Dec 01, 2016 5:56 AM
Replying to Michael O'Brochta, PMI-ACP, PMP
...
I certainly agree with the other posts that leading by example is a good approach for inspiring others to act ethically. However, as leaders, I believe we are responsible for doing more than that. I believe that we should speak up about ethical violations more often. According to the Harvard Business Review January 8, 2014 article by Joseph Granny that summarizes his latest research, two-thirds of respondents to his survey reported regularly witnessing ethical infractions, yet only half did anything about it. To be sure, these infractions were relatively minor in nature (taking credit for someone else’s work, taking extra long breaks, and calling in sick when actually well). However, research also informs us that minor ethical infractions lead to major ethical issues in organizations with a permissive culture. I see this as an excellent opportunity for us to speak up every time we see or learn about a minor ethical infraction. In fact, according to the mandatory standard in the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct section 2.3.2 "we report unethical or illegal conduct."
