IS IT OK TO BE LESS THAN 100% ETHICAL?

The answer to this question probably depends on who you ask, when. Many Americans felt the moral indescretions of some past presidents didn't affect their ability to govern the U.S. A majority of the U.S. Congress apparently feels it is permissable to make certain obvious errors on personal tax returns since they've confirmed appointments to public office that have not filed past returns correctly. Stockholders of some large companies that have incurred significant losses must feel that huge bonuses to management personnel are acceptable since these individuals are allowed to remain in office. Some church members seem to tolerate sexual and other indescretions in their leaders since some are still leading congregations. Certain talk show hosts and motivational leaders adopt their own doctrines and philosophies which are supported by large numbers of followers even though there is no authoritative support for their opinion.

So... is it really OK to be less than 100% ethcial? Is it appropriate to justify our innappropriate behavior because others do it? Is it right to blame others for causing our indescretions? Is it right to set up our own standards of behavior as a doctrine which we expect or encourage others to live by? Are some indescretions, mistakes, or illegal behaviors unimportant?

If you ask this author, my answer to all these questions is absolutely not! If we are to conduct our lives with high integrity, we must have some common standard for behavior. Most people believe their standards are the right ones. This wouldn't be a problem if everyone believed as we do. The problems arise when we differ with others. Criminals' standards are different from most law-abiding citizens, for example. For most of us, it's not acceptable to steal, rape, molest, or murder. For some criminals, it is acceptable. Situational or behaviorial ethics of man must have a common foundation to provide accountability for inappropriate behaviors.

Only God's standards in the Holy Bible can provide a common standard for accountability. Any other standard is relavent to a lesser authority. Before I'm accused of being a self-righteous Bible thumper, let me be the first to say I am not perfect. I make mistakes, even commit sin as defined by the Holy Bible. My heart desire is to have high integrity in all areas of my life and I make a conscious effort to live that way. When I become aware of my failures, I attempt to take responsibility for my part, make amends with others and, when necessary, make restitution. Most of all, I ask my God for forgiveness for my actions or words and for His help to live according to His Way in the future.

What do you think? Should we accept or tolerate inappropriate behaviors of politicians, corporate management and church leaders? Can we justify acting in ways that seem right only in our eyes? Is it OK to be a little unethical because "everyone does it?" Post your comment!

QUALIFICATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP

In Miles Monroe's book, Becoming a Leader, he makes this statement in chapter 8:

"The quality of your character is the measure of your leadership effectiveness. Effective leadership is essentially built on the foundation of inspiration that breeds confidence in one's character. In its truest form it is the perfect balance of competence, vision and virtue. Competence or knowledge without vision breeds technocrats. Virtue without vision and knowledge breeds ideologies. Vision without virtue and knowledge, breeds demagogue. True leadership cannot be divorced from the basic qualities that produce good sound character. It involves the total person and therefore cannot be relegated to a professional compartment of our lives."

In the next few blogs, we'll focus on the character necessary for effective leadership in politics, management and in our personal lives. Effective leaders must demonstrate they are worthy of the trust of followers. Followers will react negatively or positively to a leader based on a number of factors but, most importantly, they will react based on whether they think they can trust the leader's character. Further, a follower's personal belief system will influence his/her decision to trust a leader. In other words, the more a follower believes, thinks and acts like a leader, the more they are likely to trust him or her.

In previous blogs, I've discussed the effects of our past experiences and heart wounds on our behavior and on our integrity. In the same way our personal behavior and integrity have been shaped by our past experiences, so is our evaluation of a leader's character. For example, if we have strong administrative abilities, we usually like and trust a leader that is administratively strong. If we like to be merciful and gracious to others, we like a leader that is the same. If we believe that most people are honest and good, then we'll likely trust a leader based on what he or she says. If our life experiences make it difficult to trust, we'll usually look beyond the leader's words before we extend our trust. And so on.

From recent political history we can see some cases on point. After the sexual indiscretions of a U.S. president were made public, many people commented that these events didn't affect his ability to run our country. Numerous politicians have been found guilty of violations of law, lately the tax law, and still appointed or elected to their offices without any public outcry. An eloquent public speaker such as our current president seems to be trusted based on his words, even though the many of the laws and actions being enacted have been tried and failed in this country and others. Some believe many people trust and follow a leader based on his promises in the hope they will be true. This brings us back to the opening words by Miles Monroe expressed this way, effective leadership is the perfect balance of competence, vision and virtue.

Retiring after several terms served, a U.S. senator stated that he could no longer be part of a system that required compromise of one's integrity and values to succeed. On the other hand, some people believe that some influence of a person's character (a senator in this case), even if compromised by the system of government, is better than no influence in their absence.

What do you think? Does a person's character, their integrity and honesty, influence their work and personal lives? What do you believe? What is the foundation of your belief system?

WHERE HAS INTEGRITY GONE?

Since the word integrity seems to have gone the way of relativism, here is an early definition from Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 Edition:

"Integrity: The entire unimpaired state of anything, particularly of the mind; moral soundness or purity; incorruptness; uprightness; honesty. Integrity comprehends the whole moral character, but has a special reference to uprightness in mutual dealings, transfers of property, and agencies for others."

Cough! Choke! Where has integrity gone? Is it in corporate management? How about politicians? Is it a characteristic of the church? Do we see it in our current president? Do his appointees have it? Do you and I have integrity? When asked if they have high integrity, most people will answer "yes." On the other hand when asked if one's integrity affects their ability to do a job or hold an office, the answer is "no." The real question is, "does integrity really matter anymore?"

Here is a brief list of "polling" questions to get your input. Be honest, please!

1. Have highly publicized corporate frauds ever created justification for our cheating "just a little bit?" We're thinking about little things like leaving work half an hour early, answering personal emails or phone calls during work hours, or requesting reimbursement for a $50 meal when we only spent $5.

2. Does the apparent fact that many politicians don't pay all their income taxes, take contributions in return for favors, or blame others for problems they've created cause us to consider doing the same?

3. Do the publicized actions of fallen religious leaders affect our faith and personal integrity?

Let me know what you think about these issues and I'll discuss your comments in a future blog.

THE BEHAVIOR OF MAN

Our life experiences both good and bad, along with the influence of one’s culture and genetic makeup, result in behavioral patterns that can be identified by several different personality inventory systems. One such system, called the Personal Profile System by Dr. John Geier, often referred to as the DISC model of behavior, is widely used to assess the strengths and weaknesses in one’s behavior. The book, Understanding How Others Misunderstand You, by Ken Voges & Ron Braund discusses the four behavioral styles:

D ominant & Decisive--Goal: Authority and Action
I nfluencing & Interactive--Goal: Persuasion & Popularity
S teadiness & Supportive--Goal: Cooperation & Caring
C ompliant & Cautious--Goal: Conscientious & Consistent

While every person may possess some of each of these styles, a person tends to function in the style that is most comfortable, especially when under stress. A person’s style is neither good nor bad and can be a strength or a weakness depending on how and when it is applied. Because our behavior is mostly learned, most of it can be changed. As one matures and his or her character is developed, the person’s predominant style may be altered. Unless there is conscious effort made to change, however, most people subconsciously default to their “comfort-zone” style.

So, what does all this have to do with ethics? Simply, a code of ethics or conduct is behavior that begins with what one believes in their heart. A harden criminal, for example, could not be influenced by a written code of conduct. On the other hand, a person with a “live and let live” philosophy could not be expected to report an ethics violator. Our behavioral style influences our personal ethics, i.e., “who we are.” Understanding our behaviors helps us understand others. Understanding the behavior and ethics of co-workers, business contacts and friends can empower us to chose relationships carefully and can have direct effects on our future and success.

THE DRIVING FORCE OF MANKIND

The driving force of mankind underpinning all issues of ethics is a person's heart motives. Scientific research of our heart’s influence on our lives was published by Doc Childre and Howard Martin in a book called The Heartmath Solution by HarperCollins in 2000. An excerpt from page 4 reads:

“Over the past twenty years, scientists have discovered new information about the heart that makes us realize it’s far more complex than we’d every imagined. We now have scientific evidence that the heart sends us emotional and intuitive signals to help govern our lives. Instead of simply pumping blood, it directs and aligns many systems in the body so that they can function in harmony with one another. And although the heart is in constant communication with the brain, we know that it makes many of its own decisions.

Because of this new evidence, we have to rethink our entire attitude toward ‘following our hearts.’ At the Institute of HeartMath (IHM), scientists have found that the heart is capable of giving us messages and helping us far more than anyone ever suspected. Throughout this book, we’ll share the research that provides new evidence of the power of heart intelligence. And we’ll show how that intelligence can have a measurable impact on our decision-making, our health problems, our productivity at work, our children’s learning ability, our families, and the overall quality of our lives.”

Someone once said, “A man is like a tube of toothpaste. When he’s squeezed, what’s on the inside of him comes out!” Psychologists have long said that the hurts and wounds from one’s early childhood, even while in the womb, can determine and influence behavior throughout one’s life. The New Testament of the Bible contains verses like, “Out of the abundance of the heart a man speaks” and “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

In the book, The HeartMath Solution, scientists have proven that one’s “heart code” determines their behavior and influences the environment around them. Maybe it can be said this way: Whatever we believe in our hearts will guide our lives and influence our ethics. So, for example, if one thinks all blue collar workers are immature, have no common sense or need constant supervision, all blue collar workers working for that person will be treated in ways that support those beliefs. Worse yet, blue collar workers treated in line with these beliefs are likely to produce behaviors that demonstrate immaturity, lack of common sense and the need for close supervision.

A CPA once shared a story about one of his new clients. When she asked the CPA to prepare her tax return, the new client said that she had not had “good luck” with CPAs. She related that they had all made mistakes on her tax returns that cost her “lots of money.” When the CPA completed the return and presented it to his client, the client found several significant errors! In one instance, the CPA had put his personal social security number in the space provided for the client’s social security number!  The beliefs in our hearts can influence both our actions and those of others.

A person’s ethical behaviors are often learned or inherited.  Most importantly, they can result from character growth and development. One’s personal ethical responsibility is to make daily decisions based on pure heart motives, i.e., to do the right thing, at the right time and in the right way. Understanding one's heart motives is the beginning of applying ethics for success!

WHERE DO WE GET OUR PERSONAL ETHICS?

How many grains of sand are there on a seashore? Obviously, more than any of us can count. There are probably the same number of influences on our personal ethics. Here are a few significant influences I can think of:

• Our parents and family
• The community in which we live
• The state or country in which we live
• The time period to which we were born
• Societal values and mores
• Political figures
• Sports heroes
• Religion
• Career
• TV and movie stars
• Spouse, children and grandchildren
• Peers
• Life experiences

It is likely you can think of many others. Readers of this blog would like to hear your story. Tell me about what or who you believe has had the most signifcant influence on your personal ethics, either good or bad. I'll group your responses into areas and share some of your stories in this blog (anonymously of course).

I'll get the ball rolling. I grew up in a small midwestern town in the 1940s. The county seat of a farming community, long hours of hard work, honesty and integrity typified the values of most residents. Entertainment was a 5 cent movie on Saturday (for us kids) and sitting in my Dad's 49 Mercury on main street watching people on Saturday night. Family activities included fishing trips, camping in our RV (a built-out school bus), and occasional meals with aunts, uncles and cousins. My mother and father didn't go to church with any regularity but a pastor from our neighborhood took me to church most Sundays. So, my town, my friends and family and the era in which I grew up gave me a desire to live my life with integrity.

My father owned and operated a real "service station," practically 24 hours a day since he was the only store in town. In fact, the pressure of years of work lead him to an emotional collapse and, finally, death from a heart attack when I was 14. My mother was pretty strong willed and, forgive me Mom, pretty controlling. While I believe she loved me and her intentions were good, she raised me as her father had raised her which was not always so good. The lack of affection from my parents left me feeling that somehow I wasn't good enough, even that I was a "bad boy." My compensation in life, then, was to defeat any person or obstacle in my way...sometimes even if that meant unethical behavior (refer to my initial blog "What Are Ethics").

Then came the darkness of an experience that I know many children have shared, sexual molestation. In my case, the perpetrator was a middle aged woman. Not having conscious recognition of the experieince until mid-life, I realize these years shaped my thinking, my behavior and certainly my personal ethics.

Many behaviorists agree that our experiences during the first 5 or 6 years of our lives become the pattern for the rest of our lives. The influence of these experiences affects what we think others think about us, how we behave, and even whether we succeed or fail in our lives. Here is a key: these memories are indelibly impressed on our minds and our hearts. Next time we'll discuss some of the scientific discoveries about the memory capability of our hearts. Join me won't you?

WHAT ARE ETHICS?

While the common understanding of ethics seems to change day-to-day, a definition would make a good starting place for this blog. Here are some definitions of ethics and integrity from Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 Edition:

Ø Ethics: 1. The doctrines of morality or social manners; the science of moral philosophy, which teaches men their duty and reasons for it. 2. A system of moral principles; a system of rules for regulating the actions and manners of men in society.

Ø Integrity: The entire unimpaired state of anything, particularly of the mind; moral soundness or purity; incorruptness; uprightness; honesty. Integrity comprehends the whole moral character, but has a special reference to uprightness in mutual dealings, transfers of property, and agencies for others.

A logical question should be: "In 2009, what is the standard or model for ethical behavior in the United States?" Is it religion, government, corporate america, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, values of our friends, particular situations, or what each of us considers right? Maybe a better question would be: "Is there any ethical standard or model at all?"

I author and teach seminars for a major publisher of practice aids and seminars. Presenting accounting and auditing subjects for CPAs, I spend some of my time teaching professional business ethics. As you may know, CPAs are required to comply with a Code of Professional Conduct published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Parameters for behavior are well defined by this Code, yet each year thousands of violations are brought before state and national governing bodies, many of which result in severe sanctions. Just because we have defined behavior doesn't mean we act accordingly!

The Sarbanes Oxley Act requires publically-held companies to establish, post and maintain codes of conduct for employees. Does the creation of these codes of conduct ensure compliant behavior? The daily news testifies, obviously not!

The system of government in the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian Biblical principles. If we know nothing more than the golden rule, "Do unto others and you would have them do unto you," how well do you think we are doing?

In the weeks and months ahead, this blog will delve into the issues of ethics, where we've come from, what has created change, what we're experiencing in our nation today, where our nation is going and how ethics and integrity affect our daily lives. Please join me on this journey; I welcome your comments!