At a recent workshop – The Good Spin Doctor, for sustainability managers that are part of the HeartWork Community – we explored what it really takes to motivate and influence others when we have no formal power. Again and again, one word came up: integrity.
Not as a marketing tool. Not as a compliance requirement. But as a deep human need.
Because at the end of the day, people don’t need to be convinced to do the right thing. They need to experience it. To feel it within themselves. When we create spaces where people can connect with their own truth—where integrity is not imposed but remembered—real change happens.
But what does integrity actually look like in practice?
What we do when no one is looking
A few weeks ago, I faced a small but revealing dilemma while preparing my tax return. As a small business owner, I don’t always meet the strict hour requirement to qualify for a tax break designed for entrepreneurs. The difference is about €750—not a life-changing amount, but enough to make me pause.
Would it really be so wrong to claim it? After all, I work hard. And the tax system isn’t exactly perfect.
But then, I asked myself the real question: Who am I when no one is looking?
This is how it starts, isn’t it? A small bending of reality, justified in our minds. And yet, if I were the CEO of a multinational company, this same kind of reasoning could justify millions in tax avoidance. Instead of €750, it would mean millions withheld from the citizens of the country where that company operates—redirected to a few shareholders.
The scale may change, but the question remains the same: What do we do when no one is watching?
Integrity as strength: the leadership of Afghan women
No one understands the weight of this question more than the Afghan women are enrolled with HeartWork for a personal leadership training – the Inner Knowing Journey.
One of them said something that stayed with me:
“No one knows better than Afghan people how important integrity is when you are a leader. We have suffered so much under those who have abandoned it.”
And even more powerfully:
“When we feel that we are integer, that gives us strength and balance.”
For them, integrity is not just a value. It is survival. It is the difference between hope and despair. And despite everything, they still believe in the power of leading with integrity.
Their strength is a reminder: integrity is not just about what we say, but what we do. It is not just about what we expect from others, but how we hold ourselves accountable.
An invitation to integrity: stand with Afghan women
If integrity is the quality of being whole, then our integrity as individuals is tied to our integrity as a global community. And right now, Afghan women—who have fought so hard to lead with integrity in impossible circumstances—need our support.
They have asked us to stand with them. To listen. To act.
Signing the petition for Afghan women is an opportunity for us to embody integrity—not just in words, but in action. Because integrity is not just about what we do when no one is looking. It’s also about what we do when the world is watching, and a decision is before us.
Join me in signing the petition. Let’s choose integrity, together.