Giving Voice to Values I

Anonymous

Wed, 05/25/2011 - 05:06

Book Reviews

The failure to deal responsibly with conflicts of interest has many
causes, but the principal cause is the silence of those who are not
directly responsible. I've written several times about some of the
reasons for this silence: fear, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/100" target="”_blank”">justifications</a>, <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/nonviolence-and-government-ethics-iv-…; target="”_blank”">lack
of
moral courage</a>, and <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/node/640" target="”_blank”">a
lack of a feeling of professional obligation</a>. And I've talked about
the importance of open discussion of ethics issues in government as a
solution to this silence problem. But that is, for the most part, a
dream, not a reality. 
 
Last year, a book came out which is focused on how each individual can
end his or her silence with respect to ethics issues: Mary C.
Gentile's <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780300161182" target="”_blank”">Giving
Voice
to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When
You Know What's Right</a> (Yale University Press). Although the book is
focused on business rather than governmental organizations, the two
sorts of
organization are not all that different in the way individuals
rationalize their actions and use their power and position to make it
hard for subordinates and colleagues to speak their minds. The major
difference is that local government officials have an obligation not to
stockholders, who care most about profits, but to the public, whose
community they manage. 
 
In this and the following blog post, I will go through some of the
valuable
ideas I found in this book, and add a few of my own, which were
inspired by reading the book.

The book's focus is not on knowing what's right, but on how to speak
your mind, that is, the skills and practice required for most people to
act on their convictions in a manner that is as competent and
professional as when they act in other areas of their work. This might
be the first ethics book that contains no philosophy, but instead reads
like, well, a business book. Although the examples Gentile gives are
not directly relevant to government ethics, her business-book attitude
is very
useful. 
 
A Can-Do Attitude Toward Ethics 
For example, she notes that the usual can-do attitude of business (and
government) seems to be put aside when ethical concerns
arise. Her goal is to get that can-do attitude to work in ethics, as
well, because when individuals get away from that, into a world of
right and wrong, they are uncomfortable, they don't know how to
function, they don't feel like they know what they're doing anymore or
that they have a right to state their (personal rather than
professional) opinion, no matter how talkative
they are when it comes to finances, city planning, or politics. 
 
There are two ways to employ a can-do attitude in ethics matters. One
is to view ethics matters as little different than other matters, and
to approach the problems they raise in much the same manner. For
example,
talk in terms of risk management. Think strategically
about how to implement your values, recognize the risks you take in
doing so, and
prepare yourself for them by anticipating
and mitigating them. Make scripts of what you want to say (especially
in response to the usual rationalizations of unethical behavior), try
them out on people, and form implementation plans. 
 
The second way to employ a can-do attitude in ethics matters is to
approach them with the same set of skills you bring to other issues. As
with any issue that arises, there are many available approaches to
dealing with ethics issues, and much of the book deals with how to
employ these approaches. 
 
Preparing to Deal with Ethics Issues 
It's important to start out expecting that you will face ethics issues
in your government work, not only your own, but also those of your
colleagues. The goal is to normalize these issues, to recognize them as
part of one's work, as part of one's obligations to the public, rather
than as intrusions or, worse, matters that threaten to derail the
normal business of government. They need not be issues that require
soul-searching. Nor need they be tests of personal loyalty, certainly
no more than any other issue. 
 
Another way to prepare for ethics issues is to define one's
professional goals more broadly, so they include means as
well as ends. That is, goals can be seen not only in terms of the
position or salary one is shooting for, but also in terms of being the
sort of person who is respected for starting discussions about
difficult, but important issues, such as conflicts of interest. No one
looks forward to becoming an enabler of unethical conduct, but if one
doesn't have goals with respect to ethical conduct, that is effectively
what one becomes. 
 
Each of us needs to recognize what it is that motivates us to act. For
example, some people are motivated by big issues, while others feel better
dealing with smaller issues and seeking incremental changes. Some are
motivated by being the lone voice, while more people need to feel part
of a group before they can act. 
 
Talking to Others About Ethics Issues 
Gentile spends a lot of time
talking about how to get support, including advice and allies, because
talking with someone else about an ethics matter is
the single most important factor in acting on one's values. Keeping
ethics issues
inside makes acting on values personal, uncomfortable, even fraught
with fear. 
 
She
feels it is best to create a network in advance, if possible, because
once an issue
arises, things can move quickly. Support is not limited to work
colleagues. People in other organizations can be very helpful, as can
friends and family members one trusts and respects. Experts too can be
helpful, although too often government officials turn to lawyers with
no expertise in government ethics, but a great deal of expertise in
rationalizing their clients' actions. 
 
Giving Others the Benefit of the Doubt 
It's normal to think that, if you raise an ethics issue, others will
find you naive, that
they have no desire to act on their values, or that they don't even see
the issue as ethical. But when you discuss the issue with people, you
usually find that people do want to act on their values, that they
share your fears, and that knowing this makes one less afraid and more
determined to at least continue talking about the issue with people. 
 
It is important to recognize, respect, and appeal to others' capacity
for choice, not to sell them short. Gentile suggests that people
approach their superiors as if they're on the same side, as if they
share
your commitment to integrity, and the importance of values and
reputation to
success. It's also important to approach ethics issues not in an
accusatory fashion, but with questions to get a discussion going. 
 
It is worth considering that those involved in what appears to you to
be unethical conduct rarely think they are doing
anything wrong. They are more likely to see themselves as victims
responding to
attacks (or opportunities) in ways that are justified. When talking
with others, it's also important to consider their stake in the
matter and in the organization, and then to frame one's arguments in
such a way as to show that you are taking into account the listener's
position and reputation. 
 
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/content/giving-voice-values-ii" target="”_blank”">Click for the second part of this two-part blog post</a>. 
 
Robert Wechsler 
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics 
 
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