Creating a Culture of Honesty

Two emails crossed my inbox this afternoon within two hours of each other, that when read in context of each other zeroed in on a critical need for integrity and honesty in today's dealings, and the subsequent devastation that occurs when ethics are tossed aside.

First, this arrived within the Knowledge@Wharton Network from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania:

Leadership

Dan Ariely on ‘The Honest Truth About Dishonesty’

Everyone cheats a little from time to time. But most major betrayals within organizations start with a first step that crosses the line, according to Dan Ariely, author of ‘The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty.’

Source: http://knlg.net/1pySS9E

Then, this arrived from National Journal's The Edge daily update:

SENATORS ACCUSE GM OF 'CULTURE OF COVER-UP': A day after taking heat from a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, GM CEO Mary Barra faced a hostile Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Sen. Claire McCaskill said the company had a "culture of cover-up that allowed an engineer to lie under oath repeatedly." Sen. Barbara Boxer mocked Barra's attempts to distance herself from GM's failure to notify people of a dangerous ignition-switch flaw, saying, "You don't know anything about anything." (Keith Laing, The Hill)

Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/automobiles/202423-senators-gm-had-culture-of-cover-up-that-led-to

The first talks of the need for organizations to create their own code of conduct that embraces honesty, clear rules and expectations, and that these elements are critical to keep organizations from sliding down a slope that begins with minor betrayals and what some would view as minor cheating.

Ariely is quoted: "I have had lots of discussions with big cheaters – ... With one exception, all of them were stories of slippery slopes. You look at the sequence of the events – you look at the end – and you say, my goodness, what kind of monster would do this? But then you look at the first step they took and say, I can see myself under the right amount of pressure behaving badly. Then they took another step, another step, and another step. Most organizations go down a slippery slope rather than having some vicious, vicious plan…."

The second article discusses charges of a culture of cover-up being lodged at General Motors as a result of the delay in the recall of more than 1 million GM vehicles due to a dangerous ignition switch flaw and linked to 13 deaths. GM CEO Mary Barra is recently at the helm, but as the CEO she is being held accountable and to answer to House and Senate lawmakers over the issue. Reporter Keith Laing quoted Sen. Barbara Boxer: "Ms. Barra, I really hate to say this, but if this is the new GM, it is sorely lacking in leadership," adding "As a woman to woman, I am very disappointed, because the culture that you are representing here today is a culture of the status quo."

I agree when Boxer is reported telling Barra, "You're a really important person to this company," but not because of what she did or did not know about the delay in recalling vehicles.

Rather, Barra will be critical at GM as the leader insisting on and directing policies and procedures that will ensure what Ariely calls for, a culture of honesty, that pervades all levels of employees, from the board room to the assembly line.