work that clashes with what you believe, even when the money is good.
When is integrity overplayed?
Held too tightly, integrity can harden into rigidity: treating every grey area as black and white, judging others harshly for small compromises, or refusing to revisit a decision when new information arrives. The healthy version keeps the principle and stays open about how it applies. A useful test, when you feel yourself digging in, is to ask what you’re protecting. Sometimes it’s what matters. Sometimes it’s your picture of yourself as someone who always gets it right.
Often confused with
Integrity vs Honesty
Honesty is about telling the truth. Integrity is broader: acting in line with your principles even when nobody asks and nothing needs to be said.
Integrity vs Authenticity
Authenticity is being true to yourself. Integrity is being true to your principles. You can be authentically inconsistent; integrity asks you not to be.
Integrity vs Reliability
Reliability is keeping your commitments. Integrity asks whether those commitments reflect what you believe in the first place.
Questions to sit with
- When did you last notice a gap between what you believed and what you did? What made the gap possible?
- Which of your principles would you keep even if it cost you a promotion?
- Who would be first to notice if your integrity slipped, and what would they see?
More values in Truth
Honesty, openness and being who you say you are.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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