The Ethical Optimist

Wow! There is so much to write about this week, I can barely keep up!

First and foremost is all the buzz about former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and his new book.  My fellow PR colleagues are coming out of the woodwork to comment on his revelation that he “lied” on behalf of the Bush administration.

It’s an interesting ethical debate, but I think many are missing the larger picture.

One of McClellan’s quotes really hit home for me.  In an AP Television interview he said, “You’re in a bubble atmosphere, and sometimes because of your affection for the person you’re working for and your belief in that person, you sometimes lose perspective.”

It was the “bubble” atmosphere comment that got me.  It goes back to some of my earlier comments about how organizations need to build an ethical culture.  A former employer, Herb Corbin, used to say, “The fish stinks from the head.” What he meant was, the head of the organization sets the tone for ethical behavior.  So, it begs the question, how culpable was McClellan within the context of the culture of the White House?

As many of you know, I routinely do ethics training workshops. One of the things I’ve learned is that the rank and file are often afraid to go against the status quo, even if their feelings or beliefs conflict with what’s going on around them.

It’s up to the leaders of an organization to make clear where the ethical bar resides.

Sadly, a recent survey done by PR News indicates that a majority of organizations conduct their own ethical training and report ethical violations directly to the CEO.  So, if the fish does indeed stink from the head, it’s the blind leading the blind in this case.

This is why we’re seeing a movement throughout local governments, NGOs and the like to hire outside ethics trainers and develop more effective ethics training programs.

More importantly, procedures for the anonymous reporting of ethics violations or concerns need to be in place so people feel free to speak up before these issues snowball into crisis situations.  In these cases, there must also be a mechanism for oversight and enforcement.

Just telling people to be “ethical” and expecting them to make the right decisions isn’t enough. People cannot operate in a vacuum, and they need to know someone will listen to, and act upon, their concerns.

In the end, it also boils down to personal responsibility.  When someone has a high-paying, powerful position, it’s not always easy to walk away.  That’s a very personal decision they need to make.  McClellan ultimately resigned and came clean.  Despite the criticism, he made a decision that he felt was right for him.

Could he have done it differently? Perhaps…but before we judge the individual, let’s take a closer look at the bubble in which he found himself.