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.

Communicators communicating

 

Joining Calvert Recorder Editor Carrie Lovejoy, right, behind the lens

Today was the first in hopefully what will become an annual event at the College of Southern Maryland to inspire the next generation of communicators.

During CSM's Communications Day organized by Assistant Professor Denise Gilmer-Knudson and her fellow faculty in Communication Arts and Humanities at the college, students from North Point and Westlake high schools and the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center heard from student and professional panels as well as were introduced to the new digital media production program to launch in the fall at the La Plata Campus.

As the day began, several high-schoolers reported they were already bent on pursuing communications careers, and as the day concluded many others joined the ranks after catching the excitement from the possibilities presented.

The morning opened with keynote speaker Doug Hill, vice president and chief meteorologist at ABC News 7, supplying candid reflections on how he got into his career through an odd assortment of events beginning with his 7th birthday celebrated on a thunderous July afternoon at his row-house home in Baltimore with a slew of friends. From his fright of that day's thunderstorm, he went on to elaborate how the experiences and encounters in his life built the foundation for a future career, with his weaving through the military, the Prince George's police department and ultimately landing behind the television camera.

Other professionals working in roles spanning public relations, newspapers, radio, entertainment and higher education offered personal insights during a panel discussion on how they broke into their field of choice, suggested how to make the most of a career choice, and gave personal reflections on the advantages and disadvantages to their work.

Unanimously the panelists advocated internships as the prime method to obtain experience and build a network during college. "Internships are critical. I had five before I had my first full-time job," said Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Public Relations Director Amie Gorrell, who has also worked with Walt Disney World. "Work hard and don't turn your nose up at unpaid internships. They instill a strong work ethic," which will pay dividends by placing you above the crowd in the job search.

Michelle Goodwin, CSM's vice president of advancement, advised, "Put yourself in a position that is outside your comfort zone. Volunteer to design fliers, to help with fund-raisers and to show you are engaged."

Carrie Lovejoy, editor for the Calvert Recorder, related the value of being in the right place at the right time, and of giving 110 percent of yourself. As a student at University of Oklahoma, she had earned a reputation for being a hard worker and consequently she found herself among the top candidates recommended by her advisers when job opportunities arose. "Each time it was a new experience in a different job," she said, which broadened her knowledge and career within journalism.

Mary Krug, who worked previously as chief of the news bureau for the Smithsonian Institution and press spokesman for the National Capital Region’s National Park Service and serves now as chair of the CSM Board of Trustees, advised students to be broadly educated so as to know a little bit about a lot of subjects, to take a statistics class so as to understand the numbers that they encounter in their reporting careers, and, most of all, to exemplify ethical behavior.

When it comes to ethics, Krug advised, "Be honest with everyone you are dealing with. It is the foundation of everything that you do. If you (working as a PR person) don't report it straight, then the reporter doesn't report it straight, and the voters won't get it straight," she said. "You are the keepers of the American democracy."

From the looks of the students attending this first Communications Day, they're up to the challenge.