Have you been watching ‘The Good Place‘ with Kristen Bell and Ted Danson? If you haven’t seen this Netflix series, then it’s worth a watch. The show is a comedy that gets you thinking about Heaven and Hell. It focuses on ethics and values, the choices you make in life, and where humans end up … The Good Place or The Bad Place.
Every episode is an ethical lesson demonstrating how the choices you make in life are compounded. When you make good decisions (with your values and good judgment) the effects show in the outcomes and the benefits you reap. At the same time, make some bad choices and those poor decisions are compounded too. The show also looks at how your decisions impact the people around you, whether it’s new acquaintances, friends or your family.
Watching the series leads the viewer to ask questions including:
What are my values?
Am I keeping score of the good deeds vs. selfish actions?
Are my decisions good beyond the immediate benefit, or do they have deeper positive outcomes?
Are my decisions bad and does poor judgment have more serious consequences?
These are all questions that require additional thought and only you can answer them.
My video discusses the series (don’t worry, no real spoilers here), and also shares three tips on how to make better decisions based on your values.
Remember, ethics are a personal choice and they’re a business practice. Your ethics and values go where you go, following you down every road and surfacing at every cross road.
How do you evaluate your decision-making and what are you doing for a positive compound effect?
When I think of some of the greatest ethical leaders (the keyword here is “ethical”), a few immediately come to mind, based on what they’ve done for others. From Harriet Tubman and Eleanor Roosevelt to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, there’s no shortage of visionary leaders in history who have placed ethics and values first, tuned into their Ethics GPS, and have accomplished positive change for the good of humanity.
At the same time, fast forward to today, with leaders who take ethical “detours.” In their organizations, they’re seen as high performers and they’re known for making shareholders happy. Although they may say the right thing, they don’t always do the right thing, when it comes to the different stakeholders they serve. Sometimes the “Do No Harm” and “Do Well By Doing Good” mantras don’t apply to all parties involved.
For me, leadership and ethics go hand-in-hand. As my friend and colleague, Richard Bistrong, CEO of Front-Line Anti-Bribery LLC shared in a recent social media post, “If we are not careful, bad behavior can hide behind good performance, until it’s too late, for everyone.” Unfortunately, Richard is correct, the bad behavior is present, and it often goes unnoticed and also unquestioned.
When I wrote Answers for Ethical Marketers, the book’s mission was to help business professionals communicate with honesty, transparency, respect and objectivity, knowing that ethics and values were always leading the way. In my book, I discussed a number of steps business leaders could take to “Live” their values, demonstrate ethics daily and “walk” the ethics “talk.” Among the top suggestions included were:
Living / working by a standard (a code of ethics), and knowing one standard is in place for everyone.
Choosing the high road when making decisions; remembering two wrongs don’t make a right.
Keeping transparency top of mind; having to engage in uncomfortable conversations with open dialogue.
In my video, I share more about how to “walk” the ethics “talk: and to evaluate whether you and the leaders around you demonstrate ethics in every communication and business interaction.
As a leader, are you simply talking about ethics or are you living your ethics and values?
A situation stands out in my mind from 20 years ago. At my agency, one of our senior leaders had misreported the marketing campaign results in his presentation to the client. When the error was discovered, there were other leaders at the firm who made excuses for him. I heard everything from “oh, he’s a good guy” and “what’s one little white lie” to “a tiny exaggeration doesn’t hurt anyone.”
There was a time when I looked at the leaders around me and just thought they were all honest, transparent, and spoke from a place of “Do Well by Doing Good.” Whether the leader I remember from 20 years ago was lying, or as his peers stated, simply exaggerated the numbers, it made me step back to think about the situation, and what it meant to have shared ethics and values.
To this day, each and every one of us should take the time to step back and reflect, especially when our ethics and values are challenged. Of course, ethics and values are a personal choice and a business practice. Personal is just that … it’s personal and may differ from the professionals around you. However, it’s important to see eye-to-eye with the people who are in your inner circle and who are your trusted advisors.
Here’s when your mentors’ ethics and values really matter. As I mentioned in my book, Answers For Ethical Marketers,” early in my career, I thought my ethics and values were naturally baked into the professionals around me. However, it’s important to ask questions and to make sure your mentor’s values and ethical conduct are aligned with yours, as it creates a stronger bond and a long-lasting relationship.
What questions can you ask when selecting a mentor to make sure you’re both on the same ethics and values page? My video shares four of these questions. Please share the questions you would ask too!
A Guest Post By Haley Epping, Masters Student At American University, FEEL Blog Post Winner
The essence of the FEEL method is prioritizing communication and recognizing your feelings. Since our human nature is to be social beings, it is extremely useful to discuss the best communication method with your colleagues at work. Here is a six-step plan to help you and your co-workers implement the FEEL model into your workplace.
To complete this roadmap, plan a time with your colleagues when you can have an uninterrupted opportunity to discuss and be open with each other. After planning that time, make sure everyone completes the FEEL test and brings the results or a general idea of them to the meeting.
At the first meeting, be sure to set some ground rules such as privacy agreements surrounding colleagues sharing results and feelings. It is crucial that everyone is comfortable and is open to learning. Constructive feedback can be very helpful, but in this case, limiting the amount of direct criticism is useful to ensure no one feels offended or attacked.
The first step of this roadmap is to discuss preferred ways of communicating. Since not everyone will communicate the same way, holding space to learn about your co-workers is an essential first step. In the FEEL First eBook on how generations face fears, the results showed that Millennials generally “prefer consistent and ongoing feedback and access to higher level meetings where they can state their ideas” (p. 11). If you are a Millennial, your boss may not know this is how you feel and will not provide this feedback due to generational differences. This is when miscommunication can occur because if a boss, who is a baby boomer, does not know that their staff wants consistent feedback and does not provide it. Millennials may assume they are not doing their job well. Instead, the boss does not think consistent feedback is necessary. In this space, hearing colleagues share their feelings creates a closer connection, which may make it easier to communicate more effectively in the future.
The second step is to share examples of past communication failures. This can be done in two ways. First, the group can share constructive criticism about miscommunications between colleagues that are a part of the discussion. Another option is to describe miscommunications at your past jobs. Sharing examples gives people tangible stories to remember for the future, and it can be a therapeutic space for those telling the anecdote. These previous miscommunications may have occurred between two people of different generations, which would also provide more context for why the FEEL model is crucial. In my experience, many of my bosses who are older, millennial or boomer generations, do not use praise on a consistent basis. Instead, they wait until the annual review or if I asked for a mid-year review. In their minds, I am not doing a bad job, they may think I am doing great, but they do not go out of their way to tell me if there is not time devoted to feedback. Because of this, I think I need to change what I am doing to receive positive feedback. This is a clear miscommunication and stems from our different generational upbringings.
After sharing past negative experiences, the third step is to describe times where you have had clear and successful communication with a co-worker. Similarly, to the second step, these stories may be about current co-workers or past colleagues. Both narratives will provide value to this discussion. These stories may provide some comfort for those who have communicated in similar ways, or it could provide ideas to those who need to improve their communication.
Moving forward to the facing fears portion of FEEL, the fourth step is to discuss workplace fears. This can be a difficult step since it aims for people to be vulnerable, but it is critical. Sharing fears will allow colleagues to be empathetic with each other, which is another tenant of FEEL. This step also can provide comfort if other co-workers have similar fears or have in the past. Colleagues can collaborate on ways for others to conquer their fears and provide their own anecdotal advice.
Also, if there are various levels of management within this group, allowing upper management to learn about their staff’s worries could help them be more empathetic in the future. This can also make hierarchies less rigid in the future, which would lead to a greater flow of communication. According to FEEL data, only 15% of participants said they always stepped out of their comfort zone professionally. This means there is a lot of room for improvement for all generations. Challenging oneself can be extremely difficult and stressful, but when you are able to discuss these worries with co-workers, it allows you to hear other perspectives and hopefully receive reassurance.
After sharing all this information, positive and negative examples of communication, and fears in the workplace, the fifth step is to make a plan. This plan must be concrete and include perspectives from everyone involved. The goal of this plan is to create specific ways that your group can improve communication in the workplace. To ensure that everyone can see this plan, create it in a shared document or email the final version to everyone afterwards. One of the goals may look like this: After (colleague’s name) shares final products with me, I will provide feedback within 2 days. This feedback will include positive reactions and, if needed, constructive criticism. This is a specific goal that can be implemented on a semi-regular schedule and does not need to wait for end of the year performance reviews. In this plan, be sure to include a fear that everyone would like to overcome. It may be hard for people to write it down publicly, so an alternative could be to encourage them to write it on their personal computer.
Once a few months have passed since creating the plan, the final step is to create a time for the group to check-in. This time allows everyone to share if they think the group’s communication has improved, and what can be done to enhance communication further. Look back at the plan that was made last time to see if these written goals were achieved, or if they need to be modified. If they were not attained, discuss what the roadblock was. In addition to the interpersonal communication goals, ask everyone if they conquered a fear in the workplace. Reiterate that this is a judgement-free zone where people can speak freely about their successes or shortcomings.
Discussing fears may be difficult, especially if they were unable to conquer it, so remember to be supportive and, if possible, suggest advice for the future. Even though it may be difficult to continue group meetings on a regular basis, these check-ins can allow the staff to have a space to improve communication and work towards overcoming their workplace fears. It also provides an opportunity to change communication styles easily if necessary. Working on these goals will greatly strengthen your team’s collaboratively, emotional well-being, and efficiency in the long term.
Haley Epping is a Masters student at American University studying Strategic Communications with a focus in Digital Communication Strategies & Analytics.
Each semester, I visit different university and college classrooms (virtually) to share the research behind the FEEL model and the FEEL First online test. Before the students dive into the model and the study findings, I’m quick to point out that the road to FEEL (facing Fears, engaging with Empathy, living with Ethics and unleashing Love) starts early and long before you begin your professional career.
In the fall semester 2021, I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Professor Jason Mollica’s Strategic Communications class at American University. The FEEL model and FEEL First test online became a part of their semester-long project.
The goals for the students were to learn about the FEEL model and take the online test to discover their levels of FEEL in their communications and interactions. Then, the students reviewed the data presented in the FEEL ebook on how different generations face fears, and related all of the information presented to their own experience and communications.
As I expected, the students approached FEEL differently, writing blog posts and creating infographics based on their experiences. Professor Mollica and I created a contest, so three students, who wrote strategically (applying what they learned in class) and who embraced the FEEL model, would be the winners featured on my PR Strategies blog.
We’ve selected these three winners, and they’ll be announced in January 2022. What a great way to start the New Year, with a FEEL First approach to communication and relationship building. Stay tuned for the winners, which will be coming soon.
I’d like to thank all of the students who participated in the contest and Professor Mollica, who is a friend, colleague and always a huge supporter of my work.
An organization does not have a conscience. However, the people who work at a company do. So, then, who is responsible to communicate and demonstrate ethics and values at your company? Do ethics and values go beyond the HR policymakers? Do they extend farther than the communicators in your Marketing and PR Departments?
Today, everyone is an Ethical Marketer. Each employee of the company should uphold the values and good judgment that guide the company and which lead to ethical interactions and communications.
In my book, Answers for Ethical Marketers, I shared how in most companies three areas are involved directly with ethics and values. The first area is Human Resources, which is often responsible for helping to create policies. The second area is Public Relations and Marketing, who assist in the dissemination and communication of the policies. The third is leadership who are the role models demonstrating the ethical conduct. The leaders “walk the talk” of the policies.
However, not every company elevates ethics and values in the same way. In this video, I share my three tips on how to focus on ethics across the company, so good judgment in decision-making reaches every level, and is embraced by every employee at your company.
Interviewing with the media has changed over the years. I remember training executives on how to show up with their messages and talking points. However, today the media is different. It’s a very noisy landscape, tensions run high on different topics and taking an interview means being present and ready to navigate questions beyond the messages you want to share. As they say, “Anything goes!”
As a result of the changes, including how social media amplifies what you share in print, online or on TV, you have to prepare differently. In my video, I offer three tips to help leaders to not only show up well versed but to also be open, mindful, and ready for topics and questions that they may not expect or want to be asked.
Of course, as a leader, when this happens you must make sure you have your ethics and values in tow. These are the important moments when you can demonstrate your ethics and values in your interviews.
If you want to learn more about how to bring ethics and values into your media interviews or to any communication touchpoint, then I hope you’ll check out my book, Answers For Ethical Marketers. You can learn more, or pick up a copy of the book here.
How do you prepare for your media interviews and how do you show up with your good judgment?
When you decide to advise, partner, collaborate, or join forces with another organization, their brand automatically becomes an extension of your own. You make connections all of the time. When deciding to align, sometimes there are important questions that are often overlooked, especially when passion runs high, the potential of the outcome looks promising, and there’s a lot of excitement between parties.
However, it can takes years to build a strong brand in the market and a matter of minutes to damage a reputation. The steps you take before you align can prevent the latter.
Recently, Star Mountain Capital, a specialized investment manager, announced that I’ve joined the company as a Senior Advisor. You can check out Star Mountain here to learn more about their focus on the lower middle market.
With my background and expertise in communications, marketing and digital media, I’ll help to further Star Mountain’s development in these areas, as well as provide value to its small and medium-sized portfolio company investment partners.
When you’re making a decision to align your brand (and reputation), here are four simple questions you can ask and answer:
Does the brand align with my ethics and values?
Does the culture of the organization match my company culture and what I look for in a group of professionals?
Would I be proud to promote and share on behalf of this brand, because I believe in the vision and mission?
Am I learning and growing as a result of the partnership, initiative, collaboration, joint venture, or the reason that brings our brands together?
These questions may take a little more time and effort to uncover. However, by answering them, you can make all of your brand alignment more meaningful, and the answers will make your selection process easier too.
Here’s my video with more details on the topic of brand alignment, and answering these four simple questions.
Are there any questions you ask when you’re evaluating your alignment to other brands?
The essence of the FEEL method is prioritizing communication and recognizing your feelings. Since our human nature is to be social beings, it is extremely useful to discuss the best communication method with your colleagues at work. Here is a six-step plan to help you and your co-workers implement the FEEL model into your workplace.
