Integrity in the Workplace
I have had many bosses over the course of my life — and of them only two were clearly lacking in integrity. In both cases it took me a couple of years to realize they were unethical, but once I did, I quit. It is not really possible to go on working with and for someone who is basically dishonest, even if what they do is not criminal. It can be shocking to encounter someone who seemingly has no moral compass and is as comfortable lying as telling the truth- but these people do exist.
A number of years ago I heard Mark Whitacre speak. If you have seen the Matt Damon movie “The Informant”, it is a somewhat stylized depiction of the Mark Whitacre story, where he was involved in price fixing in the food industry as well as embezzlement. He was a speaker at a bank where I worked, brought in by the compliance department to help people to see how seemingly normal “good” people could make really unethical decisions, and actually convince themselves that their cutting corners was justifiable. The capacity that many people have to convince themselves that they are good even if what they are doing is obviously wrong, is unfortunately pretty vast.
Mark Whitacre served 10 years in jail for his crimes. One thing that he said when he spoke to us that really struck me was that he was glad that he served the full sentence rather than getting it commuted to just a couple of years. The reason? He said that it took him close to the full 10 years of being incarcerated to really internalize that he did this to himself- that what he did was wrong, a crime, and that no one forced him to do it. He spent the earlier years of his prison sentence blaming everyone else for what had happened- and only when he accepted that the reason he was in jail was his own doing, was he able to turn over a new leaf and become the person he wanted to be.
None of us are perfect- we all make mistakes. The hardest thing for any of us to see is ourselves, clearly. We may sometimes be too hard on ourselves, but more often than not we can’t create enough distance from our actions to properly evaluate — and we can explain away all sorts of bad behavior. The key in personal growth, and in maturing as a human being, is to be able to see ourselves- warts and all- and to be honest in our evaluation of our behavior.
We do have choices in who we work for and with- and it is best to sever ties quickly when you discover that you are working with people who are unethical. Obviously if something is illegal you have a duty to report that. Ethics in business is a very hot topic, but the first place to start is in taking a critical eye to yourself, and then examining your work environment. You will never regret making a decision to be a better person or to work in a place where you respect the values.
