Everyone rationalizes — including you. There are lots of things you don’t know and lots of people who hope you don’t find out. (The most dangerous problems are the ones you don’t know about). Complacency and overconfidence about ethics is a major vulnerability. (Everyone says it can’t happen here until it does). There’s never just one bad employee – there’s …
Honesty in Conduct
Honesty is the bedrock of trust and trustworthiness. The moral command to be honest requires us to speak and act only in ways that engender and justify trust. That seems simple enough. But honesty is a broader concept than some realize. An honest person tells the truth, is sincere, doesn’t deceive, mislead, act devious or tricky, doesn’t betray a trust, …
Leaders Create New Realities
If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” – Henry Ford Leaders need to listen to those they lead and those they want to influence, but as their greatest task is to take people beyond the reality and even the imagination of those they seek to lead, they often must choose another …
Accountability
Ambrose Pierce, a nineteenth-century humorist, defined responsibility, as “A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one’s neighbor. In the days of astrology it was customary to unload it upon a star.” Being accountable means accepting responsibility for who we are, and for our character, personalities, attitudes, and weaknesses. Even for our happiness. The …
Citizenship
Orlando and his three friends went on a camping/fishing trip. When they reached the camp site they were unpleasantly surprised at how it had been left by the previous campers. Beer cans and other trash were all around. They spent almost three hours cleaning it up. The morning of their scheduled departure day another camper in the area told them …
Avoiding Unfair Conduct
One of the problems with interpreting the concepts of fairness and justice is that so many factors can go into the notion of a fair judgment. There is rarely one single result dictated by ethical analysis. Consequently, we often do not know what is truly fair. We do, however, often know what is unfair, and our first obligation is to …
Using the Six Pillars of Character to Get More From Your Organization
Michael Josephson explains how the Six Pillars of Character relate to everyday business operations and how they can be used to get more out of your organization. Almost all companies are in what we call a compliance mode after the creation of rules and statutes like Sarbanes-Oxley. Compliance is the concept of rules and industry regulations creating the “laws” of …
Creating an Ethical Workplace Culture
Setting up an ethical workplace culture is more involved than drafting a values statement, setting policy or training programs ensure employees and vendors are knowledgeable about the rules. Ethical workplace cultures are ones that make it far easier to do the right thing and much harder to do the wrong thing. Unfortunately, the problem is many business cultures make it …
Are you a Boss, Leader or Manager?
Writers on business leadership often point out the difference between a boss, a leader and a manager. Everyone vested with the authority to direct or supervise others is a boss. A boss has the responsibility and authority to lead; it’s a job title. The title turns into a verb when the boss “bosses” people around. Those who never progress beyond …
Including the Six Pillars of Character in Your Company’s Ethics Code
An ethical code of conduct must arise naturally from the company’s stated values and should provide detailed guidance for handling ethical challenges. General principles without specific provisions risk being perceived by employees as just window dressing and may breed cynicism rather than commitment. Though provisions must be specific and clear, an ethics code should cover a lot of ground. The …