Eliminating Hypocrisy

Do you hold your people to a higher standard than you are able to attain and sustain? How do your direct reports view you? Would they evaluate you as highly hypocritical, somewhat hypocritical, or rarely hypocritical? Do you want to know what they think? What is your biggest weakness when it comes to walking the talk?

Living the same standards that you expect from others isn’t always easy. Leaders can often be viewed as exempt, taking greater liberties, too controlling of information, jumping to conclusions without enough information, or justifying personal preferences and biases just because they are leaders. So what’s the problem? Such behavior is often viewed as abuse of power, a double standard, unfair, and hypocritical. Remember, cynicism in organizations rises whenever the gap between what is preached and what is practiced widens.

Dow Jones & Company, famous for its lead publication The Wall Street Journal, provides global business information through newspapers, newswires, magazines, Internet, television, and radio stations. The company has been heralded for its accuracy, integrity and trust for more than 100 years. Underlying the company’s enormous success and prestige is a code of conduct: “All companies profess business integrity. But the impact of our work on the work of others, and on their lives and fortunes, places special responsibilities upon all Dow Jones employees… Every Dow Jones employee holds a position of trust… [which] includes acceptance of individual responsibility for following all legal requirements and ethical business practices, as well as the responsibility to stress proper ethical behavior among colleagues and subordinates… Managers, by virtue of their positions of authority, must be ethical role models… exhibit the highest standards of integrity in all dealings with employees, customers and the world at large… foster a working environment that encourages employees to voice concerns or otherwise seek assistance or counsel if faced with potentially compromising situations, and also support those who raise such concerns.” Hopefully, Dow Jones’ commitment and devotion to ethical behavior is having an impact on the rest of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

To learn more about how to eliminate hypocrisy at all levels in your organization, join our Accountability Community at www.partnersinleadership.com, where you can review the accounts of actual companies.

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