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"You’ve got to maintain credibility with your workforce... Anything less fosters a disengaged workforce that puts self-interest at the top of its list of priorities."
- Rick Garlick, Ph.D., Senior Director of Consulting and Strategic Implementation, Maritz Research
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As a leader, you have the ultimate responsibility for your behavior. You are the role model for your team. You are the only person who decides if you will act ethically. When it comes to honesty, respect, fairness, and safety, there is no off season.
Being ethical (or unethical) is reflected in everything we do. As a leader, our choices affect not only ourselves, but those working around us as well. It’s easy to make excuses for ourselves and be blinded by our own biases, but our customers, employees and peers are trusting that we are honest and fair individuals. There is no better time than now to re-examine habits and make sure that they are in alignment with this vision. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at Peter@peterstark.com.
Strive for excellence, not perfection,
Peter B. Stark and Jane S. Flaherty
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Leadership Ethics: Do you Walk your Talk?
Examples of unethical business behavior continue to both shock and fascinate us. We typically have little control over the events that hit the top of the evening news, but as leaders, we do have direct control over our own conduct. We can and should look in the mirror and evaluate our individual commitment to ethical behavior.
Let’s start with a mini-self assessment. In the past year, have I:
- Failed to admit a mistake I made?
- Let someone else take responsibility for my mistake?
- Accomplished personal business on company time?
- Used company tools or resources for my personal needs?
- Engaged in talking negatively about the company or management?
- Gossiped?
- Violated someone’s confidentiality?
- Sent emails to a coworker that would be an embarrassment if the boss found out?
- Ignored a company policy?
- Told a degrading joke about race, culture or gender?
- Failed to share information that another team member needed?
- Been less than completely truthful on an expense account, mileage report or time sheet?
- Accepted a gift that violated company policy?
- Knowingly delivered an inferior product to make a sale or meet a deadline?
- Manipulated the truth to complete a goal?
Self-evaluation is the first step. Taking action is the second. So, what are the guidelines for always making ethical decisions and doing the right thing?
Respect Everyone
Begin with respect. Respect for everyone, whether they're your manager, your peer, your employee, your customer or your vendor. Treating everyone with the same degree of dignity, regardless of their position, speaks volumes about your character. If ever questioned regarding an action taken or a decision made, you will benefit from the support and allegiance of those whom you have treated respectfully over the years.
Accept Full Responsibility
Take complete ownership of your actions. Hold yourself accountable for the quality within your area of influence and for using resources legally, efficiently and properly for business purposes. Ensure that you are pulling your fair share of the workload.
Taking responsibility isn’t just the ethical thing to do, it’s also best for the bottom line.
Expect Ethical Outcomes
While conducting a goal setting seminar, we instructed participants that the key to goal setting success is to do whatever it takes to achieve the desired outcome. An attorney in the group corrected us by saying, "Do whatever it takes, legally, ethically and morally to achieve the result." We agree. Obviously, you are expected to achieve results; however, in your quest you must never jeopardize your integrity or compromise your company by making an unethical decision. Rationalizing that "the end justifies the means" cannot be an excuse for being unethical.
Quit Blaming Others
There is no "perfect" organization. Things go wrong. Sometimes things go very wrong. Assigning blame to others is counterproductive; it creates a culture of defensiveness. When things go awry, muster the courage to say, "What went wrong?" "How are we going to fix it?" "What will we do differently next time?" Keep the focus on solving the immediate crisis and proceeding proactively to assure the problem is not repeated.
By eliminating blame, you do not resort to using excuses which amount to taking the easy way out. Here are some of the most common:
- It's policy, but no one follows policy
- Who cares? I’ll just do it this one time
- It's a huge potential sale. What they don’t know won’t hurt them
- Everyone does it here
- My boss just looks the other way
- It's a huge company. They'll never miss it
- I work long hours and don’t get paid overtime. Doing personal business on company time compensates me for my time
- We don’t have the time to make it right. Send it anyway
As you know, making the right decision isn't always easy. One CEO who knows and demonstrates the importance of making ethical decisions is Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. He issued the following apology after Amazon automatically deleted copies of the novel 1984 that were illegally sold on the Kindle:
Notice that he did not give an apology along the lines of, "I'm sorry that [insert name of employee, executive or other scapegoat here] did this, I had no idea." He took the blame even though he may or may not have been the one to initiate the automatic deletion of the novels. It doesn't matter who made that decision. The leader handled it gracefully and the response was positive. We highly suggest taking a look at the responses to his apology: people were very understanding and also very surprised at his sincerity.
Take a minute to reflect on your role as an ethical leader. Congratulate yourself for walking the talk when you have done so. On those occasions where you have been less than a stellar example, commit to having the courage to being above reproach the next time.
Finally, if you still have questions about what is or isn't ethical, we provide one last assessment:
- How would I feel if everyone at my company knew I'd done (or not done) this?
- Is what I am doing legal?
- Am I following company policy?
- How would I feel if someone did this to me?
- What would Mom think if she knew I’d done this?
- What is my conscience telling me about my behavior?
- Would I want to read about my actions in the newspaper?
- What would Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln or Ghandi think about my actions?
These practical tests can help you determine the rightness or wrongness of your actions. Remember, making ethical decisions is part of everything you do, everyday, every time. As Albert Einstein said, "Relativity applies to physics, not ethics."
Need help? Peter Barron Stark Companies has been building organizations where employees love to come to work and customers love to do business for more than twenty years.
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Please visit our website, www.peterstark.com, contact us via email, peter@peterstark.com or call us toll free, 877.727.6468.
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