Uncovering The Power Of Integrity
During this podcast episode we are joined by Annette Birkmann, a People & Culture Advisor, Headhunter & Executive Coach and has a background as a Lawyer. After seven years in legal positions, Annette sold her belongings, took unpaid work at a motorcycle workshop in Buenos Aires, bought her very first motorcycle, and embarked on a 53,000-kilometer solo motorcycle trip from Buenos Aires to New York!
She’s the author of "The Journey to Me" and co-author of "Handbook on Danish Copyright Law" (not an international bestseller - yet haha). Her next book is on the way and is all about integrity…our topic for this podcast episode! Here are some of the key discussion points:
UNCOVERING THE POWER OF INTEGRITY
Annette came to a point in her life where she felt tired of being a ‘people pleaser’ and constantly feeling triggered by other people. This led her towards researching and learning more about integrity - was this what she was missing in her life, could this offer her the solutions she was looking for?
What is integrity, what are the benefits from having it and how can we achieve it? Integrity is the alignment of thoughts, words, actions and intention. You can’t just ‘activate it’ - it’s a bit like a muscle that you have to keep flexing for it to become stronger - it also helps you to work through intention.
When we are triggered we want to get away from the discomfort within (inner discomfort). If you speak when you are angry, you will make the best speech you will ever regret! Working with integrity helps you to stop doing this.
It’s about finding that pause and opening it up before you say or do something. If you do something that was wrong, you have to then address it. This is all part of acting with integrity.
Annette shares with us that the word integrity comes from the latin word meaning ‘whole’. When we try to separate ourselves from our behaviours or feelings, we are not being ‘whole’. We have to feel them fully, even the difficult ones. When we become whole, we don’t need to rearrange our external circumstances to feel better. This is very powerful.
We need to create a balance within, a structure that gives us the foundation to stand firm when adversity hits. You need the embodiment of integrity to become whole - it’s not just about having values it’s about acting in the moment knowing it’s the right thing to do.
Having an unwillingness to have challenging conversations is also a sign of not stepping fully into your integrity - look at what steps you could take to become more comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Annette shares with us that the best protection is to be disarming and remembering that other people are entitled to their point of view. Maybe try to ask yourself - ‘can I lean into the discomfort of trying to understand where they are coming from instead of trying to prove myself right.’ A default many of us are guilty of!
Annette tells us the 4 steps we need to take so we can experience the power of integrity - 1) stop and pause, 2) go inward to feel the discomfort within, 3) turn around the negative thought and 4) choose the intention about how to respond - change it from what I need to what ‘we’ need. Our freedom is relational so whatever you do has consequences for other people. Look to see what could happen to the people that are affected by your actions. This may help you to act with integrity - for the greater ‘whole’.
To find out more about the incredible work that Annette does, you can find her at annettebirkmann.com.