TIME TO READ: 4 MINUTES

Welcome to The Sunday Shift.

Earlier this week, I found myself down a rabbit hole looking up the meaning of integrity.

A client said something in a coaching conversation that stuck with me, “Something feels off.” She went on to explain a situation at work that made her feel “icky.” Her word, not mine, but I immediately knew what she meant.

What she was reacting to was a lack of integrity in leadership.

Her values were being challenged by what she was seeing, hearing, and experiencing from her boss. The words didn’t match the actions. Decisions didn’t align with what the team was being told. And whether anyone wanted to say it out loud or not, trust was starting to erode.

Peter Drucker said, “Followers will forgive a leader much, but they will never forgive a lack of integrity.”

That line stayed with me because it explained exactly what my client was feeling.

She hadn’t officially resigned, but mentally and emotionally, she was already halfway out the door. At one point she said, “My number one priority right now is getting out of here.”

I got it. I’ve been there.

It amazes me how quickly things begin to fracture when integrity disappears from a relationship, a team, or an organization.

You can build a lot without integrity. A career. A title. A reputation that looks solid from the outside. But eventually the gap between how things look and how they actually are becomes the loudest thing in the room.

I’ve watched it happen. The meetings get quieter. People stop saying what they think. A particular kind of exhaustion sets in — not from the work, but from the gap between what’s being said and what everyone already knows is true.

I’ve also seen the opposite.

Leaders who aren’t perfect but are deeply trusted because people know exactly where they stand. Their words and actions match. They own mistakes. They tell the truth even when it’s uncomfortable. They don’t become a different person depending on who’s in the room.

That’s integrity to me.

You can feel it when it’s present, and you can definitely feel it when it’s missing.

I think that’s because integrity creates alignment. Internal and external. What you believe, how you behave, and how you lead working together instead of against each other.

And honestly, I think the hardest integrity work is the private kind.

The moments where you know something is off before anyone else does.
When you say yes but mean no.
When you’re tolerating something that no longer aligns.
When you know you’re out of integrity with yourself. 

That disconnect has a cost. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually.

I know because I’ve lived it.

There was a period in my corporate career where from the outside everything looked successful. Big role. Big responsibility. Good money. But internally, I knew I wasn’t fully aligned in how I was living. I was overworking, disconnected from myself creatively, and operating more from obligation than intention.

No one forced that on me. I did.

That realization was both hard and freeing because the moment you realize you’re the one abandoning yourself is also the moment you realize you have the power to change it.

That’s self-leadership.

Integrity isn’t just about how you lead others. It’s about whether you’re willing to tell yourself the truth.

Ideas to Ponder

• Where do you feel the tension between what you know and how you’re living?
• What would change if you trusted yourself enough to act on what you already know?

This Week’s Focus

Keep one promise to yourself this week, even a small one. Because self-trust is built the same way trust with others is built: one kept promise at a time.

And if no one’s told you lately, you’re the most powerful person you’ll ever know.

To bold moves,
Jenn

P.S. Integrity isn’t about being impressive. It’s about being whole.

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