Focusing on integrity/responsibility/ethics as a core competency

Employee Learning Week (ELW) is a global campaign sponsored by the Association for Talent Development to highlight the important connection between learning and achieving organizational results. Each year, the Department of Human Resources (HR) celebrates ELW by recognizing and promoting employee learning across campus.

This year Human Resources is featuring several activities for ELW, including a daily focus on our campus core competencies. Established in 2019, the campus core competencies translate values into behaviors, and helps to align those behaviors with the campus culture and vision. HR invites you to learn more about our core competencies and begin discussions with your colleagues on how these competencies play a role in your own work and learning. We invited campus colleagues to illuminate each core competency in a series of commentaries featured through Employee Learning Week. 

Core Competency: Integrity/Responsibility/Ethics

Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, authenticity, and acceptance of responsibility.

Commentary by​ Louise Vale, Director of Integrity and Compliance

• What is one skill that someone could do on our campus to embody this competency? 
  • "In your daily work always try to think of how your work and actions benefit the University and further the mission, vision and values.  Also put yourself in another person’s shoes and think of how they might interpret your work or actions and how it could impact them or their department.   In addition, being accountable and taking ownership in your decisions and accepting responsibility for your actions and your work is a key skill for this competency.
• What are the effects and outcomes when an organization truly embraces this competency?" 
  • "The effects and outcomes of these competences is an inclusive environment of excellence and results in doing the right thing to support the mission, vision and values of the University.   These competencies result in an organization that is highly respected and becomes a place that employees support and have a sense of pride and ownership in its success." 

Learn more about the Campus Core Competencies

To learn more about the campus core competencies, please visit the performance page of the Human Resources website. 

Key Behaviors of the Integrity/Responsibility/Ethics Competency

• Accepts responsibility that come with working in the interest of the public good.
• Follows through on commitments- shows consistency between words and actions--does what they say they will do, and what they are expected to do—and makes sure others do the same.
• Accepts responsibility for one’s own conduct in creating a climate of inclusive excellence.                                          
• Acts with a clear sense of ownership.              
• Takes personal responsibility for decisions, actions, and failures.                                          
• Establishes clear expectations and processes, and uses data for monitoring work and measuring results.

Employee Learning Courses We Recommend

Interested in learning more? Visit the Employee Learning website to explore learning opportunities. For this competency, we recommend: 

• Crucial Accountability
• Managers Academy 
• Ethics & Compliance Monthly Education Series - Hosted by the Integrity & Compliance Office

The Department of Human Resources (HR) creates success through others as we all strive to achieve the goals and fulfill the mission of CU Boulder. HR contribute leadership, ideas, and services that allow each person – whether an individual contributor or manager; a member of the faculty or staff – to do what they do…better. Visit https://www.colorado.edu/hr to learn more about HR.