Ethikos Weekly Editor’s Picks – September 4, 2014

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Editor’s Top Choice:

Sandy the Homeless Lady and Ethics 

By Paul Jesep, in Examiner:

The homeless have much to teach business professionals about ethics, perspective, and sense of self. Let me introduce you to Sandy, who merits being dubbed San Diego’s unofficial ambassador.

This homeless soul had a smile broader than the harbor, warmth that rivaled the sun’s rays, eyes as big as the sky’s beauty, and good cheer that matched the spirit of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.

In late August, business called me to a conference in this idyllic seaport of dry, comfortably warm breezes and carefree tourists. Like any conference destination, there were several business functions going on and looking at the attendees it was easy to identify degreed, uptight professionals. These men and women were in a resort town, dressed to impress with too little fiber in their diet.

They were movers-and-shakers with the ambition and dogged determination to move up the organizational ladder. The expressions on many faces said it all, “Don’t get in my way”. Was it ambition or constipation? I think a little of both. Read more


Other Featured Picks of the Week

The Ethical Expectations of Leadership 

Jim Lukaszewski of The Lukaszewski Group:
The leadership of every organization must implicitly or explicitly recognize the ethical expectations of leaders by everyone else inside and outside of the organization. A poll of employees, stakeholders, customers, regulators, those connected to the organization for some important reason about what makes ethical leadership will yield this list. Read more


Culture Starts with ‘U’: 3 Qualities of Successful Leaders

From Ariana Ayu of Inc.:

A healthy, harmonious culture doesn’t start with “C.”  It starts with “U” (yes, I really mean “you.”)

Early in my career I was working for a family-run business. I wasn’t the lowest on the totem pole, but I didn’t have top influence either. I remember very clearly the day I saw a mother (head of the business) and her daughter (an employee) having a screaming match right in the middle of the office. To say it was a tense and uncomfortable situation would be putting it mildly.

Flash forward to a few months ago, when my new assistant abruptly left because she didn’t feel like I was “interacting the same way” with her as before she gave her notice.

Both situations go to show that being the boss is not always easy, especially if (like me) you have a tendency to over-engage with your people. Before my assistant quit, I would allow her to chat with me for fifteen minutes before telling her I was busy and had other things I needed to do. Once she gave her notice, I no longer felt the need to explain the tasks I needed her to do, or train her to do them the way I wanted. I just needed her to keep things running smoothly until I found her replacement; my priorities had shifted. Read more


Leaders: Legal, Ethical or Right? 

Dianna Booher writing for The Huffington Post, “Do you remember playing games as a child when you made up the rules as you went along? Those rules that evolved on such short-notice often proved to be a source of contention!

Likewise, for leaders at work. When people decide to disregard their moral compass as the official business handbook, they begin to make up the rules as they go. Anything can happen, and the situation frequently proves to be a source of conflict.

Since the rash of high-profile cases from plagiarism to insider trading, attention has been focused on business ethics. But business morality — or the lack thereof — is nothing new. Dwight Eisenhower observed back in his day, “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” These recent corporate scandals have generated other attempts to provide a moral compass: The accrediting agency for the nation’s university-level business schools have put universities on notice that an ethics curriculum will become part of the accreditation review process.

But it’s not like this is the first time people have heard of ethics in the workplace. According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), 79 percent of all organizations have ethics policies on the books. But according to the latest crime statistics in corporate America, knowing what’s right does not translate to doing what’s right.” Read more


Overcoming C-Suite Leadership Insomnia 

From Rajeev Peshawaria, of Forbes, “Congratulations, you made it to the top!  Years of honest hard work, diligence and sincerity have paid off, and now you are either a member of the C-suite or the CEO herself.  You have a large organization reporting to you.  You have either already met your personal financial goals or are well on the way to doing so.  The external trappings of your success (e.g. nice car, house, holidays, and golf memberships) are all too visible – most people would give an arm and a leg to be in your position.  In short, you are a leader, you are successful and you should be happy, right?” Read more


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