SocialChorus cofounder Nicole Alvino provides keen insight about today's demands for ethical leadership and the importance of each little decision toward an organization's integrity.
Alvino recently wrote a guest column for the online edition of Entrepreneur Magazine, Theranos: When a Culture of Growth Becomes a Culture of Scam.
An early passage immediately brought to mind the situation in St. Louis Shenanigans where a 20-year employee was accused of embezzling $5.4 million over 10 years:
Most criminals in business ... don't wake up one day and say, "I think I'm going to architect a large fraud today." A scam doesn't come about in a single moment. Rather, its creation is more like a slow trail of breadcrumbs, the result of many little ... decisions made along the way.
Nicole Alvino
That's what happened in St. Louis. The employee was at the college for 10 years before the opportunity (together with pressure and rationalization) presented itself, starting small and growing from there.
The importance of ethical conduct at a university is highlighted by the Higher Learning Commission's placement of integrity and ethics as its second criterion when the commission visited WSU.
In its final report, the Higher Learning Commission concluded:
A review of the evidence indicates that Wichita State University operates with integrity in its financial, academic, personnel, and auxiliary functions.
Higher Learning Commission Final Report, November 21, 2016
The positive opinion from the commission is based on several factors, but it's based mainly on the collective actions of the university community.
Alvino suggests examining a situation through the persona of both your grandmother and a 5-year-old. Can you explain whether the decision is right or wrong, kind or unkind, fair or unfair? Can you clearly explain the decision's value and impact in understandable terms?
Alvino's method provides a quick and dirty answer, but looking for institutional guidance first is essential. Next time we'll review a guide for ethical decision-making that begins and ends with that vital step.