Winter Reading: Switch VI - Mindsets, Free Space, Humor, and Failure
<b>You Can't Teach Ethics</b><br>
In their book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752/" target="”_blank”">Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard</a></i> (Crown, 2010), Chip
and Dan Heath say that there are two kinds of mindset: the fixed
mindset and the growth mindset. Those with a fixed mindset believe that
things and people are the way they are. There are people of
integrity and there are people who are corrupt. Those with a growth mindset
believe that people can change, that "the brain is like a muscle
that can be developed with exercise."<br>
<br>
When government ethics reform becomes an issue, many politicians
respond that you can't teach people to be ethical. They either are
or they aren't. These politicians have a fixed mindset with respect
to ethics.<br>
<br>
Government ethics practitioners have a growth mindset
with respect to ethics. They believe that government ethics can be
taught and that ethics advice can make a huge difference in
preventing ethical misconduct.<br>
<br>
One reason for the huge difference in mindsets is politicians'
misunderstanding of what government ethics is. Another reason is
that when these politicians consider ethics training and advice,
they are thinking primarily of themselves and their lack of need for
it. This comes from their inability to evaluate themselves. But a
lot of the difference is a different view of people and their
potential.<br>
<br>
It's not easy to overcome this obstacle when creating an ethics
program. But if you can get ethics training to be made mandatory, it
is important to show elected officials especially how poor everyone
is at evaluating their own conflict situations. The way they can
grow is not in becoming more ethical, but in understanding this
aspect of human weakness and overcoming it by seeking ethics advice.<br>
<br>
Carol Dweck, the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Success-Carol-Dweck/dp/0345472…; target="”_blank”"><i>Mindset</i></a>
(Random House, 2006), has shown that a growth mindset itself can be
taught. Perhaps ethics training classes (and testimony on ethics
reform) should begin with a short talk on mindsets and the obstacle
a fixed mindset can create to embracing a government ethics program.<br>
<br>
<b>Free Space</b><br>
Toward the end of their book, the Heaths discuss an interesting
concept that can be very important to ethics reform from within. The
concept is "free space." Free space consists of "small-scale
meetings where reformers can gather and ready themselves for
collective action without being observed by members of the dominant
group." Free space allows reformers to develop a language for
talking about the advantages of reform, as well as an "oppositional
identity." That is, it allows individuals to start developing an
alternative culture. A new school to replace the old school.<br>
<br>
In a local government, free space could involve party or other
political meetings of the opposition party. But this involves only
elected officials. It is more difficult for administrators and
employees interested in ethics reform to secretly meet to discuss
the means of reform. If an agency head feels that her employees are
sympathetic, reform may be discussed at regular meetings. Otherwise,
special meetings, outside of working hours, will most likely be
required.<br>
<br>
This asks a lot of people interested in reform. It is, therefore,
unlikely to happen. As it turns out, reform from within is rare,
unless there has been a scandal, and then the reform usually comes
from the mayor, the local legislative body, or the city or county
attorney's office. Occasionally, a city or county manager is a
leader on ethics reform, but rarely does reform originate from within a
department, agency, or board.<br>
<br>
<b>Humor</b><br>
When people find it uncomfortable to discuss a topic (such as
government ethics), it helps to reframe the topic: it's about
being professional, not good. But reframing doesn't necessarily mean
that people will listen.<br>
<br>
In such circumstances, humor can be a good approach. If people start
laughing at an oaf who hands out a contract to a brother-in-law
lawyer, a job to his slob of a brother, and a grant to an aunt, and
starts defending each of his decisions, digging himself deeper and
deeper into a hole, like a dumb puppy, people are more likely to think and talk about
nepotism.<br>
<br>
Humor makes it more likely that colleagues and subordinates will not
be afraid to talk openly about conflict situations and report those
who deal with them irresponsibly. Some government ethics training
programs do have some humor in them. It is a good approach in an
environment that is not responding well to other methods.<br>
<br>
But what about ethics reform? Can humor help in selling it? I
haven't seen it happen. When there is humor, it's usually the nasty
attacks of bloggers, which isn't funny to the officials in charge.
Fun could be poked at old fuddy-duddies who aren't keeping up with
the times, at ostriches with their heads in the sand. One could
wonder out loud whether those who can't put together something as
straightforward as a government ethics program can possibly craft a
budget.<br>
<br>
The one thing to keep away from is joking about corruption.
Effective ethics reform should not be presented as a way to deal
with corrupt officials, because it is officials who need to be
convinced. If they're called corrupt, they will only do what they
feel is necessary to stop that talk. They won't create an effective
government ethics program, because they will fear that it will be
used against them. They have to be convinced that it will be good
for them as well as for the community.<br>
<br>
<b>The Expectation of Failure</b><br>
Although ethics reformers have to stress the success of a government
ethics program, this success is long-term. In the short term, an
ethics program will have failures. Until training gets going, until
people start seeking advice, until it becomes a habit to file
disclosure statements on time and withdraw from participation due to
a conflict, until the ethics commission learns the ropes and gets
the kinks out of the system, and until political parties and
gadflies, reporters and bloggers, get over the excitement of filing
ethics complaints, there will be more rather than fewer scandals.<br>
<br>
The Heaths stress how important it is to create an expectation of
short-term failure, "not the failure of the mission itself, but
failure en route." Failure needs to be reframed as a natural part of
the change process, so that failure does not undermine the
acceptance of a government ethics program.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.cityethics.org/search/node/switch%20heaths">Click here to read the other six blog posts on <i>Switch.</i></a><br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
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