Integrity and the Brownie Test
Nov 09, 2025
Leadership has always been about character, but in today’s world, character isn’t just tested, it's televised. Every decision we make, every tone we take, and every inconsistency we try to quietly manage can surface in seconds. The digital age has turned the old saying “character is what you do when no one’s watching” into a near impossibility because everyone is always watching.
But here’s the twist: that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Integrity in the Spotlight
Integrity isn’t just about avoiding mistakes; it’s about how we respond when we inevitably make them. In my book The Dirty F-Word: Lessons from Our Failures, I explore how our greatest leadership growth often comes from our missteps. Failure reveals whether our values are negotiable. Do we own our errors, or do we deflect? Do we stay aligned with our principles, or do we self-protect?
True integrity isn’t about being flawless. It’s about being consistent when flaws are exposed.
When you lead with transparency, even under pressure, people learn to trust that your words and actions won’t shift with the headlines. And that’s especially critical in times when public trust in leaders is fragile. The latest Edelman Trust Barometer reports that fewer than half of employees globally trust their leaders to “do what is right.” That’s a horrible stat that makes me so sad. I’ve always called integrity my most prized possession. Integrity is no longer just a moral compass; it’s a strategic advantage.
Leading When No One’s Watching
The real work of leadership happens in quiet moments: the email you send, the conversation you choose to have, the shortcut you decide not to take. Those are the unseen choices that define who you are as a leader long before the cameras roll.
When we make decisions grounded in integrity behind closed doors, we lead with confidence in the open. Teams can sense the difference between a leader performing values and a leader living them. One breeds compliance; the other inspires commitment.
Integrity doesn’t always make life easier, but it makes leadership simpler and better. When your principles are nonnegotiable, your decisions become clearer, even when they’re hard.
The Strength in Staying True
Integrity isn’t usually destroyed in a single dramatic fall. It’s eroded slowly by small, seemingly harmless compromises that start with “just this once.” A little shortcut. A small exaggeration. A decision that feels “just a little bit wrong.”
It reminds me of a story about a dad whose teenagers begged to go to a PG-13 movie. They said it had “just a little bit” of inappropriate content. Their dad said you’re not going. The teens protested that it wasn’t a big deal and everyone else was seeing it.
While they were home sulking, their dad baked a batch of brownies and called them downstairs. Just as they were about to grab one, he said, “Oh, before you eat those, I added just a little bit of dog poop to the mix. Not much. You won’t even taste it.”
The teens recoiled, and he smiled and said, “That’s how compromise works. It doesn’t take much to contaminate something good.”
That’s integrity in action. The little decisions matter. The quiet choices no one sees form the foundation of trust everyone depends on. You can’t sprinkle “just a little bit” of wrong into your leadership and expect the end result to be pure.
Practical Tips
Create “Integrity Checkpoints” for Decisions
Tip: Build into your decision-making process a quick pause to ask three questions:
- Does this match our stated values?
- Will I stand by this choice if challenged publicly?
- Am I compromising “just a little bit” of integrity by doing this?
Practice Word-Deed Consistency (Behavioral Integrity)
Studies stress that when leaders’ words and actions align, it fosters trust and inclusion among followers.
Tip: Periodically review promises you’ve made to your team or stakeholders. Mark whether you delivered. If you didn’t, proactively communicate about it. This supports trust instead of eroding it.
Model the “Little Things” Daily
Because integrity often erodes via small compromises, commit to zero tolerance for “just a little bit wrong.”
Tip: Identify three low-cost, high-visibility actions where you can model integrity:
- Admit a small mistake openly.
- Honor a commitment you made.
- Ask the team for feedback on how you handled a recent decision.
Build and Sustain an Ethical Culture
Research shows that integrity isn’t just a leader trait. It becomes a culture when supported by moral identification and self-regulation across the organization.
Tip: Facilitate a team discussion around “What are the behaviors we value?” Then translate those into specific decision-criteria and hold each other accountable for when “just a little bit” slips occur.
Transparently Own Failures: Don’t Hide Them
According to leadership ethics research, the way leaders handle setbacks is pivotal to perceived integrity. The sooner you acknowledge, contextualize, and act to correct, the more trust you build.
Tip: When you misstep, schedule a brief team huddle:
- State the mistake.
- What you learned.
- What you’ll do differently.
This builds credibility, not weakness.
Want to Go Deeper?
If this message resonates with you and you’d like to explore more real-life stories about how failure shapes authentic leadership, you can find my book The Dirty F-Word: Lessons from Our Failures at the link below. It’s filled with lessons that will help you transform setbacks into steppingstones to help you get to the next level of leadership.
The Dirty F-Word: Lessons From Our Failures: Burkett, Amy: 9781735658018: Amazon.com: Books
Whether no one’s watching or everyone is, lead with integrity. Leadership is temporary, but your reputation is forever. And remember no one wants “even a little bit of dog poop in their brownies.”