Inspired People. Outstanding Results.

How to Find Time to Do “Great Work”It’s the work we love to talk about

Doing what’sright Dr. Craig

Dowden reveals the business case for moral leadership

S P E C I A L L E A D E R S H I P E D I T I O N

PLUS• Case studies for leading in difficult times• Looming labour shortage plays havoc on staffing• Invite yin energy for more balance at work

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4 WWW.YOURWORKPLACE.CA

FEATURES

9 The Business Case for Moral Leadership Doing what is right breeds success

12 Leading in Difficult TimesLessons learned from an eco-challenge and an Olympic soccer team

17 Your Workplace Conference 2013Highlights of a leading-edge event

20 SuchnessThe best leaders see things as they are

22 How to Find Time to Do “Great Work” It has meaning and impact. It’s the work we love to talk about.

25 Balance: Inviting Yin Energy into Our Work

27 A Tale of Two CitiesTwo mayors. Two disasters. Different results.

29 Applying Positive Psychology at WorkEmbracing the pillars of PERMA

ON THE COVER: This Special Edition of Your Workplace explores the latest trends in leadership

DEPARTMENTS4 UP FRONT

8 THE COMPASSIONATE EDGE Power Versus Productivity: Why You Can’t Always Have Both

36 THE BUSINESS-MINDED READER Since we’re all in the lifeboat together...

38 WHAT I THINKYou Might be Right, but You’re Wrong

5 WHAT MATTERSLooming Labour Shortage Plays Havoc on Staffing; The Scandalous “Reply-All”; Successful Outsourcing Calls for Investment in Skills

31 Flex TimeIt’s Time for the Workplace to Grow Up!

34 Self CompassionAn Essential Leadership Trait

CONTENTS

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20 27

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Inspired People. Outstanding Results.

How to Find Time to Do “Great Work”It’s the work we love to talk about

Doing what’sright Dr. Craig

Dowden reveals the business case for moral leadership

S P E C I A L L E A D E R S H I P E D I T I O N

PLUS• Case studies for leading in difficult times• Looming labour shortage plays havoc on staffing• Invite yin energy for more balance at work

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YOUR WORKPLACE | VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4 LEADERSHIP      3

PHOTO: STEPHEN WILD

YOUR WORKPLACE | VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4 LEADERSHIP      9

LEADERSHIP

The Business Case for Moral Leadership“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.” — Warren Buffet

arren Buffet’s words remind us of how important it is to have integrity in our business lives, and this starts with our leaders. A leader uses his or her influence to bring about change, and yet when we think of the word

“leader”, many of us imagine someone with authority over others, an individual who is literally a step ahead of the group. At times, this type of leadership can be self-serving and disempowering to others.

Moral leaders place the emphasis on the talent of others, rather than on their own abili-ties. Moral leadership is not about rank, rather it’s doing what’s right. They have a deep sense of right and wrong, and are guided by their beliefs. We look to leaders for guidance and inspiration, and moral leadership can be critical to the success of the organization.

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10      LEADERSHIP VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4 | YOUR WORKPLACE

risks involved if companies do not adopt it. In an increasingly transparent global economy, organizations are under more scrutiny than ever before. Unethical practices such as improper expense claims, price-fixing, or bribery are more difficult to keep secret, and there is a high price to pay for indiscretions. All fines and punish-ments aside, a business leader may follow all laws and yet be highly immoral in the way he or she runs the organization. As a result, these organizations will have dif-ficulty attracting and retaining employees, customers and investors. In the book, The Ethical Imperative: Why Moral Leadership is Good Business, author John Dalla Costa reports that by the most conservative estimates, annual losses due to unethical behaviour are more than the profits of the top 40 corporations in North America.

POSITIVE IMPACT ON EMPLOYEESDespite all the evidence, many work-

places perceive a compromise between moral leadership and profitability. Dr. Craig Dowden, Managing Director of the Toronto, Ontario office of SPB, an Organi-zational Psychology Consulting firm, says this could not be further from the truth. “In my work the question [I am] asked is ‘Can we be successful as an organization and do the right thing?’” This perceived dichotomy of either “I can be successful” or “I can do the right thing” misses the mark. By doing what’s right for employees, companies set themselves up to succeed.

Of the many influences a moral leader has, Dr. Dowden identified three that are most impactful at the recent 2013 Your Workplace Conference:

1. Providing a sense of purpose A moral leader will give his or her team a sense of purpose. Most of us want to feel like we have contributed to something above and beyond our self, and motiva-

Take, for example, Buffet, who is often described as the most successful investor this century, and one of the most wealthy and influential people in the world. At the same time, he is also a philanthropist, and has pledged to give away 99% of his vast fortune. In 2011 he called out the American government to “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich” and raise his own, and his peers’ taxes. This is not exactly the kind of leadership we are accustomed to from the corporate sector.

This is in sharp contrast to profit-at-all-costs leadership, such as the now infamous Enron, which went from billions to bank-rupt on account of fraud and corruption. When you compare moral leaders like Buffet to self-serving leadership, such as what may be described at Enron, it starts to become clear: moral leadership isn’t just “the right thing to do”, it’s the right thing to do for your business.

WHY MORAL LEADERSHIP IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESSAt first glance, the idea of moral leadership might seem largely altruistic, but there are benefits to making it a priority in the work-place. In her 2006 book Moral Leadership: The Theory and Practice of Power, Judge-ment and Policy Deborah Rhode suggested that moral leadership led to more ethical employees and reported: “Companies observe less unethical behaviour and perform better when employees see their company as promoting ethical conduct and their leaders care about ethical issues.”

In addition to this, Hannah, Lester and Vogelgesang, in their 2005 report, have suggested that moral leaders have more influence than their less principled counterparts, saying “A leader who is perceived by followers as morally authentic and imbued by altruism and virtuousness will be afforded greater influence and have increased positive effects on followers and organizations”. Other benefits include:

• Higher employee satisfaction and morale

• Improved customer satisfaction • Enhanced workplace trust, coopera-

tion, and innovation • Money saved from costs associated

with misconduct and surveillance to prevent it

Aside from the benefits, there are also

YOUR WORKPLACE | VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4 LEADERSHIP      11

tion is vastly diminished when employees don’t see how their work contributes to the organization.

Dr. Dowden points to a 2008 study, “Man’s Search for Meaning: The case of Legos”, which found that when participants were given identical wages and tasks, those in the less meaningful condition (where they witnessed the toys they were paid to build being disassembled) did less work than those in the meaningful condition.

This suggests that we are not purely profit driven, and that we need an emo-tional connectivity to a task, otherwise our motivation dries up. A moral leader will ensure that employees are aware of exactly how what they do contributes to the organization. As a result they will be more engaged and more productive.

2. Exhibiting humility Leaders who admit mistakes and

limitations, and openly acknowledge their errors model humility instead of ego. As a result, they do not suffer any negative consequences, and other employees will be more open to admitting their missteps.

Research has also shown that ego has a price tag attached to it. In 2006 researchers reported on a series of experiments called, “Your Money or Your Self-Esteem: Threat-ened Egotism Promotes Costly Entrap-ment in Losing Endeavors.” Students were given $5 that they could choose to gamble in a game of luck. Before the game began, some also received some “friendly” advice from an experimenter who said they might want to back out if they choke under pres-sure. Those who received the tip may have felt their ego was at stake (“I’ll prove that I don’t choke under pressure”). They played and lost more money, and their self esteem plummeted.

This need to preserve ego can wreak havoc in organizations. Dr. Dowden says that the workplace is not immune to this scenario; employees pursuing favourable views of themselves can be costly and can even produce self-defeating behaviours.

3. Practising empathy Empathy, identifying with other people, and understanding their situation, feelings and motives, is critical because empa-thetic leaders can provide employees with support to deal with the challenges between them and their goals. By provid-ing employees with the tools they need to succeed, moral leaders also build a sense of trust. This strengthens the relationships between them and their employees, and even the relationships employees have with one another. This leads to greater col-laboration and improved productivity.

Empathic leaders support their employ-ees, and this in turn benefits the work-place. By thinking of others first, empathic leaders also serve their own goals.

HOW TO FOSTER MORAL LEADER-SHIP WITHIN OURSELVES Given the many positive impacts of moral leadership, Dr. Dowden says there are three steps we can do to foster moral leadership within ourselves and our organizations.1. Identify core values and determine

what truly matters. Knowing where

you stand helps guide decisions — large and small.

2. Check your egos at the door. Get comfortable with not having all of the answers, and embrace the fact that we all make mistakes. This will diffuse destructive self-interest.

3. Be curious. Ask open-ended questions and engage in active listening as it provides clues to alternative courses of action.

THE BOTTOM LINEMoral leadership is about doing the right thing — for others and your own organiza-tion. Morals and success are not mutually exclusive — in fact they are intertwined. We not only improve leadership, we also give ourselves a competitive advantage. YW

Comparison of Moral and Self-Serving leadershipMoral leaders are sometimes called a serving leader because they focus on the needs of others above their own. They do not brag about their accomplishments; rather they develop and spotlight the abilities of others. These leaders are the moral compass of an organization and the glue that keeps it together.

Consider the following chart comparing the traits of moral leaders and self-interested leaders.

Moral Leadership

Self-serving Leadership

Humility Ego, arrogance

Prioritizes needs of others

Self-interested

Honest and straightforward

Deceptive

Honours commitments

Breaches agreements

Fair Unfair

Takes responsibility

Blames others

Serves others Withholds support

Stands up for what’s right

Lacks courage

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