Everyone thinks they are ethical – till they are not! So how do you know if you’re an ethical person? Is it knowing the difference between right and wrong? Or is being ethical acting with integrity – but by whose standard? The challenge with ethics is by definition ethical behavior is not black or white. For many it is making the best decision based on all the facts and circumstances.
What are the Basic Principles of Ethical Behavior?
I was conducting a seminar with senior leaders of a national company. I was told on the front end that they were strong supporters of ethics and ethical behavior and that I was there just for a “tune up” – a reminder of sorts about what we might have forgotten.
Before the program, I asked the director of HR to allow me to randomly conduct a survey among employees couched as an industry survey that was not company specific. It’s easy to think we’re ethical, but where the rubber meets the road is whether those of us that see our behavior on a day to day basis believe that our actions match our words. The survey results were quite revealing.
But before the survey results the following were identified by most as primary principles from which ethical behavior would be judged: honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness, integrity and transparency.
So lets look at the principles in light of the survey…
HONESTY. While most espoused the virtue of honesty…the measure of that was all over the board. For example, on a personal level most people who claimed to be honest were also the first to admit that they would lie on a regular basis if it meant saving someones feelings from being hurt. Actually honest is more of a moral characteristic than an ethical one. Likewise, something honestly stated and believed to be true may, in fact, not be true. For example 1000 years ago an honest person would say the earth was flat. That was untrue, but those who stated that belief did so with honesty.
Many of the current presidential candidates state their beliefs honestly, but fact checkers often find that what they say is wrong or has shades of the truth.
Survey results showed that most of the rank and file believe what senior management says. However, there is also a strong belief that senior management will make decisions based on short-term gain and often deceive rank and file regarding the true motivation behind their decisions. Honesty grade B-
LOYALTY. Assume that you’re being pressured to manipulate sales reports or financial results to improve reporting for a quarterly deadline, if you refuse because you feel it’s dishonest, does that make you disloyal? The question that provides a real challenge is when honestly and loyalty are in conflict since both are fundamental values for many.
Survey results showed the belief that if loyalty trumped honestly when making ethical business decisions, the decision was deemed an ethical failure. Likewise, the survey participants shared their belief that senior management valued loyalty more than honesty citing several circumstances where rank and file employees pointed out challenges and problems and yet the loyal employee was given preference and those who reported problem often found themselves at the mercy of loyal but dishonest managers. Loyalty grade C
TRUSTWORTHINESS. Can you be trusted? For many this moved us back to honesty. Dishonesty is not only telling an untruth (a lie with intent) but it also is committing a lie by omission. Failure to tell the truth is generally viewed a potentially as destructive as an overt lie.
Here’s an example: Your best friend who you went to school with (both high school and college) confided in you that he’s receive pressure to adjust financial reports so as to meet the demands of quarterly reporting to shareholders. By adding revenue for contacts that have not yet finalized and increasing assets he’s found a way to make the numbers work without drawing attention to it from the auditors. His wife shares with you that she’s seen a change in her husbands behavior at home. He seems distant and preoccupied. She’s concerned that he has health problems or worse is having an affair. She knows you and he are close and is coming to you for help. The question on two fronts is what do you do? On a business level, will you elect to be the whistleblower and report the false financial reporting? On a personal level, do you break your friends confidence and share with his wife the pressure he’s under and that he’s elected to make unethical choices?
Survey results showed that rank and file feared the dreaded word “whistleblower” and would generally elect to allow the illusion (lack of truth about a particular situation) to continue instead of trusting that doing the right thing should be done in all situations. Further, the survey participants (from all segments of the company) believed that senior management was trustworthy to a point. They ultimately said, however, that management was trustworthy as long as it was in managements best interest. Trustworthiness grade B (with caveats).
Integrity. Integrity is generally about having strong moral character. There’s an inaccurate belief that ethics is about following the rules, and integrity is about doing the right thing, regardless of the rules. I’m not sure I agree with that statement, at least not completely. I do agree that integrity is about doing the right thing. However, what is the “right thing”? There are many who by their own admission or that of others has strong moral character. Yet when that integrity falls in the face of making a choice which by the rules or law is the right thing to do – does the moral character definition of integrity win out.
Example: Embattled Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is a woman of integrity -at least by Mike Huckabee’s definition. In her mind she’s doing what’s right regardless of the rules. Yet, a substantial number of Americans disagree and, in fact, believe that by violating the law of the land, Kim has shown blatant disregard for the rights of others and therefore lacks integrity.
Survey results showed that most employees had a fundamental belief that most of senior management operated with integrity. Several senior managers were often described as people of character and integrity. On the other hand, a few were called characters – not with integrity if you know what I mean. Integrity grade A-.
Transparency. One of the biggest life challenges for most humans is their willingness to admit mistakes and be open (transparent if you will) about their choices realizing that every choice has a consequence. In the second republican debate Jeb Bush openly admitted that he smoked pot. He said jokingly (although I suspect he was telling the truth) that his mother would not prefer that he had done it or been open about it. But Jeb (like him or not) as transparent about a choice from his past. Whether we judge that choice as good or bad is irrelevant…what he did was demonstrate transparency. As a side not, he removed any doubt about his past in that area so that it no longer would be a hidden issue to discover.
There are so many examples to consider: politicians hide affairs (in fact that is the whole premise behind the website – ashleymadison.com. Sports figures hide their misdeeds – like Lance Armstrong or Ray Rice – until that is it comes into the light. Ray Rice had no intention of becoming the poster child for domestic abuse, but he did – an elevator camera outed him. And Lance Armstrong didn’t intend to have his world turned upside down…but what you do in the dark will be brought to the light – sometime. Being an ethical person requires one to be responsible and accountable for our actions. Transparency means that we don’t cover them up.
Survey results here were quite mixed. Most surveyed believed in the conspiracy of the company to keep secrets from employees and customers. Trade secrets are one thing, but hiding from employees the health and viability of the company is quite another. When senior execs were presented with this data they were shocked. Transparency grade D+.
Where from here one might ask?
Senior management was sincere when they stated that they wanted to create a culture of ethical behavior! After being presented with the results of the survey (something they didn’t anticipate) they proceeded to implement a six month intensive consultation engagement where, together we worked on identifying their own personal value system and how that worked in the company framework to create the culture that they agreed all wanted.
In addition, we created a virtual training program for the organization that each employee participated in – 5 minutes per day (on-line) for 30 days with positive messages that helped frame the power of making ethical choices both personally and professionally. The system tracked each persons commitment to the training and gave clear useful feedback to management to help provide direct guidance for those that might be a bit off track.
As I write this a year later – we resurveyed employees paying careful attention to the survey results from new employees (realizing that they are a great test of how the company is seen today vs from the past) and the results were astounding. Not only had ever area gone up in score, but the overall performance of the company had improved. Financially they were having their best year ever. Turnover was down and morale (at least measured by smiling faces) was up.
There is great power in creating a culture of ethics within a company. The question is – is your company willing to undergo the scrutiny and effort to create change for the better?
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!
