How to Be A Leader of Integrity

There's a key ingredient to becoming a leader that people actually respect, but most people miss it. Keep reading to find out what it is!

Can I ask a weird question..?

What are you doing with your business values?

No really. Think about it.

You probably spent half of a day brainstorming and going through a creative process to define what values your business stands for, but what are you doing with them now?

I used to believe that having a clever and unique set of values would attract people to me, including people that would want to work for someone with similar values as them.

But if you've heard anything about the Great Resignation, workers' rights, or workplace culture over the last two yours, you've probably seen major companies who tout great values as having unhappy employees because they aren't living up to what they say is important to them.

I had this realization that in order for online solopreneurs to become leaders of integrity, it's critically important that we start ACTING in our values immediately.

✨ Whether we have a team yet or not.

✨ Whether you're ready to hire or not.

✨ Whether you're intending to scale your business or not.

Do this quick exercise to ensure that you're a leader of integrity, acting in alignment with your visions, and also the values that your business reflects:

1. If you haven't already, clarify your values. Try to be specific. Move past the obvious ones that everyone should be living like "integrity", "honesty", etc.

2. Create a list of action items that you will want your team or internal community to take that reflect those values.

For example, one of my values is "Humanness at the center of everything" so for our team, this translates to creating space at the beginning of meetings to talk about our personal lives. This is a very clear action that our business takes to ensure we are living out and in integrity with that value.

3. Personally start doing those actions NOW.

This is the most critical step because this is the foundation of what makes you a leader. You will lead by example and be in integrity and complete alignment when you are able to hold others to the same expectation that you hold yourself to.

✨ If you will expect others to leave their phones off during meetings, check to make sure you're putting your phone away when you're on zoom.

✨ If you will expect others to give 24-hour notice on new tasks that need to be done, make sure that you are respecting others' time and not making last-minute changes with yourself and your own deadlines!

✨ If you will expect others to take all of their vacation days, make sure you are setting a work boundary and take time off yourself.

The great part about holding yourself to your own expectations is that it's an experiment. If you decide that the expectation is too harsh, not harsh enough, not clear enough, or too cumbersome, you'll know! You won't have to wait on another person to call it out.

This is how you turn values into something airy-fairy 🙄 that no one trusts, into an actual workplace culture created on the foundation of integrity. And that is the future of work! 👏

If you're not already, follow me on Instagram @emilybronaugh and let me know what behaviors you're going to start implementing.

Xoxo,

Emily B.

Categories: : leadership, sustainable business