It is no secret that integrity is essential to leadership. Without integrity, leaders and the organizations they lead often collapse. Integrity implies being whole or complete. When a person lacks integrity in character, it means they have gaps or holes between what they believe and how they act. In other words, what they say and what they do are not aligned–they don’t match.
Integrity of character is not the only integrity that matters–inside/outside integrity is important as well. Where as integrity of character bridges the gap between what I believe and how I act, inside/outside integrity bridges the gap between my strengths and the roles that I serve in. Here’s how it works. If I understand the strengths that God wired me with, but I am currently serving in roles that are not aligned with my strengths, then I lack integrity between how I’m wired on the inside and how I’m serving on the outside.
For example, if I’m wired on the inside with the strengths of a salesman, but I’m serving on the outside in a role that limits my interaction with people, then I lack inside/outside integrity. Remember, integrity is about being whole or complete. If the strengths on the inside of you are not matched with the right role on the outside, then there is a lack of wholeness or completeness. It’s like having one piece of the puzzle without the other.
Question: On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rank your inside/outside integrity? How well do you understand your personal strengths? How well do the roles you serve in (whether on the job, in the community, through your church, etc.) play to your strengths? How can you close the gaps.
