Our current economic crisis brings to mind a classic Warren Buffet quote, "It is only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked." The boom years of our past obscured the actions of leaders who took on excessive risk and ignored basic ethical guidelines. The receding tide has exposed several “swimmers,” including Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford, both of whom face charges of fraudulent investment schemes running in the billions of dollars. While Madoff and Stanford have attracted the media spotlight, many less-notable leaders also lost their internal ethical compass in the face of the temptations that presented themselves under the cover of easy credit and a booming economy.
The impacts of these ethical failures will be deep and diffuse. It is hard to estimate the impact on young people entering the workforce, but we can assume many of them will bring a jaded view of leadership and a general lack of trust in authority to the workplace. A strong ethical foundation has always been an essential component of great leadership, and it is now more important than ever. This issue of the Leadership e-newsletter examines the role of integrity in leading during hard times.
Ron Magnus
Integrity in Tough Times
Ralph E. James, Ph.D.
Can we believe in integrity in construction, especially in hard times?
It depends on leadership. If leaders have made promises based upon unwarranted market assumption, they may find themselves trapped by their own words. "The reason I promised no layoffs was my honest belief that the market would hold up." But should leaders ever make promises based upon beliefs about future markets? Honest mistakes can still destroy trust.
The leadership opportunity in hard times, therefore, begins with killing off wishful thinking. This is the first step in protecting company integrity. Trust is the essential fabric of corporate culture.
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Leadership 2.0: Building Trust, the Forgotten Application
Tim Tokarczyk
Trust is the fundamental tool leaders must use to increase the connection with their people,
to inspire them and to achieve remarkable business results.
The advent of new technologies in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has transformed the landscape of human interaction. The world is smaller now than ever before, and people are more connected than at any previous point in human history. Advances in technology have changed the way businesses operate, which provides both additional tools for leaders as well as newfound obstacles to developing trust with their people.To truly increase the speed and efficiency of their organizations, leaders must be careful not to overuse technology, but instead, to develop a trusting culture.
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