Every company needs to understand it’s purpose and why they are in business. Values and ethics are a critical part of who they are, what they are all about, and the impact they have on consumers.
A Board of Directors has a legal and fiduciary responsibility to make sure that the company’s officers and employees represent their products and services in the best way every day.
They set the tone for how business is conducted that impacts employees, suppliers, customers, stakeholders/shareholders, and the communities they serve. Values, codes of conduct, and ethics are the soul of any organization and cannot be compromised in any way.
While codes of conduct, vision overviews, and mission statements are a good start to post on websites and hopefully adopt on a daily basis culture wise, they are only words in theory and provide the beginning of a foundation that must continually be built on.
This is the hard part for leaders in positions of power, control, and authority. Codes of conduct, values, and ethics must come first and drive the culture for all.
Sadly, leaders typically put their own interests first more cases than not and send dangerous messages to others in less privileged positions: we have two sets of rules to govern by and they both don’t apply to all.
I urge any Board Member or person considering such a post to go beyond codes of conduct and ethics and think about purposeful leadership when serving.
Specifically, how do the products and services our companies provide have a significant and meaningful impact on the lives of others?
This is a critical question and sets the stage for any organization to potentially sustain themselves for a long time, and profitably while making our planet a better place to live on.
Do your best every day and make conduct and ethics the highest priority.
No comments yet.