How To Embed Principles Of Ethical Leadership Into The C-Suite

“Business ethics” and “ethical leadership” can be seen as buzzwords to your average executive. Almost every business claims that it strictly adheres to these practices.

But in the frenetic world of work, where C-suite executives are held hostage to the bottom line that they must convey to their shareholders, how many executives are truly making each decision with ethics as their north star?

How many have been trained?

Where do they even start?

First, it is important to understand that ethical leadership and decision-making are not just the right thing to do. According to Greenly, “Research consistently shows that companies who adopt ethical policies and practices see better long-term financial results and tend to be more successful.”

Today’s up-and-coming workforce demands to work at companies where ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are the main tenets.

On the other side of the coin, customers often devote their loyalty to companies and brands that operate in accordance with their own value systems.

Business News Daily states, “Ethical leadership in your company helps create a positive work culture, improve brand image and reputation, foster employee and customer loyalty, and increase productivity.”

We can and must train everyone from our C-suite executives down to an organization’s first level of decision-makers, but the truth is that courses need to begin as early as middle school.

There are already many great guides on how to teach and implement ethical leadership from quick guides on sites like BetterUp or online courses from such vaunted institutions as Harvard Business School. But what is often missing in even the best of courses is the on-the-ground experience that leaves an indelible mark, accentuating the understanding of why ethical leadership and ethical decision making are so important.

Let’s face it – Business and political decisions are often made on the top floor without really understanding what is actually happening on the ground. Those hoping to lead with ethics at the forefront need to have spent time in the trenches to truly understand the full ramifications and far-reaching effects of their decisions.

One company that struggled with ethics issues is the Sweden-based furniture giant IKEA, which by the 1990s was heavily reliant on its 2,300 suppliers from across 70 different countries. When a Swedish documentary highlighted the use of child labor in Pakistan’s rug industry, IKEA began to address this significant flaw in its supply chain. While the company ended its contracts with Pakistani rug manufacturers, IKEA soon realized that suppliers in other countries were also reliant on child labor.

As IKEA executive Marianne Barner said, the documentary was “a real eye-opener” that led the firm to switch from merely meeting suppliers at urban offices to visiting actual production sites. IKEA additionally put in place an institutional partnership with Save the Children with a goal of realizing children’s rights to a healthy and secure childhood, which includes a quality education.

At Save the Children’s suggestion, IKEA hired an independent consultant to monitor their suppliers’ compliance and partnered with UNICEF to combat child labor in its supply chain. Then IKEA and Save the Children developed IWAY, a mandatory code of conduct for IKEA suppliers that set “clear expectations and ways of working for environmental, social, and working conditions, as well as animal welfare.”

The two then developed a program that moved nearly 150,000 Indian children out of child labor into classrooms, trained nearly 4,000 teachers and education aides that provided 1,800 villages with skilled educators.

These steps not only saved IKEA’s global reputation but brought worldwide positive attention to an issue that had given the company a black eye. When confronted with an ethical challenge, IKEA’s C-Suite team not only dealt with the immediate problem but took giant steps to change the workforce culture throughout its entire supply chain.

Those early steps taken by IKEA bode well in a post-Covid world in which consumers are increasingly focused on ethical sourcing. Forbes reported in 2021 that 81 percent of respondents said they preferred ethically sourced products, with a fourth of them admitting ethical sourcing had not been on their minds but one year earlier.

For the record, IKEA revenues have grown every year in the 21^st Century (except the Covid year 2020) to a record 47 billion euros in 2023, up from just 10 billion euros in 2001.

At The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, the McGowan Fellows Program incorporates a social impact project where its fellows experience a human-centered societal problem firsthand and then collaborate with partner organizations to try and solve that issue.

One group spent time with a medical center before helping to make recommendations on the delivery of healthcare to patients suffering from mental illness. Another group of McGowan Fellows visited Chicago homeless shelters in the dead of winter and helped volunteers count and assist the number of unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness that night. That time on the ground inspired them to launch a social awareness campaign addressing the intersection of jobs and youth homelessness that included launching a website for sharing youth voices at the state and federal levels.

The numbers on their spreadsheets will no longer be just numbers but represent those they met on that frigid night. The boots-in-the-trenches approach humanizes and brings the ethical ramifications of each decision made to the fore.

These experiences, combined with multiple symposiums, guest speakers from those who have exhibited ethical leadership at the highest levels, and working sessions, all combine to help shape tomorrow’s ethical leaders.

Finally, creating a close-knit community where members feel free to be vulnerable and supportive of one another is also essential. The McGowan Team has achieved this through an alumni network of those who have been through their program and are eager to serve as peer mentors to those coming through the program.

This creates a virtuous cycle – young leaders are exposed to a culture of accountability, while also having quick access to older leaders they can speak to when facing a tough decision. Those young leaders, in turn, become mentors to the next generation, keeping the principles of ethical leadership at the forefront of every business leader’s mind.

You can read all the material and take all the courses, but unless you walk a mile in the shoes of those who are affected by the decisions you make, you won’t have the imprint of what it truly means to lead with ethics at the very core of every strategic move you make.

For any leader, tough decisions must be made. No decision will satisfy every employee, customer, or shareholder.

But when you have a framework buttressed by ethics and values, you have a guide to handle those tough decisions and to place humanity first and the bottom line second.

Oftentimes, the bottom line is better because of it.

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GEODIS in Americas Joins Diverse Group of Globally Recognized Companies Prioritizing Ethical Leadership and Corporate Integrity

March 4th, 2022 Geodis Leave a comment

GEODIS in Americas announced it has joined Ethisphere’s Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) to bolster its current commitment to maintaining an industry-leading standard of corporate integrity in today’s business ecosystem. BELA is a globally recognized organization featuring more than 375 members from leading companies who collaborate together to share best practices in governance, risk management, compliance and ethics.

“At GEODIS, we have a longstanding commitment to ethical leadership and corporate integrity through a comprehensive program implemented across all lines of business with the goal of creating a better tomorrow for our teammates, clients and world,” said Marjorie Rossell Ortega, Ethics and Compliance Senior Director for the Americas Region at GEODIS. “By joining BELA, we will have the opportunity to take specific aspects of our existing program to the next level as we benefit from an environment of shared collaboration, learning and growth alongside other experts in the fields of ethics and compliance.”

Members receive enterprise-wide access to the BELA Member hub, a premier repository of resources featuring examples of work, presentations and research from select BELA companies, that is intended to cultivate more idea exchange and inspiration for companies to continuously improve in the area of ethics and compliance. BELA members also have the ability to benchmark their ethics and compliance program and practices to those of the World’s Most Ethical Companies and participate in year-round opportunities to network and share best practices at roundtables, webinars, and in-person and virtual events.

“The accelerated growth of BELA sends a strong message to the business community that there is a deep need for data, shared insights and collective intelligence that can support a diverse set of leaders charged with implementing effective integrity programs,” said Kevin McCormack, Executive Vice President and Executive Director for BELA. “BELA aligns so well with these pursuits that it often becomes part of the working culture.”

The 375+ BELA member companies represent over 60 industries headquartered in 15 different countries. It has become a pivotal platform of connected leadership dedicated to progressing company standards and practices across global and regional business ecosystems. BELA members collaborate to define best practices on a range of topics of importance to ethics and compliance leaders—from environmental, social and governance (ESG) to data analytics, equity, behavioral science in training and other issues—in working groups and at the Global Ethics Summit, the ESG Forum and additional events in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and other regions around the world.

To learn more about GEODIS, visit www.geodis.com.

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GEODIS – www.geodis.com

GEODIS is a top-rated, global supply chain operator recognized for its commitment to helping clients overcome their logistical constraints. GEODIS’ growth-focused offerings (Supply Chain Optimization, Freight Forwarding, Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road Transport), coupled with the company’s truly global reach thanks to a global network spanning nearly 170 countries, is reflected by its top business rankings: no. 1 in France and no. 7 worldwide. In 2021, GEODIS employed over 46,000 people globally and generated €10.9 billion in revenue.

Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) – www.bela.ethisphere.com

Founded by Ethisphere, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) is a globally recognized organization of leading companies collaborating together to share best practices in governance, risk management, compliance and ethics. BELA’s membership has since grown to a large community of companies who recognize the inherent value of promoting ethical leadership and world-class compliance culture.

Ethisphere – www.ethisphere.com

Ethisphere® is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere also helps to advance business performance through data-driven assessments, benchmarking and guidance.

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Including More Voices In Decisions May Bring Discomfort – And Results

April 24th, 2021 Joe Ferreira Leave a comment

When companies struggle, whether because of a bad economy, poor decisions, or other factors, top management’s reaction is often to become tight-lipped about the turbulent situation.

Employees are shut out from strategy discussions, and any ideas they might have for fixing the problem go unheard.

But in many if not most cases, such secretiveness is the wrong approach and can even make things worse, says Joe Ferreira (www.joeferreira.com), the ForbesBooks author of Uncomfortable Inclusion: How to Build a Culture of High Performance in Life and Work.

“For organizations with tens of thousands of employees, it might make sense to limit who participates in strategy,” says Ferreira, who is CEO and president of the Nevada Donor Network. “But for smaller organizations, where every person contributes to a thriving culture and facilitates effective operations, there’s a lot of value in involving everyone.”

As his book title suggests, Ferreira calls this all-inclusive way of dealing with things “uncomfortable inclusion.” He put this philosophy into action when he came to the Nevada Donor Network in 2012 at a time when the organization was dysfunctional and on the verge of losing its membership in the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing. That would have shut down the organization for good. Over time, with a few fits and starts along the way, the organization rose from floundering to soaring as a current world leader in the industry.

Ferreira acknowledges that uncomfortable inclusion is an approach that can be messy and difficult, but also says that involving the entire organization in strategy and problem-solving can “reinforce synergy, cooperation, and unity while cultivating better ideas and innovation.” And that’s true whether uncomfortable inclusion is put into action at a failing company, or simply activated at a place where leaders believe their teams and organization could be performing better, he says.

“It is critical to include everyone because ultimately the frontline staff knows best what their environment is going to look like tomorrow and likely a few years down the line, and they are best positioned to be innovators,” Ferreira says. “Why wouldn’t we have them as part of the planning process?”

He says some of the traits needed to embrace this inclusion approach include:

Transparent. This one may be especially important because Gallup reports that millennials especially say they want leaders who are open and transparent. Uncomfortable inclusion means being transparent to the point of discomfort, Ferreira says. If it is not uncomfortable, you are not being inclusive enough. “When you’re transparent with team members and include them in decision-making, you create a network of stakeholders who participate even in small decisions,” he says. “When it comes time to make more impactful decisions, a leader can tap into that banked brain trust to make the best decision possible based on feedback from a proven set of deciders.” Ferreira suggests even taking transparency a step further by including your critics, something he did when he took over at Nevada Donor Network. “In my view, our critics and antagonists are the most important catalysts for growth and innovation,” he says.

Accountable. People within an organization need to be accountable for their actions and to each other. “I talk about how we’re serious about our values, and we hold people accountable,” Ferreira says. “It isn’t enough to be technically competent. Each member of our organization, regardless of title, role, or results, must adhere to our values. We maintain our commitment to quality and excellence, and we are supremely, publicly accountable when we fail.”

Committed. Adopting a more inclusive approach requires commitment, possibly a commitment to changing the organization’s very culture. But the goal may be more attainable than it first seems, Ferreira says. “Achieving success in a seemingly hopeless situation requires hard work and a committed mindset, but it does not require the reinvention of the wheel,” Ferreira says. “It does not even require luck. All it requires is willingness and a mind open to learning and implementing actions that can facilitate transformative success.”

“Make no mistake, doing this is messy and hard,” Ferreira says. “It might seem unnecessarily difficult, complicated, and yes, uncomfortable. But keep chipping away and remember this: Success is achievable, even from the bleakest and most dysfunctional starting points.

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Joe Ferreira (www.joeferreira.com), the ForbesBooks author of Uncomfortable Inclusion: How to Build a Culture of High Performance in Life and Work, is CEO and president of the Nevada Donor Network. Ferreira speaks and consults worldwide about establishing and improving organ donation and transplantation systems he’s helped pioneer in the United States. He served as the director of clinical operations at the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency in Miami, and is the recipient of the Kruger Award for Outstanding Professional Transplant Services. He holds a bachelor of science in microbiology and immunology and an MBA with a specialization in healthcare administration and policy, both from the University of Miami.

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Business Betrayals: Protecting Yourself From Workplace Treachery

August 8th, 2019 Elaine Eisenman and Susan Stautberg Leave a comment

Betrayal in business can come in many forms.

A supervisor who gives specific directions for a project, then lays the blame squarely on you when things go awry. An employee who fails to inform you of a high-end client’s unhappiness, leaving you blindsided and feeling the CEO’s wrath when the client cancels a contract.

In such scenarios, the person betrayed can feel angry, devastated and perhaps unsure whether to ever trust anyone again, say Elaine Eisenman, PhD, and Susan Stautberg, co-authors of Betrayed: A Survivor’s Guide to Lying, Cheating, & Double-Dealing. These two successful business women say they themselves have experienced betrayal professionally and personally.

“In all relationships we trust others, believing that while they will look out for their own best interest, they will also respect ours,” Stautberg says. “Unfortunately, that’s not always so.”

In business, there’s no guarantee that even a good friend or family member deserves your confidence.

“Regardless of how well you know someone, treat any business arrangement with due diligence,” Eisenman says. “Motives can be hidden, even with the best of friends.”

So, how can business leaders and their employees avoid betrayals that can harm them and their organizations? And how should they handle the fallout if they are betrayed? Eisenman and Stautberg offer a few suggestions:

Learn to trust wisely. Blind trust can make you an easy target because you ignore the potential for human nature’s darker side, Stautberg says. But it’s also ill-advised to assume no one can be trusted ever. What you’re after, she says, is “wise trust,” which allows you to weigh each situation, assessing whether there is low or high probability of betrayal.

Listen to what your gut tells you. So-called “gut feelings” act as an early warning system. “Ignore those feelings at your own peril,” Eisenman says. She shares the story of a woman named Ingrid, a chief finance officer in the public sector who was involved in the recruiting of a comptroller who came highly recommended. Ingrid preferred to handle reference checks herself, but that was HR’s job so she backed off, even though something told her this job candidate’s credentials were too good to be true. She shouldn’t have ignored her instinct because after he was hired the comptroller was charged with white-collar crimes committed in another state. For Ingrid, this became a triple betrayal – by colleagues who tried to make her the scapegoat, by HR, who didn’t perform a thorough background check, and, of course, she was betrayed by the man she hired.

Don’t seek revenge immediately – if at all. Planning revenge continues to provide the betrayer with power over you rather than allowing you to take that power into your own hands. It’s more productive to distance yourself from the betrayal and shore up your emotions with rational thoughts. That will help you begin to derive lessons from the traumatic event.

If you are betrayed, there is no need to beat up on yourself. “It is critical to recognize that what you are feeling is completely normal,” Eisenman says. “If you blow the event out of proportion, exaggerating its impact on all aspects of your life, you’ll only postpone your recovery.”

“The key to moving forward is self-compassion,” Stautberg says. “Get yourself to a safe space, both physically and emotionally, and get some sleep. Being rested will help you think clearly and you’re going to need your wits to survive.”

Reactions to stress differ. So, don’t worry if your immediate reaction includes anger. Try to balance it and take the energy to hold onto your power. Surround yourself with friends. Have the courage to move forward and leave the past behind. Learn to pivot. Eisenman and Stautberg discovered that the formula for success is creating a new positive, self-confidence about work and informed risk taking. Learn how to BOUNCE – Be Bold, Optimistic, Undaunted, Nimble, Courageous, and Empowered.

Elaine Eisenman, PhD, co-author with Susan Stautberg of Betrayed: A Survivor’s Guide to Lying, Cheating, & Double Dealing, currently serves as an independent Board Director for DBI, Inc. (NYSE), as well as for AtmosXR and Miravan, both privately held companies. She is the Managing Director of Saeje Advisors, LLC, an advisory firm for high growth ventures. Former Dean of Executive and Enterprise Education at Babson College, she works closely with CEOs and their executive teams to create cultures that accelerate growth. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of turning risk into opportunity.

Susan Stautberg is Governance Advisor to the portfolio companies of Atlantic Street Capital, a private equity firm. She is also President and CEO of PartnerCom Corporation and Chair Emeritus of the WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation (WCD). Susan addresses groups around the world, including leading business schools and CEO conferences. She has written or been featured in numerous articles including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times and her on-air experience includes Oprah, The Today Show, CBS Evening News, CNN and many others.

How To Embed Principles Of Ethical Leadership Into The C-Suite

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