Intentional Integrity by Robert Chesnut Chief Ethics Officer Airbnb, with Joan O’C Hamilton.
A book I chose to review at a time when breach of integrity and ethics in the corporate context not only brings Organizations into the limelight, keeps them there for all the wrong reasons, adversely impacting the reputation, brand & the bottom-line.
Given this context ‘Integrity’ therefore is no longer a soft corporate issue, Organizations now must see it as a balanced strategy prioritizing trust at the same level as growth. Customers are increasingly known to advocate brands that ‘do the right thing’. The pressure on the leadership to act ethically is also bubbling within, as employees now want to know their boundaries at the workplace. What was private, is now public and any lapse of judgement becomes common knowledge at the speed of ‘wifi’ given the all pervasive media.
Can a commitment to the core values, especially in the most difficult times be embedded into the organization culture, is embracing integrity tedious , costly and time consuming , is integrity not just a preachy smug exercise at best a virtuous vow, is it sector agnostic… ? If you are looking for answers to these intriguing questions then this book is a “ must read”.
With the workplace getting redefined , the worker coming from diverse backgrounds & geographies, it has become imperative for Organizations to bind their sense of right and wrong by a common set of rules clearly defining “ what is the right thing to do”. And yet the author is of the view that embracing integrity is not an automatic outcome of a policy announcement but a deliberate process of acting intentionally with integrity.
By using personal experiences, the Author avers that ambiguity , hypocrisy, silence , poorly conceived financial incentives , ‘doing whatever it takes mindset’ living by quarter on quarter competitive glory, rationalizing breach with false tradeoffs are all ‘enemies ‘ of ‘ integrity’.
The Author lifts this subject from the realm of emails, laminated posters , dated videos and introduces the reader to the Six Step process to foster and maintain ‘ intentional integrity’ at the workplace. The Six Cs as he calls them:
Commitment of the Chief: It all starts at the top. When the CEO acts with integrity , it is most likely the default option throughout the Organization as None is above the Code.
Customized Code of Ethics: Create a truly representative Code specifically aligned to the vision & purpose of the Organization factoring the industry, location, culture, and expectations from the employees. Study codes of respected Organizations in the process. Include Integrity Dilemmas and Code Reds that register high on the ethics richter scale.
Communicating the Code: Emphasizes the importance of ‘who’ delivers, ‘how’ it is delivered common errors which render it ineffective, use of multiple channels & ethics advocates.
Clear Reporting System: For employees to report ethical lapses via hotlines, ombudsmen, independent third parties, ‘how’ to deal with fear and retaliatory issues around this,
Consequences: For the Code to be enforced , violations at every level must bring consequences which are fair and reasonable, this ‘C’ majorly shapes the ‘Culture’.
Constant: Keep the core values as a constant drum beat not as a background noise. Reinforce imaginatively, refreshingly and memorably. Extend training and support to deal with spikes reported by dashboards.
Reinforce imaginatively, refreshingly and memorably. Extend training and support to deal with spikes reported by dashboards.
Interestingly the Author devotes himself to dealing with High Performers ( 10Xers) , Partners with clout, critical posts on social media in the context of integrity breaches.
The Appendix provides the Readers with “ Code Moments” Caselets – Everyday ethical dilemmas and “ How” to navigate them successfully.
All in all a Book which breathes life into the Concept of Intentional Integrity and demonstrates ‘ how ‘ it can become the DNA of an Organization.
