How We Do Anything Means Everything –Dov Seidman
As leaders, we need to understand the culture of our business, be aware of the pulse of our team, co-workers, and business partners, consistently communicate goals and strategies, and make decisions based on our knowledge of the above.
Dov Seidman, founder/CEO of LRN, an ethics and compliance management firm, believes companies will thrive when ethical business cultures exist. (He’s also an author, attorney, and columnist).
It’s been reported that over two-thirds of U.S. citizens believe that none, very few, or only some corporations operate in a fair and honest manner. Pretty disheartening isn’t it?
So what does it take to create and support moral leadership? Seidman suggests to first start by cultivating trust, values, and passion. (TRUST, once again surfaces as a key critical component). He also provides 4 guiding principles:
Moral Leaders Are Driven By Purpose
They focus on progress, not just on results and the bottom line. Journeys force us to learn, adapt, experiment, and embrace and learn from mistakes.
Moral Leaders Inspire and Elevate Others
They ask people to be loyal not to them, but rather to the overall purpose and mission of the organization.
Moral Leaders Are Animated by Both Courage and Patience
It takes courage to speak out for a principle or larger truth, especially when that leader is in an uncomfortable or vulnerable territory. Think of patience as a way of extending trust to others by allowing them the time to be more thorough, rigorous and creative.
Moral Leaders Keep Building Muscle
Authentic leaders don’t stop learning and growing just because they’ve accumulated formal authority. They continue to build moral muscle by wrestling with questions of right and wrong, fairness and justice, what serves others and what doesn’t.
Additionally, Seidman states that moral leaders “pause and continually ask if what they’re doing—or what their company or organization is doing—is compatible with their purpose and mission”.
How would you answer that question?
QWIKTIPS – read more about ACTIONS AND BELIEFS
Seidman says: When you demonstrate moral authority, people follow you not because they have to, but because they want to.