“In all things preserve integrity. It is the first step in the long journey of life. Matter not the obstacles, stand fast to integrity. It is life’s measure” – The Odyssey, Homer.

What we have been witnessing is the collapse of society and the death of moral leadership from the institutions that are supposed to be the guard rails of the nation.

Various matters pertaining to integrity have been in the spotlight recently. Whether it be a shareholder acting as whistleblower at Massy, covering up a cybercrime at TSTT, allowing the NCC to be a runaway without being accountable, or judging of the Soca Monarch finals, they all pertain to nothing other than what is right and what is wrong and accepting responsibility.

Integrity is everything.

Principles may be inborn. Ethics sometimes mandated. But integrity requires scourging moral courage, magnetised by a fervour for an ideal. The complete person is a union of unswerving integrity, pulsating energy, and rugged determination. And the greatest of these is integrity. A person of integrity is a majority.

It cannot be bought and it cannot be measured in money. It is a requisite in determining the fibre and character of an individual and an organisation. Integrity demands that there be no twilight zone. Something is either right or it is wrong. Black, or it is white. There is no in-between.

In an organisation, integrity permeates every aspect of its activity. It demands a singleness of purpose, purged of compromise or the search for material gain. Some objectives change continually, sometimes overnight. But the integrity of an organisation does not change with time, or mood, or because of circumstances. It means reflecting the highest principles. Always. A devotion to what is right and honest and just.

The measure of an organisation is not recorded in its volume, its activities, or its growth – although integrity actuates all of these. But growth can change, flow and ebb with the tides of time. Integrity requires stamina, the resourcefulness, and the daring of leadership. With it, an organisation can accomplish all great things.

Integrity is the thread that binds the organisation’s to its mission. It is the basis of an organisation’s convictions, it’s standard of action.

To reflect integrity is to invite trust. To possess integrity is to command respect. Its presence is critical. It demands total loyalty, a commitment to cause, a dedication to mission, and unflagging determination. In an organisation, the beacon of integrity must burn with brilliance – because it lights the way for all activities and actions.

Morals. Ethics. Standards. Integrity. From these flow a torrent of values. Deeds, not words. Not what you say you are. It is a clear case of what you do that speaks with such deafening impact.

Honesty isn’t the best policy. It is the only policy. An organisation must pay the price. And the price is always work, patience, self-sacrifice. A devotion to a supreme purpose. And integrity that is unfailing and unyielding and unending. A rigorous test, this. For an individual and an organisation, integrity isn’t a sometimes thing. Integrity is everything. Everything.

RONALD BHOLA