Following the dawn of “post-truth” into the wilful delusion of “my truth,” maybe criticism is warranted that teachers aren’t teaching and that students aren’t learning how to think.After 20+ years in classrooms, and 30+ years on the field, I have two major aims…(1) Help people make thinking a habit. Thinking is the value of ideas, and since we’re accountable by means of personal responsibility to defend ideas, thinking must be informed by knowledge, practised with discipline, and weighed by healthy scepticism. Discussing and testing ideas is the purview of thinking. Thinking’s an invaluable skill.(2) Help make better neighbours, teammates, citizens… better people. I’ve learned how to foster complementary, supportive, even familial cultures where shared values alleviate differences so everyone can belong. I’ve learned to help people grow by inspiring and challenging themselves. I’ve learned that genuine rapport outlasts circumstance and that honest relationships make better outcomes. My own style and vocabulary have developed thanks to such communities. I’ve learned that we thrive once we know not what or how but why. We mature along the way yet retain at the core what’s unique: integrity. Like puzzle pieces, integrated, these pieces we can enhance and improve. Full integrity finds every piece contributing, no piece superfluous. Integrity’s how we spot adversity and measure progress. It’s our will to leave comfort zones and grow.What of “integrity” the buzzword… the deep dive in terms of best practice, leveraging our resources, the new normal going forward: all vacuous nonsense. True integrity is character, experience, and coping with real consequences. As a teacher, as a coach, I accept responsibility on behalf of all people to help them grow and contribute with integrity.More than a leader, I’m a mentor, in communities where paradox and difference – self-styled ‘truth’ – don’t need to obstruct our collaboration to strive and finish better than we started. Within the process are inherent rewards, and success is not achieved but experienced.