The Integrity Checklist

The Integrity Checklist

Stewards need ways to check whether they're maintaining their own integrity. Here's a practical checklist.

What Integrity Means

For a steward, integrity means:

- Alignment between espoused values and actual behavior

- Honest acknowledgment of gaps and limitations

- Consistent presence across different contexts

- Accountability to the community you serve

The Checklist

Ask yourself regularly:

Am I practicing what I'm teaching?

- Do I handle pressure the way I advise others to?

- Do I surface my own uncertainty?

- Do I model honest communication?

Am I staying oriented?

- Can I still see the situation clearly?

- Am I attached to outcomes that are clouding judgment?

- Am I seeking truth or seeking to be right?

Am I holding, not controlling?

- Am I creating space or filling it?

- Am I trusting others or micromanaging?

- Am I patient or anxious?

Am I serving the work, not myself?

- Is my intervention helping or just demonstrating my value?

- Am I focused on outcomes or on being seen?

- Can I let others get the credit?

Am I taking care of myself?

- Do I have the capacity to hold what I'm holding?

- Am I burning out?

- Do I have support?

Red Flags

Watch for:

- Fatigue presenting as irritation

- Attachment presenting as conviction

- Control presenting as care

- Avoidance presenting as patience

- Burnout presenting as commitment

These are easy to rationalize. The checklist helps catch them.

Using the Checklist

The checklist isn't a judgment. It's a mirror.

- Check in regularly (weekly? monthly?)

- Be honest with yourself

- Have people who can tell you what you're not seeing

- Adjust when you notice drift

Integrity isn't maintained automatically. It requires attention.