Living by values ​​or why acting with integrity is so important

Disorder is physically described as entropy. It’s a natural tendency for the entropy in a system to always increase. Everyone knows this from home: don’t clean up for a week, and everything will spread out evenly in a “disorderly” fashion. What we need is structure. Without rules, there is no survival.

Following rules is deeply ingrained in us. From birth, we are dependent on the community and want, indeed need, to belong to it in order to survive. And the community quickly makes it clear what the rules of the game are.

Eventually, we also encounter people who break the rules: stolen chewing gum, bullied classmates, extorted homework. Our conscience rebels, we react with shock, indignation, and anger—or we find ourselves in a dilemma, not wanting to betray the other person, because they belong to our “community”.

As an adult, situations can become more threatening, for example, when you encounter rule violations in the workplace: Accusations against the supervisor are circulating within the team, ranging from bullying and discrimination to inappropriate leadership style. What to do?

Two old acquaintances quickly join me: the little angel and the little devil. Neither of them holds back with their advice. Let’s listen in on the inner dialogue between “Superwoman” and “Couch potato”:

• Little Angel: “This is completely unacceptable. We have to do something!”
• Little Devil: “Now, hold on a minute… Maybe he’s just having some trouble with his wife.”
• Little Angel: “Even if he might be having personal problems, that’s no way to treat people! This has been going on for a while, and this colleague isn’t the only one affected.”
• Little Devil: “Maybe they’re all just jealous of his great new position.”
• Little Angel: “And that’s why they’re making these accusations? I really can’t imagine that. I prefer to stick to the good old ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!’ And I certainly wouldn’t want to be treated like that. So I’m going to do something about it if the people affected don’t dare to speak up themselves!”

Perhaps you could address the perpetrator directly and use constructive feedback to make them aware of their behavior and steer things in a positive direction. However, the longer demeaning or even criminal behavior persists, often manifesting subtly in everyday interactions, the more difficult it becomes to address it. Especially when long-standing team members or even managers exhibit such behavior, it shapes the team’s culture and becomes “normal.”

Values ​​as an inner compass

Did you dare to address the elephant in the room at the last meeting – that one question that everyone forgot to answer at the beginning of the project and that now, far into the project, keeps causing problems? Or were you afraid of being perceived as incompetent, presumptuous, or disruptive? This self-protective behavior is often chosen, even though it has been proven to hinder collaboration and drag projects out unnecessarily.

Because we don’t just love being together – as challenging as that can sometimes be – we also love our comfort zone. No changes, please! But the extremes of “everything as usual” and “that’s absolutely unacceptable” simply can’t coexist. Sometimes you have to make the decision to address unpleasant things, things that go against our values, our “inner compass.” And that’s also so we can still look ourselves in the mirror in the morning!

A “speak up” culture as a driver of growth

A work environment where employees can express their thoughts, even on critical issues, without fear of negative consequences – that’s what “speaking up” means. Organizations must commit to such a culture and consciously promote the desired behavior. Companies benefit in several ways, because independent thinking and critical feedback from employees, who are experts at the operational level, are particularly valuable for business development. Conflicts between employees can be addressed early on in daily communication. Furthermore, suspected cases of misconduct can be reported confidentially through defined channels.

Psychological safety

Companies benefit when employees feel comfortable expressing their opinions, suggestions, or concerns openly. In a fear-free environment, the fundamental framework is what is known as psychological safety. For example, a company can openly communicate its corporate values ​​and create a framework for employees through guidelines and defined processes, enabling them to work without fear and with motivation. They know how they are expected to act, who will support them, and that even critical issues can be addressed.

But simply expressing your thoughts freely and spontaneously? How will I be perceived by those around me? What will happen to me if I bring this up? Expressing criticism can be a major psychological challenge. It requires courage and trust in the company’s culture, values, and processes.

In a fear-free environment, people cooperate more frequently, take on more responsibility, and also embrace new tasks. In such a culture, employees feel valued, are less likely to quit, adapt better to change, are more effective, and thus contribute significantly to economic success.

Do you work in a fear-free environment? Is your voice heard? Are the values ​​of your organization put into practice? It is also up to each and every individual to take responsibility for an open culture – for respectful collaboration on equal footing.

„Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about important things.“
(Dr. Martin Luther King, 1929-1968, American Baptist pastor and civil rights activist)

© Your Julia Bach

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