WHEN a leader chooses courses of action steeped in integrity whether in good times or especially in bad, everyone toes the line. Everyone stays the course.
Good governance, ethics, truth telling, integrity are aspirations and standards not only for individual professionals but most especially for organizations.
So much has been said and written about it. Codes of conduct et al are documents that organizations and associations today have.
In the public relations classes that I have taught, good governance, integrity, principles were part of the syllabus. Too idealistic, most would say. Aspirational but unrealistic, some wizened and seasoned professionals would say. It was good to know but one had to find ways to survive in the real world, they would say.
I was privileged to see that it can live on and be an intrinsic part of daily corporate operations especially when the going got tough. It takes the grit and commitment of a leader to stay the course even in times when doing the easier thing may have been the natural and the street smartest choice.
A role model CEO
Our CEO in a Top Management (“ManCom”) team I was part of, is one person I will not forget for these reasons:
- Never compromise your principles. In the interview to head country communications for a top manufacturing company with nationwide presence, the CEO who already struck me as smart, down-to-earth and approachable, asked me if I had any questions about the role and job. It was one of my irreverent moments and I asked him directly if in the course of my responsibilities, I would have to do anything I termed “untoward,” something I said I had never done and will never do in all my years in the profession.
After posing the question, I braced myself for the “thank you very much for coming for the interview but you are not realistic” type of reply. Instead, I was impressed with his answer. Without literally and figuratively blinking nor looking away, he immediately replied, “That is not the way we do business.” And I knew right there and then, I would gladly serve in the company, one whose product and service was of national impact and progress, that will not ask me at all, even in times of duress, to compromise principles.
- Lead by example and follow the rules. In the days that followed, I continued to see how consistently ethical the CEO was and how he took his role seriously. During one ManCom meeting, he called the attention of one vice president, asking why he did not have his ID on. We all realized that without fail, our CEO came to the office and visited our different technical sites, sporting his official company ID. He didn’t have to, everybody knew him, but he said that since it was a safety and security rule, he, as the leader, had to be the first to follow, and that we, as ManCom members, had to lead by example, too.
- Comply with requirements. Since integrity was taken seriously at the company, everyone in the whole organization had to undergo, each year, the required in-person and online training in anti-bribery, anti-corruption and fair competition, declare any conflict of interest, and abide by competition tenets.
Noncompliance (or forgetting to comply even if it was due to workload) meant a memorandum with a corresponding suspension for a set number of days. I remember the CEO reminding us all to comply and asked his secretary to block off his schedule so he could go through the online training. He completed and actively participated in the annual in-person SEC-required session for the board directors and the management team, again blocking off his schedule for that.
- Uphold the rule of law. In many meetings and circumstances, when it would have been easier to go the faster route by skirting some rules and acquiescing to external pressure to bring in quick results or gains, he would always say, “that is not the way we do business.” And if it would be mentioned that that meant a delay in some way, he would firmly say, if that is the rule, so be it. Principles first. He would encourage the leader to explore other ways such as a dialogue with the external parties concerned to explain diplomatically why we would not go by the easier way and to find other courses of action compliant with our parameters to operate.
Corporate financial impact
With a leader like that, how can one not comply?
Did this commitment to principles and integrity hold the company back? Was it even able to reach its targets?
Counter intuitively, with the CEO as its proponent, the publicly listed company, a market leader, was at its peak. It had positive results in all its financial indicators, share prices stable and even growing, and was ranked as a top performing company in the global list. It was also recognized in the industry for its governance and integrity policies that were intrinsic to its operations. Morale was high, as shown in annual employee surveys and the CEO’s credibility and trust was high. Employees knew that he would honestly tell them the real score.
Quarterly, we in Top Management went around the different sites and had frank dialogues with employees, describing the environment the company was operating in, baring the quarterly ups and downs of performance and financials at each site, taking tough questions, and showing how the company was doing in terms of achieving corporate targets. Everyone was brought in as part of the solution.
I recall a trying time when mid-year, we were nowhere near the targets. The CEO rallied the teams and by reckoning time, the targets had not only been met but surpassed. We had pulled through together by committed team effort and open communication within the parameters of principled operations.
Next-generation leaders: PR students speak up
I WOULD cite real moments like these to my public relations students to bring home the point that integrity matters, builds esprit de corps, and brings home the bacon. And that, while it may seem unrealistic, it can be done, and it works.
And here are what my university students wrote in the final exams to the question on what five major insights/learning from the PR course will be helpful in their future practice of the profession:
- Benefit society & future generations. “PR practitioners should always carry with them the values of honesty and integrity. PR is not just about building a good reputation but also about maintaining strong relationships and helping contribute to society. PR should involve communication that will benefit not only the organization but also the society and future generations [sustainability].”
- Truth telling is an obligation. “I have an obligation to tell the truth with integrity while purposeful communication…allows the intention of such a message to become clearer so that it may be delivered well.”
- Stronger after crisis. “Dealing with crises will make me stronger and more resilient as a PR practitioner…[with] my crisis plan and crisis team…”
- Firm values define me as a person. “When I get into the real world, I won’t be expecting that everything will be aligned with my values…I understand that there would be instances wherein my values would be tested, and these are the times when I should hold on to them more tightly. I have learned that my personal values must stand firm and unwavering because they define me as a person.”
That augurs well for us in the PR profession. I would tell students, jaded or disappointed with wayward ways, that it is one thing to know that these realities exist (and that they must know these realities and not be naive), and it is another to practice and add to them.
And if they want a change, when it is their turn to lead, to make major decisions that spell a company’s viability and people’s jobs, approve budgets for corporate or institutional programs, make choices and build networks, they can, if they choose to be, be principled.
I will always be proud of my students and what they will become. May the principled course be always with them. May they be leaders of the next generation, that stay the course.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of Ipra Philippines, the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association, the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Ritzi Villarico-Ronquillo, APR, IABC Fellow is a Consultant, Coach and Speaker on Business Communication and Strategic Public Relations with 41 years of experience in leading internal and external communication and PR in corporate, communities, academia and associations.