Right discipline

Whenever someone has done wrong by you, immediately consider what notion of good or evil they had in doing it. For when you see that, you’ll feel compassion, instead of astonishment or rage. For you may yourself have the same notions of good and evil, or similar ones, in which case you’ll make an allowance for what they’ve done. But if you no longer hold the same notions, you’ll be more readily gracious for their error.”

– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7.26

At 49 years old, I have made enough mistakes to recognize in the mistakes of others one of my own. At times, this awareness helps me realize that the other person’s wrongdoing hasn’t hurt me at all. I can let go without a word spoken, without a gesture made.

In the workplace, we cannot always quietly forgive wrongdoers and wish them well on their way. We have a duty of care to the organization and its stakeholders. However, we can remember the words of Marcus Aurelius when deciding on the appropriate discipline, and be mindful that the very act of discipline we decide upon will be viewed by others as good or evil.

Counting backwards from 1,000

When she was 7 years old, I took my daughter ice skating for the first time.

After falling numerous times in the first 5 minutes, she grew frustrated. So I told her that everyone falls about 1,000 times before they get really good at it. By the way she looked at me, it seemed that she was taking me quite literally, so I suggested that we start counting backward from 1,000 and try to get to zero as quickly as possible. Her eyes lit up.

With determination, she skated, and fell, and quickly got up, as we counted 999, 998, 997…

We never made it to 980.

It can be daunting to change an organization’s culture for the first time. It requires patience and grit. One has to be willing to try and to fail repeatedly. One process at a time, until how we do everything that we do is aligned with our values.

Time to start counting.

Trust and risk appetite

The CEO of Petrobras recently said that his employees are reluctant to make decisions and take risks in the aftermath of Operation Car Wash.

This should be no surprise. The corruption scandal has led to prosecutions, divestitures and reorganizations. Trust levels are at an all-time low. Why would any employee take a risk if they don’t feel safe?

What the CEO needs to expect next is stagnation. An organization that is unwilling to take risks cannot innovate and is soon taken over by competitors.

The ethical leader understands that building trust is the foundation of a successful business. No stakeholder wants to engage with a untrustworthy partner. And perhaps the most important stakeholder to be trusted by are the employees. They are the ones taking care of all the other stakeholders.

Trust leads to risk-taking, which leads to innovation, which results in superior performance.

This rings true to everyone but those looking for a short-term gain.

Ethical stories

Many leaders now include a few words about the importance of ethics when addressing employees.

It’s usually at the end of the speech. There’s a short and dramatic pause, the CEO puts on a serious look and says: “Now, let me add that none of this matters unless we do things the right way…”

Those endings are important but, eventually, they feel formulaic and employees tune out.

There is another, perhaps better way.

Suggest that your leader sprinkle ethical stories throughout her speech instead, without using the word “ethics” with a capital E. She can describe how the company created trust with a new customer, which led to a big win. She can share how many employees – including executives – were disciplined for being disrespectful to others during the last quarter. She can explain how the company increased its spend with a supplier who acted with integrity. And so on.

These passing comments will have a greater impact because they are more real than an abstract Ethics Speech.

Collect your stories, share them, and watch how they become part of who you are as an organization.

Corporate culture and the theory of evolution

Many articles about corporate culture recommend a deliberate hiring process, where only candidates with a good culture fit are hired.

Very few talk about the greater need for a deliberate termination process, where those who don’t live by the organization’s values are separated.

It is nearly impossible to discern if a candidate will fit in the culture before they actually start to do the real work. So, unless your hiring process includes a probation period, you are probably rolling the dice. A more practical approach to protecting your culture is to terminate quickly when behavior doesn’t meet expectations.

Think of human evolution. The reason we don’t die of the common cold anymore is because early humans who could not survive the common cold ceased to reproduce. If we think of our organizations as living organisms, we can see the need to eliminate behavioral problems before they spread.

In my experience, the biggest mistake we make is not in hiring the wrong person but in keeping that person on board too long.

Culture and compensation

Here is what a recent survey of C-suite and Board members found about corporate culture:

“When it comes to how boards can influence culture, 62 per cent of respondents say that “setting the right tone from the top” is most important. The second most important aspect is ensuring the chief executive officer is supportive of the desired culture. In third place comes recruiting similarly supportive board members and senior management. This suggests that directors believe that positive culture cannot be bought or taught. Instead, it is something inherent in those at the top.”

Given that culture is an outcome of processes, it is disappointing to read these findings. Tone at the top is important but too often actions don’t match words. CEO support is crucial but what if she doesn’t know how to change culture? Recruiting (an actual process) will only be effective if we recruit colleagues that actually know how to change the culture.

Let me now add the final sentence of the paragraph quoted above, and perhaps you will also find that most of the leaders surveyed do not have the skills or willingness to change the culture:

“Strikingly, they do not believe that remuneration and incentives are key for setting the right tone at the top and influencing the corporate culture.”

What?!

How you compensate and incentivise are two of the most powerful drivers of culture!

Yet, those responding to the survey – the ones we most generously compensate and incentivise – are dismissing those two key processes.

Have we unintentionally incentivised our leaders not to change the culture?

Awareness

Today, something will happen to make you wonder, ever so briefly, if perhaps one of your long-established work processes might have a negative influence on your organizational culture.

It could be something you read in the news. Or a comment made by a colleague. A resignation. A customer complaint. Bad quality from a supplier.

Whatever it is, for a moment you will question how things are done in your organization. You will be aware of your partial responsibility for what just happened. And you will see a glimpse of a brighter future.

Will you seize that moment and take action?

Q&As add more value per minute

Today, I will be hosting a Q&A call on the topic of internal investigations for my team of ethics & compliance officers (ECOs).

One of my colleagues, a retired FBI special agent, will be answering most of the questions. We have no agenda and no slides. We haven’t prepared in the slightest way, if you discount the 60+ years of experience we have between the two of us.

The idea of hosting Q&A sessions came to me after years of delivering formal presentations. I noticed that my favorite part of a one-hour presentation was the Q&A in the last 2 to 5 minutes. I loved the engagement and I felt, no, I knew, that I was adding real value. Eventually, I decided to allocate at least a third of any presentation to Q&As, no matter how much time I was given to present. Even when I took one hour of questions, I seemed to run out of time and employees would approach me afterwards for more.

So it wasn’t a big stretch to create Q&A-only sessions. I have hosted several on conflict of interests and investigations, and will soon offer other topics. The beauty of these sessions is that I don’t have to guess what’s on my team’s mind. They will ask us questions that really matter to them. We will add value no matter what. It’s a great feeling.

Any leader can easily hold these sessions. Choose a topic your employees care about. For example, you can hold a session for employees who joined your organization less than 3 months ago. Based on their questions, you’ll be able to identify ways to improve your onboarding process. Or you can do something a bit more challenging and hold a session about bullying or sexual harassment.

The density of value-add in Q&A sessions is worth a leader’s time. Give it a try.

Lawful but awful

When I see an article titled “Corporate culture is your best defense against sexual harassment claims”, you know I’m going to read it.

All 11 tips in the article have merit but one stands out:

#4. Address all bad behavior, even when it’s not illegal.

Yelling is not illegal. Throwing things across the room is not illegal. Telling someone they are one stupid idea away from having to look for another job is not illegal.

But these behaviors must be addressed. Employees must feel that management cares about a respectful workplace. Otherwise, employees will eventually cease to report bad behavior to management, both legal and illegal.

For too long, we have tolerated behaviors that were lawful but awful. It’s time we stop.