What would you do if you ran a public-relations agency and a client wanted you to fudge some information in press materials?
Carol Orsborn faced that situation eight years ago, when the hotel she represented asked her to promote the new fountain in its lobby as a European antique, not a reproduction.
“It was a very small incident, but I began to see it was a pattern of how this client operated,” says Orsborn, the San Francisco-based author of “Inner Excellence” (New World Library, $17.95) and consultant to companies on the issue of spirituality in business. “If I couldn’t trust the authenticity of the fountain, then I couldn’t trust the authenticity of what they said they were offering customers.”
Rather than compromise her integrity, Orsborn dumped the account and lost the $5,000 a month it had generated for her small firm.
“There was an integrity about me that (prospective clients) recognized and were willing to hire,” she says. “In fact, the more I acted on my values, the better I did professionally.”
In today’s intense working world, where staggering workloads and pressure to perform prevail, it may be easy to place expediency over integrity. This can be corrosive, not just to your spirit, but also to your overall performance.
“We have radar for the values, emotional needs and expectations of other people,” says Karen Barrie, co-author of “Serpents and Apples: Emotional, Spiritual and Physical Well-Being for Working Women” (New Win, $17.95) with Kathleen Cain.
As Orsborn discovered, you don’t have to check your decency at the office door to be successful.
By clarifying your personal principles and letting them guide your behavior, experts say you can enhance your credibility and your satisfaction while retaining your self-respect.
What does it mean to be a decent human being on the job?
Honesty and integrity are obvious choices to most people, but day-to-day decency spans a range of behaviors. These may involve accepting responsibility instead of assigning blame, apologizing for losing your temper, being sensitive to the feelings of others, giving credit where credit is due and simply thanking others for their help.
Other expressions of decency may include telling employees what they’ve done right and counting to 10 before responding to a conflict-inciting situation.
It’s important to remember that values are not universal, however. How well yours are received-specifically, whether they help you professionally-will depend on your corporate culture.
When your personal code chronically clashes with that of your workplace, a crisis may occur.
Barrie, a family therapist in Wilmette, cites a patient who abhorred how her Fortune 500 company misrepresented itself to customers.
“As a regional sales representative, she knew her employer lacked the personnel to provide follow-up support to accounts, but the company insisted that she promise it anyway,” Barrie says. “She felt helpless to do anything about it, but the longer she sat on those feelings, the more she wanted to quit.”
Eventually, the woman told her boss she would not participate in what she deemed “corporate dishonesty,” Barrie says. In the long run, her sales didn’t suffer because of her honesty.
“If she feels better about herself, she’ll do better at her job,” Barrie says.
Cain says that by setting high ethical standards, managers can play a critical role in increasing the value of human decency at the office, where employees “often model themselves after their leader.”
Of course, you may risk dismissal by confronting your employer. So Orsborn says it’s vital to “tell yourself the truth about your environment and put together an escape plan.”
Or, if it’s impossible to leave the company-perhaps because of the fragile economy-Orsborn urges you to be honest with yourself about your reasons for staying.
“Maybe you have a greater goal, and it’s worth it in the short-term to endure the environment until you’re in a position to change it,” Orsborn says.
LIFELINES
Spirited resource
Inner Excellence: The Bulletin of Business and Spirituality, is a quarterly newsletter published by Inner Excellence, a San Francisco consulting firm. Annual subscriptions are $67. Call 415-928-3600; fax 415-928-0310.
Constructive endeavors
The National Association of Women in Construction sponsors networking/educational meetings through local chapters. Dues vary. Call 312-902-3974 for information on membership and chapters nationwide.
Career prospects
The Chicago-based Midwest Women’s Center will offer “Stepping Up,” a free, two-week career-exploration program including counseling and skill assessment, May 17-28. Call 312-922-8530.
Business-bound
The National Black MBA Association, which has 2,500 members, will have its annual business-development conference Sept. 22-26 in Atlanta. For information and to register, call 312-236-2622.
Worker’s bookshelf
“Transforming Work” (Baker and Taylor, $19.95) by John Adams; “Creativity in Business” (Doubleday, $12) by Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers.
