Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Creating a culture of ethics, compliance, and accountability is one process. Sure, there are three outcomes ? actually even more than that* ? but only one process. Easy? No. ?Do-able?? Absolutely. So, the short answer on how?
Once one has the interest in developing such a culture, two key factors are required. The first is to be so clear about your values ? more clear than most individuals and organizations are ? that you can easily tell when your behavior isn?t aligned with those values. That way, you can correct your course more quickly and easily. Done well, you should have a much easier time recognizing potential problems and actually avoiding them in the first place.
The second is to learn how to recognize the kinds of ?red flags? that most individuals and organizations allow to go unnoticed or ignored. They?re easy to learn; folks just have to want to know and use them.
From an organizational standpoint, what?s required in addition to the above is to be ceaselessly mindful of reinforcing appropriate behavior. Like it or not, as human beings we all do what?s reinforced. Organizations that want managers (and everyone else) with strong ethics, compliance, and accountability need to be acutely aware of what they are actually encouraging. No matter how much businesses feel otherwise, it is my experience that they are all-too-frequently reinforcing exactly the behaviors they claim not to want.
Would you like more details on how to accomplish all of the above? I hope you?ll be in touch to ask any questions you might have.
*Don?t forget about customer trust, workplace safety, etc. The list goes on and on with what happens when everyone in your organization is accountable.