Our values & servant leadership - Integrity
At New Politics Leadership Academy, we define integrity as being willing to take action in alignment with our own deepest values and with a clear-eyed understanding of the challenges our communities face. Integrity can look different for everyone, but what’s the same for all people is that living with integrity means a willingness to constantly re-evaluate and reflect deeply on whether you’re living life in alignment with your values.
Living with integrity is never easy. We often find ourselves drawn toward our “shadow” —the dark place where ego or fear dominate. When our choices do not align with our values, we are living in the shadow. This happens to all of us. We have to regularly make adjustments, tweaks, or even about-faces to bring integrity back into the forefront of our lives.
Over the years, I have witnessed how service experience can ground people firmly in their values. As a Marine Corps veteran, my husband Matt references the oath he took when he was commissioned as one of the most important outward statements of his values. This oath—along with the oath he took when we got married and the oath he took when he was appointed to the Massachusetts Citizens Commission—is central to ensuring the choices he makes are led by integrity. Service alumni and veterans are particularly well equipped to live with integrity — they take a values-based oath at a young age and understand the importance of living by this oath even beyond their official years of service. An oath of service can be central to ensuring alignment between one’s choices and one’s values.
While many servant leaders cultivate integrity through their service, the good news is that anyone can conscientiously strengthen their integrity through practices. Here are some actionable tips on how you can live with more integrity:
Complete Answering the Call. Integrity looks different for everyone because it is values-based, and Answering the Call will take you through the key first step in living with integrity — clarifying your mission and confronting your shadow mission.
Name your values regularly. Once you know what your values are, regularly name them and do a self-check on whether your actions reflect your values. If they don’t, think intentionally about how you can bring your life back in alignment with your values.
Share your mission and values. Share your mission and values with somebody you trust so you can check in with that person and they can hold you accountable to living by them.
Write down your goals. Writing down your goals will make them more salient. Even more powerful, post these written goals somewhere you will see each day, like on your bathroom mirror. That way, you’ll be regularly reminded of steps you can take to live with integrity.