Most individuals honestly believe that they operate with high integrity and demonstrate ethical behavior with others in the workplace. The problem is that people often don’t have the same definition of what constitutes ethical behavior. That’s why some business and professional organizations create codes of ethical conduct.

In 10 years of service on the ethics committee of an international professional organization I learned that ethical errors were usually made by people who decided, without consulting others, that there were good reasons to violate the ethical principles they had agreed to abide by.

Several years ago while serving on a committee of the Colorado Ethics In Business Alliance, I helped develop these seven signs of an ethical business.

If you don’t have an explicit professional ethics code that you use for guidance, I invite you to measure your business behavior by these standards. If ethical behavior matters to you – and I hope it does — see how you measure up.

1. Teach employees how to behave ethically by demonstrating, recognizing and rewarding ethical behavior.
2. Tell the truth. Fully reveal relevant information to stakeholders and authorities.
3. Consider the interests of everyone who will be affected by their business decisions.
4. Treat all individuals and groups with dignity and respect.
5. Maintain honest and complete communication with employees, customers and the community.
6. Avoid conflicts of interest.
7. Demonstrate, encourage and support active involvement in their communities.

(For more information about the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance visit http://www.cobusethics.org )

Be cautious when you want to make choices that differ from any ethical standards you have agreed to accept. Check your thinking by imagining how you would feel if your choices were reported in a national newspaper. Better yet, consult an advisor you respect before taking action.

If you enjoyed this blog post The Integrity Course will provide much more information I believe will be useful to you. Included in this course are stories of how over 25 people confronted issues about integrity in the workplace. Learn more here.

Integrity is about seeking that wholeness. It is about conversations that get through the surface junk and get to what is really important when we are together.

Integrity is about facing each other and listening to each other and really hearing each other and taking the actions we know are necessary.

Integrity is the bedrock on which trust is built.

Integrity is the hidden key to your success!

If you enjoyed this blog  post, The Integrity Course will provide much more information I believe will be useful to you. Included in this course are stories of how over 25 people confronted issues about integrity in the workplace. Learn more here.

James could see that the generosity his 200-member accounting firm had shown their partners and managers — when times were good — simply had to change.

The firm could no longer support the expensive valet parking the partners blithely added to their expense reports or the extra charges for breakfast that showed up on their hotel bills. Especially when James knew personally that the hotel in question included a fine breakfast buffet with the cost of the room.

James, a founding partner of the firm and a habitually conservative spender, always allowed time to park in the same airport shuttle lot, whether he was taking his family on vacation or going on a necessary business trip. He fumed to himself as he reviewed expense reports from the firm’s tax meeting. The nine-dollar charges for breakfast were especially irritating, because he had noticed that those managers were not in the dining room while he was there himself enjoying the complementary buffet.

In good times, while struggling to retain employees who are constantly being lured away by other opportunities, it seemed picky to disallow those expenses. Now, with the decreased workload, the firm was overstaffed and he was struggling to avoid layoffs. Yet he suspected that his people would grumble at the now necessary restrictions.

Knowing how he had once struggled to overcome a reputation for insensitivity, he decided on a creative solution. He sent out a memo to all managers and partners explaining the need to cut expenses and asked them to each submit at least one idea that would save the company money.

In came suggestions to eliminate valet parking, to eat their meals provided by the hotel, to limit extra baggage charges (for golf clubs) when meeting at resort locations, to limit charges for laundry at hotels, etc. He compiled the suggestions and recirculated them with thanks. There was no resistance when those suggestions were instituted as the new company policy.

When I asked James how he was viewed in the firm, he said he thinks he is seen as a practical pragmatist and appropriate person. He did add wryly that a few people in the firm probably wished there was not a practical, pragmatic, appropriate person around to rain on their parade.

Free Mini-Course: Integrity — Use It or Lose It!

Free Mini-Course: Secrets for Turning Difficult Conversations into Amazing Opportunities for Cooperation and Success]

Richness is created from diversity. Sometimes survival depends on it. A series of exercises were once devised to simulate being lost on the moon, lost in the Arctic, lost at sea (in a lifeboat) or in some other life-threatening situation.

Teams were given a list of resources and told to choose those that would be most important for their survival. They needed to reach consensus about which few items they could keep. Their choices were compared with choices made by true experts in each situation.

Research showed the teams did much better when everyone contributed their knowledge. When they deferred to “experts” on the team, important information from less knowledgeable players was omitted and team scores declined. The livelier the discussions (arguments???), the better the team scores seem to be.

Some things you can do to make this work on your team are:

• Describe the differences of opinion or perspective that you notice
• Respectfully ask questions to clarify those differences
• Listen to the answers without unnecessary interruption
• Interrupt only to ask clarifying questions
• Do your best to understand the reasoning that leads to the differences
• If you disagree, challenge the idea and not the person
• Allow enough time to complete these important conversations.

Remember, when every one thinks alike important information is usually omitted. When everyone has the same skills tasks are completed in a lopsided way. When everything looks the same the view is boring. Go for the richness.

Communicate skillfully about sensitive subjects. Http://www.DareToSayIt.com Laurie Weiss, Ph.D., is a Master Certified Coach and communication expert. Dr. Weiss has spent 35 years helping clients resolve conflict in business and personal relationships. Email feedback@laurieweiss.com
[tags]Business Communication, Leadership, Making Decisions, Management, Managing Conflict, Self-Management, Telling the Truth[/tags]

As Jacob’s frustration increased, he explored the idea that he had hired inappropriate people in the first place. He reflected that if only he could find the proper leverage he thought he could make them do what he had hired them to do. Leverage to Jacob meant the proper combination of rewards and threats.

When I asked about what guidelines the staff was given to do their work Jacob admitted that he let them set up their own procedures with very little input from him. He communicated his expectations very vaguely, because he himself hated to be told what to do. Jacob thought if he was “nice” to them, they would like him and work hard to assure the success of the office.

Jacob only got angry when they didn’t meet his admittedly non-specific performance expectations. When he got frustrated enough, he would insist that his rules be followed; telling his confused and demoralized staff exactly how to do what he expected. They were constantly seesawing between unclear expectations and over-detailed instructions that discounted their intelligence and experience.

Jacob argued when I suggested that he needed to create clear guidelines for his staff and then leave them alone to do their jobs. He was sure his staff would hate him and quit if he did that, and he firmly believed they would never get any work done without closer supervision. Jacob believed that everyone in the world hated structure as much as he did.

When I told him that most people need and want structured guidelines in order to feel safe and happy, Jacob was surprised. He explained how he had been forced to follow rules for most of his life and cherished his present freedom. He assumed that everybody else felt exactly the same way he did.

He experimented with the idea that some people felt nurtured by structure. Warily, he started telling his office manager only the outcomes he wanted including necessary completion times. The office manager competently communicated the work requirements, the staff happily met them, and Jacob was immensely relieved.

Coaching Tip: Most people believe that everyone sees the world exactly the same way they do. This is never true and often the source of much turmoil.

Free Mini-Course: Integrity — Use It or Lose It!
Free Mini-Course: Secrets for Turning Difficult Conversations into Amazing Opportunities for Cooperation and Success
[tags]Self-Management,Management,Leadership,Emotional Intelligence, Business Communication, Coaching[/tags]

When members of an organization hide the truth from each other it sets the stage for distrust, lowered productivity, poor decisions and frustration. On the other hand, to quote a police investigator, “If you tell the truth too bluntly, you get your ass in trouble!”

Creating an atmosphere where speaking and hearing the truth is valued and practiced takes deliberate attention. This is because practicing deception has become normal for many people. You need to work to create a situation where telling the truth becomes normal again.

Several problems interact to cause deception in the workplace.

First, people are afraid to tell the truth about their own perceptions because they don’t want to look weak or foolish, loose face, or be proved wrong. Instead of taking these risks, most people try to figure out what others think before they risk revealing their own thoughts. If their ideas seem different, they usually keep their thoughts to themselves.

Next, people suspect and fear that the very people they should be communicating with may react vindictively when they hear an unpleasant or unpopular point of view. This fear is realistic enough that laws have been passed to protect “whistleblowers.” While employees fear retaliation, management fears lawsuits.

If this weren’t enough, most folks want to be polite and avoid saying or doing anything that might embarrass someone, so they remain silent about very important issues.

Declaring that truth-telling is valued in a organization is obviously not going to do much to change this powerful set of interlocking belief systems. It takes an aware and committed leader to break this cultural norm by modeling behaviors that demonstrate that s/he values input from any source.

This means listening seriously to ideas that are different than those that are generally accepted. It also includes learning to recognize signs that you or others are steering clear of uncomfortable subject matter.

You can increase the chances of others trusting you enough to tell you the truth when you follow these guidelines.

*Respond non-defensively when you perceive that you or your pet projects are being attacked. You are most likely to miss important information when you feel uncomfortable.

*Request further information about unpopular points of view and listen respectfully when it is shared.

* Express genuine appreciation for all speakers, even if you feel impatient and/or disagree with their positions.

Behaving this way communicates, louder than words, your dedication to creating a truthful environment.

Learn more about communicating with integrity in The Integrity Course, an online, multimedia home-study course to help you say what you think without getting fired or losing your friends.
[tags]Telling the Truth,Management,Leadership,Business Communication, Coaching, Conflict, Difficult Communication[/tags]

1. Teach employees how to behave ethically by demonstrating, recognizing and rewarding ethical behavior.
2. Tell the truth. Fully reveal relevant information to stakeholders and authorities.
3. Consider the interests of everyone who will be affected by their business decisions.
4. Treat all individuals and groups with dignity and respect.
5. Maintain honest and complete communication with employees, customers and the community.
6. Avoid conflicts of interest.
7. Demonstrate, encourage and support active involvement in their communities.

For more information about the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance visit http://www.cobusethics.org

[tags]Integrity, Leadership, Telling the Truth[/tags]

1. Show Up and Choose to be Present

Show up means nobody is allowed to come as an empty chair. Be present.

2. Pay Attention to What Has Heart and Meaning

That means pay attention to the things that sing to you. We have so many things demanding our attention in our lives. There is advertising coming at us thousands of times every day. Everything we encounter, everything we look at, shouts come here, look here, give me your eyeballs. We are also constantly exposed to our own inner conversations and judgments. It is often very difficult to focus on what is really important to us.

3. Tell the Truth without Blame or Judgment

This is not just telling somebody else the truth, it’s telling myself to my own truth.

Example: I say to myself, “She is so wrong she is (expletive deleted) because…” It helps to ask myself the question, what in me is like her? How come I got so upset by that? I need to tell the truth to myself about me before telling my truth to others.

4. Be Open to Outcome, not Attached to Outcome

Be interested in what’s happening, but don’t be attached to it. Be open to whatever happens, knowing it doesn’t have to happen in a particular way. When you start an important conversation it doesn’t have to end up in any particular place. Once concerns and feelings are talked about, the original concern may no longer be important.

Learn more about communicating with integrity in The Integrity Course, an online, multimedia home-study course to help you say what you think without getting fired or losing your friends.

[tags]Business Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Integrity, Leadership, Making Decisions, Self-Management, Telling the Truth[/tags]

Work delegated to busy junior professionals (attorneys, in Barbara’s case; accountants, architects, designers — you name it — in other situations), gets put into a pending pile. Little if any progress is made on completing the work until shortly before it is due. Time needed to complete the work is underestimated, and completing the work becomes extremely stressful.

Clients, whom the junior professionals may never have met, can be disappointed. The manager is frustrated because explaining the reasons for delays to clients is never fun. The manager is also frustrated because she has work of her own to complete, and does not want to spend her time checking up on others.

Many managers have procrastination problems of their own, largely because they have so many high priorities to juggle. The common problem that “management is a series of interruptions, interrupted by interruptions,“ causes them to arrive very early or stay very late to try to get their own work done.

Barbara’s responsibilities include monitoring attorney progress, workflow, marketing, cashflow, collections and billing, as well as strategic planning and staff management in a firm that includes 13 attorneys. Almost everything was going smoothly, except for the workflow monitoring. When challenged to create a system to make everyone responsible for their own work, she devised a brief, mandatory, weekly “Tasklists Anonymous“ meeting.

Her system is simple. Every task that is assigned to an attorney is placed on a list — a common practice in professional firms. However, Barbara takes this several steps further. Based on the premise that all work should be completed within 2-4 weeks, each professional‘s list is divided into three parts.
1. Tasks that must be done by next week.
2. Tasks that must be done by 2 weeks (from now) and/or should be done next week.
3. Tasks that must be done by 3 weeks (from now) and/or should be done by 2 weeks.

Her rule is that every task should move up to the next higher category every week! The way the rule is enforced is that everyone, including herself, presents their updated lists at the weekly “Tasklists Anonymous“ meeting. No penalties are necessary. Social pressure is enough. The work progresses, and Barbara has more time to devote to other priorities.

Coaching tip: When a problem persists, look for a system to that will solve it permanently.

Free Mini-Course: Secrets for Turning Difficult Conversations into Amazing Opportunities for Cooperation and Success
[tags]Business Communication, Coaching,Human Resources, Leadership,Management[/tags]