ETHICS: Three Ways to Regain & Retain Trust as Leaders

Theft. Adultery. Bribery. Lies. Greed. Arrogance. All the ingredients of a trashy novel or a Lifetime movie, right? Actually, all of this chicanery and selfishness occurred in a single year by top executives of notable companies and some not-so notable political figures who all managed to get caught. Whether it was a presidential candidate, the Detroit mayor or the New York governor caught in adulterous affairs, Congressmen from Alaska and Louisiana and the Illinois governor asking for and accepting money that didn’t belong to them, or behemoth companies mismanaging money and asking for government bailouts while still living the high life, 2008 proved to be a scandalous year.

The common thread that caused these leaders to fail in their valuable and highly-regarded positions was a lack of ethics. They forgot who they were serving and that their positions required that they serve others—not themselves. Bernard Madoff duped investors out of an estimated $50 billion because of greed. The top brass at AIG saw no ethical problem with spending $440,000 on a junket that included $23,000 in spa treatments less than a week after they received an $85 billion bailout from the federal government. Walgreen’s settled with the government for $35 million in an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme, and subprime lending by financial institutions all across the nation was the bat that pretty much broke the legs of the American economic system. Arrogance, greed, and fraud have become common practice in American business and politics of late.

What ever happened to honesty, integrity, and serving the foot soldiers of the organization that battle through inadequate wages, healthcare, and resources, yet serve the organization under all conditions?

As leaders, we must remember what the headline grabbers have obviously forgotten—we must exemplify the highest ethical standards we know as we lead our teams, departments, companies, and households. This can be accomplished by keeping three important ideas in mind:

1. It’s not about me as a leader.
   Everything I do to lead this company, I must do with the success and viability of the company in mind. When the company is successful, everybody is successful including me. I get the credit by default, but I am careful to share that credit with those who work toward the clear vision I’ve given them.
   
2. It’s not about the company’s success at all cost.
   Every leader like me wants his company to lead its industry and to have solid footing for years to come. But to get the edge, I need to encourage innovation and premium service to customers. Corruption is always discovered even if it takes years, and if I engage in it to get ahead, the very position I am trying to avoid for my company is where we’ll ultimately end up—a weakened company vulnerable to collapse.
   
3. It’s about transparency from the top down.
   It’s hard for suspicion to arise and trust to wane when leaders are open and forthright in their dealings.

Above all, first place isn’t always first rate. It’s better to be an average company operating cleanly than to be the market leader by manipulation and deception.