Coaching for ethics: Presumption or reality? Leon van Vuuren University of Johannesburg Lvanvuuren@uj.ac.za
Who are these people?
A few local lads (in order of disappearance, or impending disappearance)
Themes 1. Ethics and business ethics 2. What we are up against 3. Ethics competence for coaches and coachees
1. Ethics and business ethics
Ethics/morality Good Self Other
Business ethics Business ethics refers to the ethical values that determine the interaction between a company and its stakeholders King III
2. What we are up against (Barriers to ethical leadership)
The macro context of business Evidence of the dark side of capitalism (income disparities, poverty, debt) Global village notion: mobility of capital, human resources and intentions Fraud and corruption rife Credit crunch Aspirations beyond reasonable greed
Barriers in different contexts 1. Established economies Amorality Compliance 2. Emerging economies Reactive morality 3. Others Immorality (includes distorted morality, e.g. Mafia)
Transparency International (TI): Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) [2011]: Top 10 (from 182) countries: 1. New Zealand 2. Denmark 3. Finland 4. Sweden 5. Singapore 6. Norway 7. Netherlands 8. Australia and Switzerland 10.Canada
A few more 14. Germany and Japan 16. UK 24. USA 25. France 73. Brazil 75. China 95. India
Other southern hemisphere countries: 22. Chile 25. Uruguay 32. Botswana 49. Rwanda 57. Namibia 64. South Africa (-10) 69. Ghana
Others... 143. Nigeria 154. Zimbabwe 168. DRC 181. North Korea 182. Somalia
Some challenges in emerging and other economies: 1. Established economies are often naïve when dealing with others 2. Ethical mind-sets are often a mystery (therefore distorted morality as we know it) 3. Survival ethics (bread before morals) 4. Knowing what the right thing to do is, is no guarantee that it will be done 5. Loyalty > justice/fairness 6. Tradition/culture is an excuse for unethical behaviour
Challenges in emerging and other economies: 7. MNCs dilemma: profits vs. poverty 8. Anti-colonialism and -Western imperialism 9. New players have unchecked enthusiasm 10. Little environmental awareness 11. The fish rots from the head 12. Often a strong sense of entitlement
Challenges in emerging and other economies (cont): 13. Most emerging economies are consumers, rather than producers 14. Corruption, bribery, discrimination and nepotism are typical challenges 15. A low work ethic 16. Language barriers 17. External locus of control 18. A handshake is no guarantee WYSINWYG
The reality in most economies Business is about Dog eat dog All that matters is the bottom line Nice guys/girls come last When in Rome Business is about survival of the fittest It s not so serious You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette
The only immoral act in business is to lose money. Kelly (1999)
War talk in business The Art of War (Sun Tsu) Business is just war Strategy Tactics Battle Launch Annihilate Target We take no prisoners We need to be lean and mean
If what you call sabotage, I call competition, What you call conniving deception, I call savvy ambition, What you call abuse and harassment, I call shrewd gamesmanship. What you call record-keeping, I call Hoover files. And, that s the workplace. It s brutal. It ain t for sissies. Just play the game. Theresa Daniel
Amorality The business of business is business. Ethics is sometimes seen as a ball-and-chain for business. Intentional amorality Unintentional amorality
There is but one letter that separates morality from mortality Oscar Wilde
Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone. John Maynard Keynes
How has the world responded? Responsible Corporate Citizenship: Companies have, apart from rights, also legal and moral obligations in respect of their economic, social and natural environments. The company should protect, enhance and invest in the well-being of the economy, society and the natural environment. King III
How has the world responded? Legislation (knee-jerk) Corporate governance (visionary) o governance : Greek verb κυβερνάω [kubernáo] to steer ; used for the first time in a metaphorical sense by Plato o Enterprise with integrity o The spirit of governance: Mindful application, not mindless compliance
A distinction: Ethics of Governance: The moral status and multiplestakeholder obligations of business Governance of Ethics: Direction and control of the ethics of the organisation
How has the world responded? Integrated sustainability reporting People, Planet and Profits = Triple bottom-line reporting
How has the world responded? Cadbury Report, Combined Report (UK) King Reports on Corporate Governance in South Africa o King I (1994): Ethics in Chapter 18 o King II (2002): Ethics in Chapter 4 o King III (2009): Ethics is Chapter 1 Sarbanes-Oxley (USA)
How has the world responded? Other guidelines: UN Global Compact OECD Guidelines Caux Round Table Principles FSG Institutions: GRI AccountAbility Fairtrade ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
3. Ethics competence for coaches and coachees
Should ethical leadership be an outcome of your coaching intervention activities? Why? How?
Another look at our friends
If organisations = barrels and employees = apples Are these people bad apples? What type of barrels do they create?
Do we, as coaching psychologists, have a role to prepare our coachees for these apples and their barrels?
Do we, as coaching psychologists, have a role to coach for ethical leadership?
Desired outcome Good apples that will Create good barrels by governing ethics and creating pervasive ethical cultures
An ethical culture If organisational culture = How we do things around here Ethical culture is How we do things around here even when no one is watching Ethical culture is facilitated by leaders.
Leadership Leadership is not a person or a position. It is a complex moral relationship between people, based on trust, obligations, commitment, emotion and a shared vision of the good. Ethics lies at the heart of all relationships and therefore at the heart of relationships between leaders and followers. Joanne Ciulla
Leadership competence If leadership is a complex moral relationship between people: Surely leaders require an ethics competence?
Ethics competence Three types: Cognitive Behavioural Managerial
Cognitive competency Purpose To acquire the intellectual knowledge and skills to make proper ethical analyses and judgements Sub-competencies Awareness of ethical dimension Ethics vocabulary and theories Ethical reasoning Ethical decision-making Tolerance for ethical differences Coaching by Discussions and debate on: Conceptualisation Media coverage Other cases Dilemmas
Behavioural competency Purpose To develop an inclination and commitment to behave ethically Sub-competencies Ethical sensitivity Ethical vision Ethical imagination Ethical courage Coaching by Observing role-models Role-playing Discuss stories from the coachee s past Discuss films Coachee journal Imagery
Managerial competency Purpose To develop the ability to direct the ethics performance of organisations Sub-competencies Corporate governance Ethical leadership Strategic importance of ethics Organisational ethics Managing ethics Coaching by. Discuss literature on governance and ethics Organisational profiling Intervention strategy design Research Build mock organisations
Conclusion Coaching for ethics Presumption or reality? > Reality It is imperative that we coach for ethical leadership. Provision: Do it without the sermon.
Conclusion Three questions: 1. Do we have a role in developing future ethical leaders? 2. What (ethics) competence do they require? 3. Do we have the competence to fulfil that role?
If what you call sabotage, I call competition, What you call conniving deception, I call savvy ambition, What you call abuse and harassment, I call shrewd gamesmanship. What you call record-keeping, I call Hoover files. And, that s the workplace. It s brutal. It ain t for sissies. Just play the game. Theresa Daniel All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good people do nothing. Edmond Burke
Coaching psychology and ethical leadership competence Leon van Vuuren University of Johannesburg Lvanvuuren@uj.ac.za