Samuel Whitmore Cooper was the CEO of a major beverage company in Morgantown, West Virginia - at least that what his parents believed when they saw him making and selling his lemonade to the neighbors and friends in suburbs of Suncrest. He was quite a salesman and rarely did a person walk past his stand without buying a cup of refreshment from his thriving business. At ten years old, Sam began to see dollar bills as he squeezed the lemons and poured the juice into the pitcher of iced water. Sam wanted to buy a new ball glove autographed by Bill Mazeroski, his favorite Pittsburgh Pirate.
One day Sam decided that the money was not coming in quiet fast enough and the summer would be over (as well as his opportunity to play baseball with the new glove) before he could buy the mitt. So Sam decided to share the reason for his lemonade stand in hopes of increasing sales and maybe even some extra donations. But buying a glove seemed rather selfish, so he decided to share with his neighbors that he was donating the money to UNICEF. Of course he didn't tell them that his UNICEF stood for the Unidentified Needs In Cooper's Entertainment Fund. People did buy his lemonade for 25 cents a glass but they often gave a dollar as a donation. One day Sam found a ten dollar bill in his money jar quietly paid by someone in the neighborhood to encourage a young man with a big heart.
All was good until Samuel Robert Cooper, Sam's dad, noticed the money jar filled with more green than silver. Upon a closer look, dad found the UNICEF sign and the jig was up. Little Sam did not get his glove that summer, but he did make a nice contribution to the real UNICEF.
Ethical leadership assumes honesty and trustworthiness. Shooting straight even when the news is not pretty and does not flatter the decisions of the leader, builds bridges of trust and support. Integrity is measured not only be the wise decisions a leader makes in the midst of trials, but also his candor about the trials themselves. Loyalty is often won when the leader openly and honestly shares truth within the organization.
Sometimes a leader hesitates to share bad news. A positive spin is placed on the situation so that only the few know about the lack of health in the business. Sometimes the bitter pill is so candy- coated that no one knows the extent of the illness until it is too late. In the name of protecting the organization or in order to prevent panic, a leader may choose to be less than honest and only share the good news. Only one side of the coin is revealed and the stakeholders go to bed at night thinking all is well.
Is this the way that leadership works? Does a servant leader best minister to the organization by withholding the uncomfortable, the difficult, the trials, or the lack profitability? Is it best that the stakeholders don't know the cards that leaders sometimes hold so close to their chests?
There are various layers of stakeholders and the circle of knowledge needs to be restricted at times due to confidentiality and timing. But when is a leader guilty of deception when he/she withholds information that directly impacts the stakeholders? Is it wrong for the CEO to smile and pat his workers on the back for a job well done, if he knows that he might be able to pay them at the end of the week?
The higher up the corporate ladder an individual moves in a company, the more information he/she knows about the inner workings of the organization. When does one cross the line between confidentiality and the intentional withholding of honesty? When does a leader hide reality from his/her people in order to guard the reputation of the institution?
The answer might seem obvious. But the rationalization of the human mind and the pressures of the positions of leadership sometimes make the answer blurred at best and totally out of focus in the worst of times. How often do we find ourselves, like Sam at his lemonade stand, carrying on business as usual, failing to see ourselves through the eyes of our neighbors?
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