‘We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have
those because we have acted rightly.’ - Aristotle
With social and religious structures broken down to narrow shadows of their past and the machines we work in holding the majority of influence over social ‘morality’, it is no wonder we find ourselves fraught with ambiguity when attempting to make the ‘right’ decisions whilst navigating the paradox. The question arises: can value-driven leadership define the ethics of our era?
I am starting to see the cracks begin to let some light shine in on the matter, and in my work as a coach am experiencing human nature finding a new and exciting method for engaging in virtuous activity, one that rises above the police state of our past dogmatic institutions into one of expanding awareness and interconnectedness. Just the other day I had the pleasure of coaching a young leader of one of the planet’s largest multinationals, who was grappling with the pressures of having international leaders imposing their will on him without any regard for compromising the values and integrity of my client or the organisation.
Trying not to be too naïve in my idealism, I am highly aware of how multiple stakeholders and career protection can drive an entire system corrupt by slowly grinding away at the individuals until they render the entire system toxic (Corporation, n., An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility- Ambrose Bierce 1842-1914). So we wound our way up into his values and integrity to emerge a new solution that was infused with ethical integrity, motivation and passion to do the right thing, perhaps in a very different way, but with the impetus to affect and inspire the entire system to the same lofty ideals.
This value-driven leader identified how, by engaging groups wider and wider through the communication streams we have at our fingertips, is proving to be an unleveraged tool of our times, whereby we can access the higher consciousness of the many to elevate the decisions of the few through shared values, vision and a commitment to honour our most virtuous nature, even in the most trying of times. Joseph Butler said, ‘There is a natural benevolence in man, which is in some degree to society what self-love is to the individual.’ And it is my belief that as coaches we herald the re-awakening to this true nature of the human condition.
As I type these words the weight of such responsibility threatens to dampen and suffocate my intentions amidst turbulence and stormy seas, yet through the blessing of great supervision I have come to accept myself as merely human.
With a plethora of tools that work most of the time, yet sometimes were not meant for the job at hand, I dig deep into that self-love to widen the expanse of my resource kit, engaging multiple experts in and around me when making decisions because ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ (Edmund Burke). Whilst I cannot be the one responsible for such an atrocity, I sometimes find it challenging to know how I alone, mere mortal that I am, know what is the right thing to do at each moment in time.
I refer to a recent dilemma brought to the Comensa National Ethics Committee for which I stand as chairman; the process was long and fraught with tear and danger for all stakeholders. I do not by any means consider myself the most qualified nor experienced person for this post, but perhaps it is just that awareness that humbles me in the presence of my colleagues enough to always engage them in the process of emerging an answer that is palatable, ethical, value-full and meaningful, for everyone. As a collective we came to decisions that created through deep learnings, hopefully raised awareness in all and most importantly served to grow the organisation on a path that has ethical grounding for lofty and idealistic practices to find their way into the business of coaching and beyond.
In respect of the above I am honoured and grateful to share in the growth of Comensa, to contribute to its expansion and lend my learnings and skill to the development of this industry, to which I am passionately committed.
I leave you with the words of Abraham Lincoln: ‘When I do good, I feel good, when I do bad, I feel bad, that is my religion.’