A Study in Leadership 2

I'm sitting here listening to Edwin McCain. I love the lyrics of his songs.
It's Friday morning and I'm going to continue on this study of Catalyst Leadership - Leadership that affects change.

Part 2:
Uncompromising Integrity
When I was in Marine Corps boot camp, my Drill Instructor, Sgt. Charboneau, sat me down and explained why Integrity is the most important character trait.
He said,

"Integrity is important because it is the foundation of your character."

I was only 23 at the time, so the importance of that statement took years to really sink in.

Integrity can't be taken away. It can only be given away.
Integrity covers so many other words... Honor, virtue, courage.
It's the belief that we cannot just lie and half-step through life. We have to do what's right.

But integrity is more than doing what's right. That, in itself, lends itself to a zero-defect mentality. We all know that this is not real life. Life is anything but zero-defect.
Integrity is also taking responsibility for your mistakes. Face it... You're going to make mistakes. That's okay. Mistakes are a part of life.
The question is this -

What are you going to do when you make a mistake?

Are you going to hide it?
Are you going to run away from it?
Are you going to blame someone else?
Or
Are you going to take responsibility and make it right?

If you don't know how to make it right, ask someone whose judgment you trust.
Someone whose answers may not necessarily be what you want to hear, but what you need to hear.

When you decide what needs to be done, just do it and move on. Don't beat yourself over the head about it. What's done is done. You've made it right, now get over it.

In other words... Let it go.