Integrity of Heart
Aligning words and actions is foundational to the work of Healthy Messages™ in helping professionals to craft, implement, and improve healthy messages. It’s not only integral for organizational health. It’s crucial for building character, and ultimately for adding value to the lives of others. Ever find that you say one thing but do another? This can be challenging personally and professionally. On one hand, it creates doubt, uncertainty, and confusion, particularly as it relates to others being able to trust and depend on you. On the other hand, it limits the power of the message that you want to convey to others and your overall impact. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and fair, the state of being complete or whole (Merriam-Webster). It’s about your words and actions being consistent. How are you walking in integrity in your life and work?
Integrity in your life and work is shaped by your personal values - what is important to you, what motivates you, and what inspires you to do the work that you do. Consistency between values, words, and actions is necessary for maintaining integrity. A huge inspiration for me in offering Healthy Messages™ was the general lack of cohesion and discrepancies in the messages shared in helping professions/organizations which result in both professional and organizational challenges and poor client experiences. For helping professions in particular where individuals served may be experiencing a number of socio-economic and/or health/mental health issues, providing the best services possible is quintessential. The idea that clients receive less than optimal experiences in services intended to enhance their wellbeing is disheartening and unfortunate given the potential for growth and transformation.
Consider challenges to maintaining integrity in your life and work. What gaps, if any, do you see between your values, words, and actions? Or how are you representing the message(s) you’d like to convey and what is its impact personally, professionally, and organizationally?
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share a comment or reach out if you’d like to connect, have questions, or are interested in partnering.
Healthy Messages™ helps professionals, leaders, and business owners in human services improve, craft, and implement communication within and across systems.
Learn more about Healthy Messages™ mission, vision, and outcomes.
