Blog about Leadership

Paul Wolfowitz is leaving the World Bank effective June 30. Read about his resignation here. Also, check out my blog entry about the correlation between leadership and ethics. When will leaders learn?

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I have a phrase that I live by: to be and to become. The essence of my quote is that I am not just who I am with my knowledge, skills, and experience, but also in who I have the ability to become. Longfellow articulated the idea as, “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” It’s a state of mind and a direction of focus.

Paul Wolfowitz is encountering a tough reality; read about it here. He slipped up or, more accurately, he was caught slipping up. His leadership and management abilities are now questioned and he is appealing for a second chance. Wolfowitz is facing the correlation between leadership and ethics as I’ve written about in a previous article.

I honestly believe that a person in the position of power and authority should not be given a free pass. He screwed up, but this is not a mistake of youth or inexperience as then he would not be qualified for his position. He violated the trust and confidence of those who appointed him to the position. He violated the ethical conduct of which he was bound. While everyone should have the opportunity to start over and if need be start a new, we need to hold leaders accountable for violations of leadership/ethics. Paul Wolfowitz should resign from his position. If he does not resign, he should be relieved of his position by the Board of Directors for the World Bank.

To be and to become. Paul Wolfowitz may judge himself by what he may be able to do, but his promises to change to “management style” are in line with judging his management ability by what he may be able to do and not by what he has done. The reality he must accept is that the rest of the world judges him by what he has done. What he did was a clear violation of ethics and a violation of the trust and confidence attributed to his position.

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In this article, I am not going to write about Deontological, Teleological, and Utilitarian ethics, because I want to concentrate on the correlation between ethics and leadership. I want to address the importance of knowing what you believe to be right, knowing what is legally right, and following your beliefs as a necessary trait of leadership.

If you do not do your job right, you have no right to do your job. This is critical for those in leadership positions and, especially, for government leaders and corporate officers. You lose all credibility when your ethics are questioned, when you are even suspected of breaking the law, and, finally, when you are actually found guilty of missteps of judgment. You lose any ability to enforce your authority…and you should.

Here are three recent news stories to resonate the accuracy of my statement:
1) The Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s loss of credibility after the firing of US Attorneys.
2) The mounting pressure for the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank.
3) Even the legacy of British Prime Minister Tony Blair is subject to the questions of his judgment in sending British troops to Iraq.

In the end, it often does not even matter what the truth is and that can be the toughest problem for leaders. What people perceive is what people believe. If there is even the perception of a dent or tear in the ethics of a political leader, that leader is run through the mud and publicly stoned by accusations and calls for resignation.

Is it right to deny a leader the benefit of doubt? A position of the significance that the above three leaders hold, is a position that needs to be occupied by an individual of integrity and reason. A high political position is a position of power and influence. If there is corruption, then the power and influence can be used in support of corruption and to cover up the corruption. Action against corruption must be quick and decisive, so the action against leaders who are perceived to be corrupt is right.

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