I don't know .....
I am reading the newest course, Courageous and Ethical Governing Boards, and there is a lot of useful information, if you wanted to really be an ethical governing board.
I remember a story I learned back in grade school about Diogenes, a Greek philosopher who is reputed to have gone around in the day time with a lantern, claiming to be looking for an honest man. He apparently never found one.
In the Introduction to Ethics on American Indian reservations course there is a discussion on "myths of ethical change"and one of them is "There's nothing to it."
Yes, in this boards course there is discussion of the need to be ethical and honest, not using executive sessions because you are too cowardly to hold a public discussion, not using Robert's Rules of Order to keep opinions you don't like from being heard.
Still, I cannot shake the feeling I have that most board problems are ethical ones, not knowledge ones. Yes, we could probably all do with more information on how to set an agenda, run a meeting so it doesn't go on for five hours and fairly evaluate the CEO.
However ... I still wonder if the root of most problems isn't that many board members are not courageous enough to take a stand they know is right if it might mean someone will holler at them in a meeting or not give support in the next election, that too many board members are really in it for personal reasons, not community service. Like John, the Tribal Board Member, their motivation to be on the board is to get jobs for their relatives and get perks like board trips to Hawaii for themselves and that's just what they intend to do. They don't know about policies, procedures and Robert's Rules because they don't want to know as they have no intention of following them.
As someone said to me yesterday,
What really bugged me about that comment is that it came from someone who I thought of as a good, ethical board member. One thing that proves, I guess, is no one is perfect. What we were discussing wasn't any major policy violation, just moving someone else's paperwork to the front of the line and taking care of them first. Still, it showed an attitude I have seen on far too many boards, a feeling that there is nothing wrong with making up whatever rules benefit the board members and totally ignoring those that don't.
Another myth of ethical change discussed in the introductory course is that "nothing can be done" about ethical problems. Erich and I were discussing this yesterday and he agreed that yes, it was completely unreasonable to expect that someone would take a course and immediately become a more ethical person.
BUT ... people do change. We've all seen it happen. So, the courses on courageous and ethical board members, managers, workers and community members are all a beginning, the start to a discussion. After you have had a thought - whether it is that you need to be more honest, drink less or be less judgmental - you can't "un-think" it. That's the beginning of change - recognizing the need for it, thinking about it.
Obviously, I'm doing a lot of the thinking part these days, and maybe, in the end, that will be the big impact this course has on everyone. I sure hope so.
I am reading the newest course, Courageous and Ethical Governing Boards, and there is a lot of useful information, if you wanted to really be an ethical governing board.
I remember a story I learned back in grade school about Diogenes, a Greek philosopher who is reputed to have gone around in the day time with a lantern, claiming to be looking for an honest man. He apparently never found one.
In the Introduction to Ethics on American Indian reservations course there is a discussion on "myths of ethical change"and one of them is "There's nothing to it."
Yes, in this boards course there is discussion of the need to be ethical and honest, not using executive sessions because you are too cowardly to hold a public discussion, not using Robert's Rules of Order to keep opinions you don't like from being heard.
Still, I cannot shake the feeling I have that most board problems are ethical ones, not knowledge ones. Yes, we could probably all do with more information on how to set an agenda, run a meeting so it doesn't go on for five hours and fairly evaluate the CEO.
However ... I still wonder if the root of most problems isn't that many board members are not courageous enough to take a stand they know is right if it might mean someone will holler at them in a meeting or not give support in the next election, that too many board members are really in it for personal reasons, not community service. Like John, the Tribal Board Member, their motivation to be on the board is to get jobs for their relatives and get perks like board trips to Hawaii for themselves and that's just what they intend to do. They don't know about policies, procedures and Robert's Rules because they don't want to know as they have no intention of following them.
As someone said to me yesterday,
"Why would I ask about the rules or how things are being done? If I don't know it's unethical, if nobody can prove I knew about it then they can't do anything to me. Your problem is you want to know too much."
What really bugged me about that comment is that it came from someone who I thought of as a good, ethical board member. One thing that proves, I guess, is no one is perfect. What we were discussing wasn't any major policy violation, just moving someone else's paperwork to the front of the line and taking care of them first. Still, it showed an attitude I have seen on far too many boards, a feeling that there is nothing wrong with making up whatever rules benefit the board members and totally ignoring those that don't.
Another myth of ethical change discussed in the introductory course is that "nothing can be done" about ethical problems. Erich and I were discussing this yesterday and he agreed that yes, it was completely unreasonable to expect that someone would take a course and immediately become a more ethical person.
BUT ... people do change. We've all seen it happen. So, the courses on courageous and ethical board members, managers, workers and community members are all a beginning, the start to a discussion. After you have had a thought - whether it is that you need to be more honest, drink less or be less judgmental - you can't "un-think" it. That's the beginning of change - recognizing the need for it, thinking about it.
Obviously, I'm doing a lot of the thinking part these days, and maybe, in the end, that will be the big impact this course has on everyone. I sure hope so.
