Dear HR Lady: Why should I encourage my organization’s leadership to model ethical and professional behavior? Foul language and a lousy temperament have become accepted behavior in most walks of life. Many staff members exhibit inappropriate behaviors and language that have nothing to do with getting the job done. Is it essential to change their behaviors?
If the organization is thriving and moves mountains in our turbulent and ever-changing world, then adopt one of the first bioethics principles: Do no harm. All students in healthcare learn it, and it is fundamental across the globe. This mindset takes the position that, given an existing problem, the best course may be not to do something—that is, do nothing—than to risk causing more harm than good.
Michele Harmon
Dear Mountaineer: Does the behavior of the leadership team need to change? Is the behavior causing harm? Bad behavior is always a distraction at the least and a lawsuit at the worst. There is nothing like a bit of honey and less vinegar. Mary Poppins said it best: A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.
Professional and ethical communication is like a diamond. It has many shapes, colors, weight, and clarity, and it has some element of conflict. Communication comes in many forms and facets: some communications sparkle; some are dull. The color of communication is clear and transparent. Look beneath the surface. The weight of communication is the price of a reputation. The clarity of communication is crucial because it is the truth. It is the facts. Lastly, communication needs to be conflict-free. Reputations are won or lost on relationships with staff, clients, and the community. Blood diamonds ruined many businesses in the end. You reap what you sow.
Communication must be clear, avoid emotional appeals, and be heard, free of inappropriate behavior and language. All employees should strive to excel while remembering the greater good. They should be dependable and keep their promises, they should be ethical, and they should know to enough to distinguish an ethical lapse from a moral dilemma. Employees need to be positive, especially when the going gets tough. Employees should be respectful, always displaying good business etiquette, which is a sign of respect for others and themselves. Lastly, a professional is a team player who is a contributor and not a detractor from the tasks at hand.
There are always barriers to honest and professional communication. Noise is very distracting and can be anything from video playing, to a person trying to enter a conversation uninvited, to just about anything that detracts from the message. Competing messages are a significant barrier primarily because of social media. What is the truth? The filters we have can prevent hearing the message. Those filters include the listener’s current emotional state, that person’s beliefs and expectations, the difference in communication styles of the speaker and the listener, and the listener’s desire for self-protection. To be a good communicator, remember the three most important aspects of communication: be kind, be kind, and be kind.
For the leadership team to be good communicators, they need first to consider their audience’s expectations, make their messages user-friendly, emphasize familiarity, and practice empathy. They also need to consider how their message will be perceived and the listener’s selective perception, cultural beliefs, personal beliefs, and individual thinking styles.
The most successful communication is social communication, not a one-way communication where one talks and the other listens. Those communications involve information hoarding, and the listener is going to be resistant to the speaker. One-way communication could be perceived as unethical because there is no give-and-take involved in contact. The receiver is only getting what the sender wants to send. Ethical communication includes all relevant information, is factual, and is not deceptive.
The benefits of professional and ethical communication to the organization are providing clarity, preventing—or resolving—conflicts, increasing employee engagement, improving productivity, improving employee job satisfaction, improving direction for employees, increasing innovation, strengthening team building, improving public impression, and improving client relations.
The best example of unethical communication is the jury room scene from 12 Angry Men. The entire movie speaks to what first impressions, predisposed belief systems, and half-truths can do to a conversation. The jury’s decision had to do with a man’s life. There was nothing but conflict in the movie, and the conflict was primarily destructive conflict and not constructive conflict. Destructive conflict diverts energy from essential issues, destroys the morale of teams and individuals, and polarizes everyone. Destructive conflict is a win-lose or lose-lose outcome.
Henry Fonda’s part in the original movie from 1954 was playing a character who forces the jury into constructive conflict, forcing the real issues to the surface. The jury members started to generate other ideas, and, in the end, the man on trial was found not guilty because the jury got past all the noise and their predisposed beliefs. The jury was forced to look at their shortcomings, and moviegoers are left with the notion that those 12 Angry Men became better people for their experience.
Professional and ethical communication can move mountains. Does the existing problem need to be addressed? Is the lousy behavior going to serve the best outcomes for the organization? And, lastly, are you convinced a change is necessary?
“Your employees are the heart of your organization.” Dr. Michele Harmon is a Human Resource professional, supporting clients in Texas and New Mexico that range in size from five to more than 3,000 employees. Email: micheleharmon1@gmail.com