Page 6 - The Edge - Fall 2019

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

BY BRIAN MEE

Leadership and Ethical Decision Making

As de ned by the Center for Ethical Leadership: “Ethical Is it legal? Will I be violating civil law or district policy?
leadership is knowing your core values and having the courage Is it balanced? Is it fair to everyone in the short term as well
to live them in all parts of your life in service of the common as the long term? Does it promote a win-win relationship?
good.” How will it make me feel about myself? Will it make me
It seems that every day we hear about leaders in our proud? Will I feel good if my decision is published in the
government, corporations and education community who are newspaper? Will I feel good if my family or spouse knows about
nding themselves in legal jeopardy because of the decisions it?
– or poor decisions – they
have made. As we are all
legal and in turn ethical areas “ THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY
probably aware of as school
business officials, it is the

of responsibility where we are to do the wrong thing.”
the most vulnerable and in most cases, the least con dent.
In both areas, we are dealing with human nature and human
ethics, and in many situations, things which are beyond our — Anonymous
control. We also are guided by rules and regulations that we
have no in uence over, such as state and federal laws from I have used these steps most of my professional career
OSHA, EPA, IRS, departments of education, and departments and nd them to be useful, not only in my work life but in my
of transportation, to name a few. personal life as well. One of the things I like about the list is that
Yet we know rules are important because they regulate our it acknowledges not only the possible legal rami cations of a
society. ey prevent crimes, injury, and chaos. Agree with decision, but also the personal and interpersonal dimensions.
them or not, they provide a framework within which we can all And that brings us full circle in this discussion: As
work and live. intimidating as doing the right thing may seem, in the end it is
As leaders, we must always set the example. We must abide all about looking out for ourselves and especially those aro und
by the rules, expect the best in human nature, and trust that us.
those with whom we work will adhere to the policies and
practices set in place by us, the district, the state, and the federal
government. If this doesn’t happen, we need to have policies,
practices, and procedures in place to deal with the situation –
and we must, without a doubt, enforce those policies. We must
hold each other and ourselves accountable – and this is where
trust comes in.
During my career as an SBO, I had an agreement with my
sta that we would always watch out for each other. If one of
us starts down a path that looks tenuous or may be perceived
as questionable, it’s our responsibility to “call” that person on
it. at includes me. My sta knew that they always had my
support, without repercussion, when they questioned me or
called me out for something I said or did or something that I
was about to do or say – even something that I should have said
or done, but didn’t. at is as true today as it ever was.
A lot of what we do when it comes to legal issues and at-risk
situations comes down to ethical decision-making. In his book
“ e Power of Ethical Management,” Kenneth Blanchard gives
an excellent three-step formula for making ethical decisions.
He uses three questions or what he terms “ethics checks.”

6 THE EDGE | FALL 2019