Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge Newsletter (February 27th) features a great Q&A article on Corporate Values and Employee Cynicism.
“Many studies have shown the power of meaningful values to energize employees, providing them with a sense of purpose and identity in a world that is in flux. But our research shows that values must be managed with care.
“Hypocrisy may be unavoidable for leaders in the modern world. With rapid changes in the environment, it can be very hard for leaders to keep promises at ‘Time 2’ that they made at ‘Time 1.’ Companies also have more stakeholders—parties to whom the public feels they are responsible—than ever before. The public itself is a powerful stakeholder that is increasingly demanding about issues ranging from the environment to employee benefits. With the incredible speed and reach of modern communications, companies are now under unprecedented scrutiny, not only from their employees and shareholders, but also from advocacy groups, watchdog organizations, and an ever-savvier public.”
Hypocrisy, as it turns out, can be both real and imagined (sometimes leaders and employees interpret the same value differently). So not only must leaders “walk the walk,” but they must also communicate with employees and other stakeholders very, very well.
By the way, the article presents a great example of perceived hypocrisy, ripped from recent headlines:
“The news these days is filled with stories about leaders and organizations that are seen as hypocritical by either employees or the public. For instance, the public has reacted negatively to Google’s compliance with restricted access to information in China; this is seen as breaching the company’s motto, ‘Don’t be evil.’”
Hmm, don’t be evil, in deed or perception…
