Make no mistake. You will have to deal with unethical people.
They exist in all businesses and at all levels and with all degrees of impact. Cheaters. People who think that perhaps “Ethics!” is a word to be shouted from a podium, but secretly - or not so secretly - ignored in practice.
Now wait a minute… We all make mistakes. Sometimes we make big ones. Unintentionally.
But what about that individual who sees everything as a win-lose, and will do anything to make sure s/he wins? What about the person who skirts around the edges or crosses the lines repeatedly? Everyone knows it. Maybe it can’t be proven. And always somewhere in the process we discover that there was some type of a gain for the line-crosser.
- In sales I have watched opposing representatives ignore RFP rules and get away with it. Sometimes repeatedly.
- I have heard a senior officer of a global company offer a bonus to anyone on the team who “pushed the rules so far that they got disqualified.” The apparent intent, of course, was not to get disqualified, but to break the rules and gain an advantage by doing so. And here is the two-edged sword that goes along with walking that tight rope: it left the door open for the employee to be held accountable for the infraction if disqualified!
- In operations, I have seen people “pencil whip” reports.
- I have seen business people use unequal measures for people they have different levels of interest in.
- I have seen people offered either benefits or threats for either doing or not doing inappropriate favors.
And it always bothers me when I see them get away with it.
I am not perfect by any means, but I play by the rules, and it has served me well. Sure, I’ve lost some deals - and some friends. But in the end, my business dealings have always been honest and fair.
But this is about dealing with unethical people. How?
Perhaps a few words of advice I have picked up along the way:
Do not emulate unethical people.
I have on occasion dealt with board members and elected officials who wanted “a little something extra on the side.”
I always moved on to the next project. Not only is it wrong, it is highly illegal to “contribute” to an elected official in this manner. Most companies, if not all companies, have strict policies against such behavior. So do governments. So if you make the decision that it should be OK for you since it seems OK for them - that is, if you emulate them - you will lose in the end.
If there is an obvious violation or if there is a legal imperative, report it.
No matter the personal or business consequences. The ramifications of knowing and not saying anything, personal integrity notwithstanding, may end up being far worse when the truth comes out. And it usually does.
I realize that sometimes things are nebulous. Everyone knows what is going on, but it can’t be proven outright. So I’m not advocating a “half co*cked” reaction, as the old expression goes. Have your facts in order before you end up looking foolish. If they continue, the opportunity will come to say something. You don’t have to be “out to get” anyone. But as a society and as business professionals, we are all better served when people behave ethically. That is why there are rules.
If there is an opportunity, advise the person to change behavior.
If it is someone you know well enough or care about, it is certainly worth a conversation.
This example may seem like a minor infraction in the vast world of unethical behavior, but it illustrates the point. I had the distinctly unpleasant experience of having to terminate a good manager once because he allowed bad blood between two employees to fester to the point where a fight eventually broke out and someone was injured. Was it ethical for the manager to have known for a long time that trouble was just around the corner and to have done nothing? If only he had said something or documented something earlier, everyone would have been better served. If only someone had said something to me before it got to that point. If only…
Be able to discern “mistakes” from intentional patterns.
Noted psychologist Dr. James Dobson provides some applicable thought in his discussions about disciplining children. He points out that there is a big difference in how a child should be handled when “being a child” as opposed to “being deliberately defiant.” One illustration I remember is of the parent who, generally out of his or her own frustration, punishes a toddler for spilling milk. Wrong reaction.
In translating this thought to the workplace and to the topic of unethical behavior, I contend that most reasonable people have a pretty good gut feeling as to whether something is an honest mistake or an intentional and unethical pattern.
But unethical people don’t mind calling a mistake intentional and vice versa. A friend of mine forgot to report some almost insignificant piece of paperwork during an election. It turned out to be an honest oversight. Nevertheless, her opponents had a field day in the newspaper, and that eventually led to a legal standoff. You would have thought Fort Knox had been robbed!
I’m pretty sure they could tell the difference between mistake and intent, but they certainly ignored any difference, as it was expedient for them. And in their world at the time, there were plenty of actions at the other end of the spectrum that were overlooked.
What is the lesson?
I know there are a lot more “bone chilling” and poignant examples out there on this topic. I'm sure you have some stories of your own. It is always helpful to give some thought as to how situations involving these matters should be handled before you face them.
Whatever your experience, remember this:
You will always have to deal with unethical people to one degree or another.
So, here is the lesson. You are a leader. You set a tone. You set a pattern.How you behave and how you react to behavior are both of great consequence to those you lead, and to those who watch from a distance as you lead others.
It is not likely that you will wake up some day, having intentionally and/or repeatedly ignored or excused unethical behavior, and say to yourself, “I am a better leader because of my actions.”
Always do what is right.
