POLITICS, LEADERSHIP AND A MORAL COMPASS

With the two political parties holding their conventions this week and next, I wonder what place on the agendas, the topics of ethics, morals or character will be referenced in regards to the economy, job creation, foreign affairs, etc.?

Will we hear phrases like: moral awareness, moral responsibility, or moral obligation? Better yet, do we espouse those phrases in our own organizations? Can we expect more of others than maybe we do of ourselves?

We hear how important it is in having a moral compass more and more these days and yet, just what does it take to develop a moral compass?

To develop a moral compass, whether in politics, business, education, or home, discernment, role modeling, and constant reinforcement are necessary. To begin the reflection process, one should ask oneself what is the difference, likeness and order of moral dimensions in order the absolute best policy, promise, values statement, mission statement, rules of the classroom and rules of the house, are made.

Consideration needs to be given to the order, definition and applicability of these to the ultimate good for the common good and this takes time and effort for discernment.

moral awareness.

moral cognition.

moral obligation.

moral responsibility.

moral reasoning.

moral judgment.

This week and next, in particular, promises and visions, will be made from podiums, at conventions, company boardrooms, C-suites, classrooms as school begins and homes as to where we need to go, what we need to do and why we need to believe in those promises.. On what moral basis will those promises be made? How will we know and then what do we do?

In any type of group, people look to their” leaders” for inspiration, guidance, direction, focus and the invitation people to follow them.

One’s moral compass is developed by being fundamentally taught, consistently modeled and reinforced continually. At best, people hope and trust that those leaders believe what they say and not just what they think the people need to hear.

As in all things, time will tell!

fbucaro

Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries. With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody’s responsibility from the top down. His goal is to help organizations to: a. Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation. b. Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent “high road” behavior as a business advantage. c. Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development. Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level. Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!