- If in doubt, don’t do it.
- If you hope your planned action won’t attract attention, you know it’s wrong.
- If you are looking for ways to rationalize your decision, don’t make it.
- If you wouldn’t want to see your action on the front page of the paper, don’t do it.
- If your inner voice is raising questions, you know the answer.
- If you wouldn’t want your mother to know, why are you thinking about it?
[1] This blog draws from dozens of workshops over the decades and from Tindal and Tindal, Guide to Good Municipal Governance, St. Thomas, Municipal World Inc., 2nd edition, 2019. Statements in quotes are from the Guide.
Municipal experts such as O’Connor and Levine[1] have cited several benefits of a code of conduct, including:
- It demonstrates the municipality’s commitment to promoting ethical behaviour;
- It provides a set of standards by which the public can judge government actions;
- It sets out how unethical conduct will be rectified.
The Importance of Organizational Values
With or without a code, what is needed is strongly embraced organizational values that include a commitment to ethical behaviour. Individuals who lack a moral compass will ignore rules or find ways around and between them. Individuals with an ingrained sense of ethical behaviour know instinctively when they should not do something – no matter what the rules state. Organizations need to focus on instilling and reinforcing an ethical foundation to their operations rather than (or in addition to) relying on a set of overseers to keep everyone in line
Employees do what they have seen done, not what they are told to do. The personal values of senior members of council and staff and how they choose to express these values will set the tone for the rest of the organization. If the CAO or Head of Council makes every effort to maximize the perks of office, they should not be surprised to find that the clerk in the Print Shop sees nothing wrong with running off some personal photos on the municipality’s colour printer.
There also needs to be a focus on ethical values in the hiring process, in the evaluation of staff, and in the decision making process. An example of the latter is the decision taken by Vancouver to have an ethical purchasing policy, one which dictated that the municipality would never knowingly purchase goods made by child labour or otherwise under unfair labour practices. Red Deer, Alberta, promotes decisions based on four RISE principles (respect, integrity, service, and excellence).
In my council-staff workshops over the decades, I used to share the following test.
Ethical Leadership Test (10 points)
#1. I follow the law. ___ True ___ False
#2. I adhere to the code of ethics of my municipality. ___ True ___ False
#3. I practice the Golden Rule. ___ True ___ False
Bet you have 3 out of 3 so far. Just one more question, but it is worth 7 marks!
#4. I teach ethics every day to the people I work with. ___ True ___ False
Participants sometimes objected that this was unfair. My response was that if they didn’t look for “teachable moments” and help their staff to recognize and practice ethical behaviour, where else would they learn? Formal training focuses on the code and the list of things not to do. Providing leadership means talking about situations that may be ambiguous and exploring how we behave ethically even (especially) where rules don’t apply. Your mother would be proud.
[1] Rick O’Connor, “Do employees need a code of conduct,” Municipal World, April 2001 and Gregory J. Levine, Municipal Ethics Regimes, Municipal World inc., 2009.