In the wake of several high-profile corporate scandals – such as the
Enron debacle – a new era is emerging in American business, various business
leaders and consultants suggest.
In the wake of several high-profile corporate scandals – such as the
Enron debacle – a new era is emerging in American business, various business
leaders and consultants suggest.
The Enron scandal represents a pendulum swing toward an era of business reform,
said consultant Ken Jennings, who has worked with more than 25 Fortune 500 companies
in the last six years. Now, values that Christians hold dear are being road-tested
in some offices around the country.
However, deep-rooted reform will not occur overnight, said Jennings, a Christian
who helps companies build businesses that are above reproach.
“Quick-fix solutions to ethical problems wont work for businesses
that have an anything-for-the-bottom-line approach, …” he said. “In
a business culture that is rotten at the core, there are things going wrong
that you dont yet see.”
So, how does one reform a business culture that rewards the kind of deception
seen in the Enron scandal?
“You cant just take the anti-Enron pill,” business consultant
Susan Van Vleet said.
“A thousand things prop up a culture of immorality and greed, so, no single
change will turn it around.”
Warped priorities become deeply entrenched, she said. Even new and improved
business ethics courses are failing.
All of the sudden, the business world is listening for another model of leadership,
Jennings agreed.
Jennings tried to answer that call last year with a book, “The Serving
Leader,” a novelette that seeks to steer businesses away from self-serving
models.
And the first principle in creating a growing and sustainable work culture
is simple, Jennings emphasized.
“Good people make good companies,” he said.
“Self-serving leaders create self-serving followers, and self-serving
followers do only what theyre told. They lack ingenuity and overall responsibility.
“Self-sacrificing leaders, on the other hand, serve their workers and
see them as a precious resource,” Jennings explained. “They are willing
to divest themselves of power when necessary to remove barriers to their workers
success, unleashing workers gifts or strengths. Theyre not threatened
by their workers promotions.”
Putting oneself first and pursuing profit at any cost produces a culture that
takes short cuts, said Brad McMahon, director of human resources at Entegris
Corp., which is adopting Jennings serving leader model. Conversely, personal
integrity is good for anyones bottom line.
“The key is creating a business culture that motivates people to give
their best, rather than just the bare minimum necessary to get by, a culture
of short cuts,” he noted.
Placing virtues such as goodness, faithfulness, and honesty alongside technical
skills and competence makes sense, Jennings agreed. “If you hire people
just for their functional skills, like accounting or strategic planning, and
not for their underlying integrity, youre inviting problems.”
Entegris board Chair Stan Geyer agreed. “It used to be that businesses
measured IQ,” he said. “Then, human resources were supposed to measure
prospective employees EQ or emotional quotient,” he said. “Now,
were seeing the importance of a persons SQ or spiritual quotient.
You have to bring all three of those parts of who you are to the workplace or
youre really missing something.
“People are spiritual, and if you dont acknowledge that, youre
leaving something parked in the lot.”
In this hiring milieu, talented Christians have a natural advantage, Jennings
said.
“Christians are used to serving beyond self-interest and following a wisdom
outside of themselves,” he explained.
Christians do not need to use the workplace as a platform for preaching, Jennings
said. “Were talking about the witness of good, honest work.”
Geyer agreed. “Were not looking for a statement of beliefs,”
he said. “Were looking for behaviors that demonstrate character,
demonstrate trustworthiness, demonstrate creativity and the need for improvement.
Anyone can say what they believe. But were looking for good people who
are engaged in the business, people with spiritual focus are more likely to
be fruitfully engaged.” (ABP)