Although I was excited to dine with friends this weekend, I have since been haunted by comments made by the husband of the other couple about ethics and leadership. His take is that there are few people today who command respect, adding that the “me first” focus is unlikely to change any time soon. I know we broke the rule about keeping the social banter light and fluffy but he’s someone I greatly respect. I wanted to hear him talk about this important topic. So I asked him to elaborate. Alas, his further answers were just as glum. He didn’t seem particularly distraught about the current state of affairs. Indeed, he was rather calm in explaining that he enjoyed his work but recognized that it’s hard to effect positive change at a systemic level. I’ve heard this message before from others. “We have twenty four hours each day and we can only do so much.” The real question is what counts as “so much.”

Putting aside discussions about how to measure ethical behavior and the nature of fiduciary duties for another time, it’s critical for leaders to first understand the core values sought by various constituencies such as customers, employees and investors. The next step is to identify conflicts should each group differ its ranking of attributes. Likewise important is for those with oversight responsibilities to design and implement an effective compensation program that encourages prudent risk-taking within the confines of the relevant ethical framework. Beyond that, I hope those in charge are constantly asking what else can be done to make it easy for others to trust their decision-making abilities.

I want to give my friend lots of examples of integrity in practice. He’s not alone in being cynical. How many people do you know who think there is room for improvement when it comes to organizational ethics, whether applied to politics, business, healthcare, education or non-profit endeavors?