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Mindful Leadership: A corporate strategy for staying out of the headlines and ahead of the pack
October 27th, 2011
Right is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it. – William Penn
What causes those in leadership positions – when faced with doing the right thing or having to confront another relative to a perceived ethical transgression – to take the easy route and do something less than the right thing? Do they have no sense of ethical, moral and/or social right-ness? My belief is that they have gradually and unwittingly gone unconscious. Here is how…
Every day, minor mis-steps occur. Small scale ethical violations become commonplace—white lies, sharing mp3s or 4s with others, copying illegal software packages and cheating (on spouses, taxes, and tests, just to name a few). Because they appear to be minor and unintentional, leaders become blind to these ethical betrayals and they snowball. The corporate costs are high and can run the gamut from conflict between employees, inter-departmental conflict, unethical business practices and the erosion of public trust.
Mindful leadership is the only currency that can build and maintain the level of integrity necessary to sustain an ethical organization. Leaders who are mindful are more apt to be aware of the tension involved with doing what is right, more willing to apply the ethical test to seemingly minor mis-steps, and more conscious of the need to help others make sense of situations where there are several best ways to go, but only one right path. They are willing to stand in an uncomfortable place if that is what’s required to lead with integrity. They listen so deeply that they can detect the signals of disingenuous acts or “minor” transgressions and can ask the kinds of questions that bring ethical awareness to those involved. Simply put, those who are mindful are less likely to ignore, explain away or rationalize difficult decisions or tasks.
Mindful leaders are awake rather than unconscious. They help an organization own up to what they might have been avoiding. Take the mindful leader challenge by asking yourself:
1. What kinds of things are going on at your place of employement that are “minor ethical transgressions?” What is the core issue? What has created it? What have you contributed (no excuses) ?
2. Where are you now? Describe the world as others see it (fight the urge to minimize and/or negate their view).
3. What options do you have for moving forward? List them.
4. Reflect on those options and test each against the “what’s in it for me?” rule. We design most options to benefit ourselves (to make ourselves look good, to make it easy on us, to avoid having to acknowledge a mistake, etc). Cross any options off that are designed primarily to serve or repair your ego (even if you can in hindsight rationalize how they benefit others).
5. Consider what’s left. What’s the noble thing to do? Do it.
Interested in how Take Charge can help you build those kinds of leaders? Click here