Workplace Calisthenics: Unethical businesses are next terrorist threat

I call it "Chicken Little Leadership."

How does a leader respond to people in the organization when the "sky is falling"?

Here comes Chicken Little walking down the road when he is hit on the head by an acorn. With screams that would cheer the heart of Stephen King, Chicken Little gathers a crowd, all of whom believe the sky is falling.

If you haven't noticed, Chicken Little is alive and well in this economy.

The Enron Ebola Virus, with symptoms of "cooking books," "round-trip trading" and "the shredding syndrome," has been spreading through the streets of Houston and Dallas to companies like El Paso Corporation, Dynergy, Williams and Haliburton.

Credit Suisse First Boston just agreed to pay $100 million in order to settle a suit because this giant in the securities industry improperly split Internet IPO profits with its customers.

Then there is Merrill Lynch, which coughed up $100 million to settle with Eliot Spitzer, the Attorney General of New York. Another case of corporate fraud.

The sky continues to fall.

Dennis Kozlowski, president of Tyco, a formerly high-flying conglomerate, was forced to resign this past week because the company obviously has been involved in "questionable" practices. Put the losses of Enron and Tyco together and their combined greed have cost the investor $170 billion in equity.

It would be easy to lay the blame for these business failures in the mountains of twisted steel and gray ash of the World Trade Centers. Terrorists brought those towers down; but, unadulterated greed, silently imbedded for years in this economy, is the terrorist ultimately plotting the destruction of this economy.

Through the gale of screams, "The sky is falling," someone has to step out of the bushes and provide some peace the Chicken Little Leader. I'm talking about value-driven leadership.

When the people in a organization read about Ivan Boesky, Michael Milken, Al Dunlap and Kenneth Lay they start using inclusive language, "Everyone is on the take," "No one can be trusted anymore," and "Is there an honest person in business today?" In other words, no one can be trusted.

To restore trust and confidence, I'm suggesting leadership must include the following characteristics.

First, create and publish an organizational values statement. These words have nothing to do with "what" you do; rather, "how" you will conduct your business.

From my experience, this statement will cost you. For instance, if the word "honesty" is on that paper, be prepared to give people both the good and bad news.

Is it "honest" when your employees ask how the company is doing and you respond, "Fine," even though your books are dripping with red ink? Is it "honest" when you carry people, who are technically essential to getting the work out the door, but have an attitude that would make Ebenezer Scrooge look like Vanna White?

Second, all business decisions must be subject to the values statement. The boardroom should echo with "Will it make us money?" and, at the same time, "Is it ethical?" The really sticky moment will be when the answer is "yes" to the first question and "no" to the second. That's when Chicken Little leadership defines itself.

Third, open the books. Our resistance to letting people know the numbers is a basic distrust that they cannot handle the numbers. There is an implied parental quality to that thinking. Only the "grown-ups" can understand and deal with the reality in this organization.

The immediate knee-jerk response is when people are treated like children they act like children. Is it any wonder that most senior executives regularly complain to me that they have a "bunch of whiners" clocking in every day? Guess who created the organizational romper room?

Hey, the sky is falling. This economy has been sputtering and jerking along with no clear direction. The acorns have been hitting us left and right.

We cannot control the plotting of the next terrorist we can control the terror of unethical leadership.

(Dr. Cal LeMon solves organizational problems with customized training and consulting. His company, Executive Enrichment Inc., can be contacted via the Business Journal at sbj@sbj.net.)