and if you're faced with a moral dilemna, picture the Wall Street Journal

This past Wednesday was only the second time that I’d presented on the topic, and that’s probably a good thing since I’m certainly no authority on the actual subject matter. The exact name of the segment, which was presented as part of leadership training at a session in San Diego, was “Leading with Integrity; Building Power Through Ethics and Transparency.”

Now, if it had been a session on cutting in a ground fault interrupter outlet above your kitchen counter then I would probably have been qualified to deliver the content, but on the subject of leading with integrity, my only real credential would probably be to serve as an example of what not to do. In the spirit of the total transparency that I was advocating as part of the presentation, I candidly acknowledged that at the outset of the class.

Thankfully though I work for somebody that models that behavior every day. While I’m inclined to be a bit more cautious when disseminating information, she, as overseer of the finances for a large organization, instinctively puts all the information out there. It never matters if it’s good or bad news either, she just believes by default that honesty and total transparency is the best way to establish credibility and trust. Over time, I have begrudgingly witnessed the value of this approach, and I’ve seen the practice turn some of what once were the harshest of critics into robust supporters.

So, I guess by virtue of this experience and association, I do after all possess at least some small credential to lead this type of discussion. While I can’t profess to being an example of model ethical and transparent behavior in my own professional career, having the benefit of working for others that have and do allows me to present through the lens of somebody that’s lived the upside of working along-side others lead by doing the right thing.

All this got me to thinking about an experience I had while going through a MPA program some years ago at the University of Baltimore. There was an ethics class taught by seasoned chap named Louis Gawthrop, who remains a legend in Public Administration circles. He was the son on a union electrician from Baltimore and given my IBEW roots, he liked me from the start. At least to me, he had almost a god-like appearance, and with this advanced years, white locks and non-threatening all-knowing demeanor, he just seemed to me to be the quintessential knower of wisdom.

Since the class included a fair amount of theoretical academic mumbo-jumbo that I couldn’t understand, I implored him in my typical impatient manner to share some nugget of wisdom that would provide a practical beacon to help future public administrators to navigate the ethical and moral minefields that lay ahead. The wise old professor routinely resisted, but by the end of class, I must of worn him down. After asking for about the tenth time if he could provide some simple instruction to help my fellow students and me avoid the pitfalls of bad behavior, he stopped and reluctantly said “well…here’s what I do.”

He then went on to explain that some old teacher of his, from seminary school as I recall, gave him this advice. The next time you’re faced with some moral dilemma, before acting, take at least 30 seconds to think. Use the time to create a clear picture of an above-the-fold headline in tomorrow’s New York Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer or Wall Street Journal of what you’re about to do. If you’d be proud of the headline continue. If not…you’re probably making a bad decision.

Damn…that was way too easy and it instantly resonated with me. Since hearing it, I’ve deployed that strategy time and time again and I’d say it actually works for me about 85% of the time. There are still times when I picture a god-awful headline and make the wrong decision anyway, but most of the time it’s served as a pretty good guide. Times I neglect to think about the headline at all, I usually make the wrong call.

Ironically that happened on the morning of my ethics presentation. After running the afternoon  I arrived at the hotel and again the following morning, I was particularly parched as I walked around the hotel room preparing for the class. In the room, the hotel had provided a couple of bottles of water that were $3.25 each as denoted by the paper collars that hung around the bottle caps.

Now…I wanted water, but as the son of a Depression  era father, I’m not paying more for water than I do for gasoline. So, I carefully removed the paper collar and twisted open the bottle and downed the entire contents in almost one gulp. Then, I walked into the bathroom and refilled the bottle in the sink and carefully twisted the cap back on before gingerly placing the collar back in place as well. Once I put the bottle back in its original location next to the flat screen TV, there was little evidence that I’d sinned. I never pictured the headline, and if I had, it would have been almost as ugly as charging over three bucks for 16 ounces of water that most studies show is no better than what comes out of the tap.

See…I am the wrong person to teach the class.

Have a great weekend.

The lights are turned way down low...