From Suspicion to Substantiation: Building a Credible Ethics Concern
Laszlo is a Senior Operations Executive in Financial Services with 20+ years of experience in Project, Program, and Middle Office Operations Management.
Ethical courage needs evidence, fairness, and the right forum.
Look at these two concerns that arrive for review:
- The first says: “The chapter treated me badly. Investigate the whole board.” There are no names. No dates. No supporting documents. No description of the specific conduct being challenged.
- The second concern is different. It identifies the individual involved, describes what allegedly happened (and when), includes a dated record of the relevant communication, provides supporting information, and explains which provisions of the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct may be relevant.
Which concern gives a neutral reviewer a better basis for understanding what happened? The second one. The difference is not passion. Both individuals may feel equally strongly about what occurred. The difference is substantiation.
That distinction matters because raising an ethics concern is a serious act. It may affect another person’s reputation and professional standing. Therefore, ethical reporting requires more than conviction. It requires discipline, accuracy, fairness and evidence.
Ethical responsibility works in both directions
The PMI Code is built on four foundational values:
- Responsibility
- Respect
- Fairness
- Honesty
Those values apply not only to the behavior being questioned. They also matter when we raise …
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
|
"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die." - Mel Brooks |
