ETHICAL LEADERSHIPFalse ProphetsApproximately 15 minutes |
5 |
Overview
It’s incumbent on all leaders, but especially those operating from an ethical base, to consider the weight their words carry. In this exercise, participants are asked to discuss the power that words have—both negative and positive. Words that are not well chosen can even become a source of ridicule for the leader.
Purpose
To understand better the effects a leader’s words can have.
To effect realization that leaders’ words cannot always be equated with truth or reality.
Group Size
Any number of individuals can participate.
Room Arrangement
No special arrangements are required.
Materials
Handout 5.1, “False Prophets”
Optional: Inexpensive pair of sunglasses
Method
1.Note that throughout history, virtually every leader who has accomplished his or her goal has encountered opposition of one sort or another. Frequently, that opposition comes from people in high positions who feel the goal is unattainable, the project not worth pursuing, and the purpose much too ambitious. These naysayers are often people with little or no vision. Ask participants for examples from history and from their own experiences that illustrate the opposition that ultimately successful leaders initially meet.
2.Distribute the handout and tell the group they can work alone or in pairs to match the naysayer with his or her nonvisionary statement. (The answers are: 1C 2I 3G 4J 5F 6A 7H 8B 9D 10E.) Award a pair of sunglasses to the person who finishes first so that he or she will not be blinded by his or her own brilliance.
3.Bring closure to the exercise by asking participants to think of history’s (or their organization’s) leaders and the words that have inspired others to behave in responsible, ethical ways. Consider Winston Churchill’s exhortation to the British people during World War II: “Never, never, never give up.” Or John F. Kennedy’s assertion to potential volunteers that the Peace Corps would be the toughest job they’d ever love.
Variation
Have participants discuss the myths (listed in the Points of Interest) with which they have had personal experience.
Discussion
What expert opinions have been offered about a leadership project you’re currently working on?
How much credence do you place in those opinions?
What things are likely to deter you from carrying out some leadership plan?
Whose words inspire you to continue?
Quotation
“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”
—William James
Points of Interest
Leaders who inaccurately prophesize may not be unethical. It’s possible they simply lack good judgment. Sometimes, too, people perpetuate myths about ethics—myths that can seriously impact the ethical decisions others are trying to make. Author Nan DeMars lists these as the most common myths about ethical behavior:
“I have to do what I’m told—to keep my job!”
“I can trust my boss to always be fair.”
“I can trust my company to always be fair.”
“I really made a big mistake. I’m a bad person.”
“What others do is none of my concern.”
“I’m the only one who sees what’s going on—and who cares.”
“An action is either right or wrong.”
“It’s not my job to police my boss.”
“I can’t change this place.”
“A person cannot be talked into greater moral courage.”
“You are born with your morality.”
“Women have a more developed sense of ethics than men do.”
“People just naturally ‘do the right thing’ when presented with a moral dilemma.”
“Good employees don’t do bad things. People act unethically because they are selfish, stupid, or bad.”
“Ethical management means ethical organizations.”
Reprinted with permission from You Want Me To Do What? When/Where & How to Draw the Line at Work (Simon & Schuster) by Nan DeMars, Office Ethics Trainer/Consultant, President of Executary Services, a seminar/search/office ethics consultant firm in Minneapolis.
HANDOUT 5.1
False Prophets
DIRECTIONS
It’s hard, but certainly not impossible, to remain stalwart in the face of opposition, especially when that face is speaking with the voice of authority. Authorities, though, are not always right in their opinion and not always right in their motivation for offering that opinion. Take a look at these opinions. Make a prediction about the well-known authority or expert who may have made each statement. Then, see if your list of predicted experts matches the actual experts at the bottom of the page. Even if you didn’t guess all the actual experts, proceed next to match the bottom-page experts to the following ten statements.
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1.“The atomic bomb will not go off. And I speak as an expert in explosives.” |
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2.“What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stagecoaches?” |
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3.“Babe Ruth made a big mistake when he gave up pitching.” |
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4.“The telephone is an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?” |
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5.“People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.” |
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6.“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” |
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7.“I was told that I wasn’t big enough, maybe not fast enough and not strong enough.” |
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8.“Gone with the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in the history of Hollywood. I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling flat on his face and not me.” |
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9.“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” |
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10.“While a calculator is now equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and only weigh one and a half tons.” |
A. Ken Olson, former president of Digital Equipment Corporation B. Gary Cooper C. Admiral W. Leahy D. Harry Warner, founder of Warner Brothers Studios, in 1927 E. 1949 issue of Popular Mechanics F. Darryl F. Zanuck, former head of 20th Century Fox G. Tris Speaker, Hall of Fame outfielder H. Wayne Gretzky I. The Quarterly Review, England, in March 1825 J. President Rutherford B. Hayes