Category: Leadership and Ethics (page 1 of 1)

Address to Onehunga Rotary Club

Remembering Corporate Purpose  The most important role a leader plays is to help a company, organisation or profession remember its primary purpose.

• A school or university provides education for students
• A company delivers a product or service of value to its clients
• A doctor or hospital seeks to enhance the health of patients
• A government provides infrastructure, and facilitates the well-being of citizens
• An accountant exercises stewardship of resources
• A church provides pastoral and spiritual resources for its members and the community.

Diversions from Purpose  In any organisation two things divert us from purpose :

1. Preoccupation with the frenetic pressure of daily workplace demands. We enjoy the familiar saying :“It’s hard to remember you’ve come to drain the swamp when you’re up to your *rse in alligators”. Stephen Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) points out that short-term, urgent demands usually take precedence over longer-term directions : we may be ticking off daily tasks but oblivious to the fact we are drifting off course. Corporate failure may be the result of corruption by a few, but more often stems from the loss of awareness of overall purpose.
2. Preoccupation with fiscal bottom-line objectives. In a seminar I ran once for board members and senior executives of a large metropolitan hospital there was a long debate as to whether their ultimate goal was to achieve a balanced annual budget, or to seek to meet the health needs of the people of their region. The two are not mutually exclusive, but the first is an operational objective, the second to do with the overall purpose of their existence. When operational goals displace overall purposes, we lose our way. The task of a leader is to hold the purpose of the organisation always before us.

Why be Ethical? The philosophical answer to this question takes as its starting point what we believe about people and society. Margaret Thatcher once said that there is no such thing as society – only individuals and families. According to this approach we each get on and do our own thing, whether as individuals, families or companies, and let others get on with theirs. There are a few basic road rules to prevent major foul-ups, but for the most part we each look after our own interests.

Another approach affirms the importance of individual endeavour and responsibility but recognises that we are also part of a wider community. Accordingly we conduct our affairs in a way that recognises the need to consider the wellbeing of others  who can be adversely affected by our actions, just as we can by theirs. “They” are part of “us”, and at the end of the day our fortunes are bound together. We need their active goodwill to prosper, just as they need ours.

A common response to the latter view is that while obviously a broader perspective of purpose is desirable, yet is it possible without consigning one’s company to financial disaster? Is fiscal responsibility compatible with broader social and environmental purposes? Research indicates that corporations that follow socially responsible objectives perform at least as well as those that do not. (In the USA over 12 years the S&P 500 achieved growth of 10.1% pa, the Domini Social Equity Fund 9.8%. In Australia over two years the Sustainable Future Share Fund achieved 10.92% growth, compared with 6.1% for the ASX 200).

Triple Bottom Line  It is a growing trend today for companies to move to the Triple Bottom Line approach, also known as Sustainable Growth, whereby goals are set each year to achieve financial, social and environmental outcomes. The annual report is based not only on a financial audit, but on social and environmental audits as well.

A Leader or a Manager?  It has been said that today we train and employ managers rather than leaders. The authentic leader is more than a competent manager. The authentic leader is one who has an eye to the broader social and moral purpose of an organisation, and works to build an organisation that reflects that purpose.

In his book The Great Economic Debate, J Philip Wogaman writes : (We can) help to keep the focus upon the deeper human value questions and to promote the consciousness that what is at stake in economic questions is the well-being and community relationships of the whole human family, each of whose members is a person of incalculable worth.

Leadership Style Over the years I have observed many styles of leadership in different settings. There are those who feel that leadership is about giving instructions for people to follow, or see it as an avenue for achieving their own preferred projects or objectives. They see communication and consultation as an exercise in persuading the led to follow the leader’s predetermined view. They may often feel that now they are the boss they have the right to make unilateral decisions and expect that they will be followed.

The disastrous consequences of such an approach are immense. I worked in one large organisation where the leader was a person of great kindness and integrity, yet there was unhappiness at every level because of the lack of consultation with staff. The staff were experts in the operation of their own departments, and could see opportunities which would lead to improved performance. The lack of consultation on such matters not only led to reduced outputs, but was also the cause of low staff morale and job satisfaction.

Some years ago we stuck on our fridge door at home a poster which read “none of us is as smart as all of us”. It conveys the obvious truth that the collective sum of the wisdom and experience of a group of people far exceeds that of the leader, no matter how wise that leader that may be. True wisdom in leadership involves drawing on the reservoir of wisdom in the team one is called upon to lead.

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Auckland Unitec graduation:: who will you be in 2040?

Thank you for the invitation to address you this evening at this graduation ceremony. Before I congratulate the graduates, let me first congratulate Unitec itself for the fine vision you have of your purpose and objectives. Reading a recent Unitec report I noted in particular :

• your mission statement to inspire people to discover and apply their intellectual and creative potential and contribute responsibly to their societies and cultures
• your commitment to sustainable development and the development of an eco-campus
• your commitment to partnership under the Treaty of Waitangi
• but at the same time a commitment to a multi-cultural student body, so evident this evening.

An educational institution which is based on robust principles such as these, and with a clear purpose to be of service to the wider community, models the best of aspirations.

Then let me congratulate those of you whom we have come to honour tonight in this proud moment of graduation. Your presence here is an indication that you have applied yourself creatively and energetically in your studies, studies which have not merely been academic, but have had a significant component of what is described as Real World Learning. Your studies have been undertaken with hands-on experience in the fields of endeavour where you will be working. Lectures and papers have been complemented by practical experience and application.

This is the third Unitec graduation event today. The earlier ceremonies were for graduates in fields such as business, IT, landscape architecture and building. This graduation is for you who will be engaged in front-line people-centred work such as education, health, social work and counselling, environment and voluntary organisations. While it is true that all jobs are done best when people-centred outcomes are in mind, yet the fields you have chosen to work in have some distinctive characteristics :

• they will have no doubt attracted you because you have a natural sense of empathy with people, along with compassion and a care for the well-being of others
• they are fields where you will encounter a number of people we might describe as difficult, or a challenge, and there is always a temptation to avoid such people so that they become marginalised
• yet people of that nature are usually so because they have already been rejected and marginalised by others in their life to date : yours is the challenge to be there for them, however difficult that might be, so their lives may change for the good. There can be nothing more satisfying than helping another person to greater fulfilment in living.

I want to ask you now to look ahead and imagine it is the year 2040. That’s the year I would turn 100 if I live to see it, but for many of you today it will see you in a state of mature experience in your chosen life and profession. Ask yourself how you might judge your achievements in your life and work. One traditional marker of success would be that you have made a lot of money, but I imagine you know (as I did) that you are not choosing your job because it is well paid. Many people get far more money for doing jobs that contribute very little to social well-being, or even impact upon it negatively. Or you might measure your life by having carved out a brilliant career and become a powerful and influential leader. Good leadership is an important ingredient in society, and a desirable thing when exercised creatively.

But the ultimate measure is what good you have done in terms of making a difference in other people’s lives. Through your work in education, health care, social work and voluntary organisations, have you helped people find confidence and hope, develop their talents, and become fulfilled so that they in turn go out and make a difference for others?

Media stories bombard us with accounts of society’s wrong-doers such as drug-dealers, dangerous drivers, swindlers and thieves, rapists and murderers. They create tragedy and distress enough, but a greater wrong occurs when ordinary law-abiding citizens forget their primary objective, as in the Unitec mission statement, to contribute responsibly to their societies. We forget this objective when we become preoccupied with our own personal prosperity and advancement. Institutions lose their way when they are dominated by financial goals, and lose sight of such ultimate objectives as providing education, health, or justice in the interests of all.

Sin is not a fashionable concept today, but it is linked to an interesting Greek word amartia. Amartia is an archery term meaning to miss the mark, shooting wide or falling short of the target. It is easy for a society to fail to achieve its full potential not because a minority sets out to do what is wrong, but because the majority lose sight of the larger targets to be aimed for. The sins of omission can be greater than the sins of commission.

A contrasting word, also a little out of fashion, is vocation. Vocation is not exclusively an ecclesiastical term but has universal application. Vocation is to do with the spirit in which any job is undertaken. If a job is done purely for what one will get out of it, the ultimate objective is lost, the target is missed. But if a job is done with a greater purpose in mind, such as working for the well-being of the community, it may be seen as a vocation.

So if in 2040 you can look back and say you have you have taken a vocational approach to your work, with a commitment always to the well-being of others, then I predict you will view your life with a great sense of fulfilment and satisfaction in what you have achieved.

Let me conclude by offering you six qualities to aspire to as you set out on your journey :

1. Integrity – which means being honest and fair in all you do, but at a deeper level being true to your own best self, your values and beliefs
2. Compassion – so that you have sensitivity to others, and a care to do the things that will be best for them
3. Leadership – which is a quality that may be displayed at all levels of an organisation. It is seen in anyone who has an eye to what is right, and speaks and works for it
4. Courage –  to do the thing that is right even if it costs you something in the process
5. Kaitiakitanga – guardianship of the earth, the seas and the land, the rivers, the mountains and the forests, and all that lives so that this planet will be a treasure and a source of life for all generations
6. Taha Wairua – the things of the spirit, whether our spirituality be expressed in religious or non-religious categories. Spirituality is what gives us a sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves, so that we see all people and the Earth itself as whanau/family, and we live mutually rather than exploitatively.

No reira, kia tau te rangimarie o te Atua kia kotou : congratulations on reaching this milestone in your life, and may the peace and blessing of God be with you in the years that lie ahead.

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UNIVERSITIES’ PRIMARY ROLE TO SERVE SOCIETY

An organisation’s core objectives can often be lost sight of by the pursuit of lesser objectives or the pressure of day-to-day demands. The following address was given at the Commencement Service at the University of Auckland on 23 February 2005.

The University of Auckland’s mission statement outlines three sets of goals. There are operational goals such as ethical standards, equal opportunity and transparent administrative policies. These indicate how the university goes about its work, and are important to ensure effectiveness and right conduct in its life.

The university’s core business is spelled out in its academic goals. Listed here are advancement and dissemination of knowledge, fostering research and creativity, excellence in teaching and learning. The record is that the University of Auckland achieves highly in these areas.

Alongside operational and academic objectives are some more far-reaching goals which indicate the purpose of academic research and excellence. These are the university’s ultimate goals which enshrine a commitment to serve the community, and to advance the “intellectual, cultural, environmental, economic and social well-being of the peoples of Auckland and New Zealand”.

The latter is an all-encompassing goal which may be easily forgotten in the pursuit of lesser objectives. Several years ago I attended our daughter’s graduation at another university. The graduation address was given by the vice-chancellor. The occasion was a prime opportunity to inspire and encourage new graduates with a vision of how they might use their gifts and training in the service of those who would call upon them.

Turning aside from such an opportunity, the vice-chancellor instead fished in his pocket and produced a plastic credit card which he promoted as part of the university’s new money-raising strategy, urging all present to switch to this card and thus support their alma mater.

Financial pressures on universities have been heavy these last 20 years, and vice-chancellors have had to use every ounce of energy and wit in wrestling with them. But finance is only a means to an end. It is an operational goal, not an ultimate one. At a graduation ceremony the vice-chancellor’s error, in my view, was to mistake the nature of the occasion by addressing a lesser goal rather than the greater.

This I believe to be indicative of one of the gravest omissions in society today, and the institutions that shape them. Media stories bombard us with accounts of society’s wrong-doers such as drug-dealers, dangerous drivers, swindlers and thieves, rapists and murderers. They create tragedy and distress enough, but a greater wrong occurs when ordinary law-abiding citizens forget their primary objective to contribute to what the university mission statement names as the well-being of peoples.

Individuals forget this objective when they become preoccupied with their own personal prosperity and advancement. Institutions lose their way when they are dominated by operational goals, and lose sight of such ultimate objectives as providing education, health, or justice in the interests of all.

Sin is not a fashionable concept today, but it is linked to an interesting Greek word amartia. Amartia is an archery term meaning to miss the mark, shooting wide or falling short of the target. It is easy for a society to fail to achieve its full potential not because a minority sets out to do what is wrong, but because the majority loses sight of the larger targets to be aimed for. The sins of omission can be greater than the sins of commission.

A contrasting word, also a little out of fashion, is vocation. Vocation is not exclusively an ecclesiastical term but has universal application. Vocation is to do with the spirit in which any job is undertaken. If a job is done purely for what we will get out of it, the ultimate objective is lost, the target is missed. But if a job is done with a greater purpose in mind, such as working for the well-being of the community, it may be seen as a vocation.

Both individuals and institutions have vocations. This university has spelt out its vocation in terms of seeking to enrich the life of the peoples of Auckland. Should this goal drop from view and become overlaid by lesser goals, the ultimate objective is not achieved. Fiscal health is essential, academic excellence a desirable outcome, but the end which these achievements serve is all important.

The same perception and choice faces every graduate and each one of us in the way we direct our endeavours. Do we have wider community outcomes in view in what we do? Do we simply ply our craft, or are we thinking vocationally? The CEO of a hospital board told me recently that he detects a lessening of vocational attitude in young doctors who graduate with huge student loans. The burden of debt, accompanied by a strong user-pays ethos, is producing a climate, he senses, where fiscal preoccupations impinge upon a mindset of service.

This is not a criticism of people in the medical profession, many of whom work tirelessly and sacrificially in dealing with their patients. It is rather an example of something that can happen in any walk of life when the well-being of the community is lost sight of. The erosion of attitudes of public service may well be one of the intangible costs of the economic restructuring of recent years.

While every profession has the opportunity to contribute positively to the lives of its clients, there are also situations which require a collective endeavour. Crime, for example, cannot be solved simply by the police. Policy-makers, social workers, families, educationalists and community leaders need to work together to solve a problem which is multi-faceted. Addressing the roots of social and economic deprivation requires a similar mix of expertise and commitment.

Universities are well placed to play a lead in this collective function, drawing together the many skills represented by different faculties. But a community component is also needed. People in business and the professions, civic and community leaders, need a forum where issues with wide-ranging impact are debated and strategies devised. In this way the wisdom dispersed across the community may be focussed for the common good.

I commend the University for the far-sighted nature of its goals, and encourage you in the pursuit of them. They are very much in line with two scriptural readings. In Matthew, chapter 20, Jesus tells his disciples that “the one who would be great amongst you must be the servant of all”. And in Micah, chapter 6, we hear the timeless words of the prophet: “What does the Lord require of you but that you do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?”

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Address at the Annual Church Service of the Auckland District Law Society  Maclaurin Chapel, University of Auckland, 2 Feb 2005

In his book The Lexus & the Olive Tree, Thomas Friedman names two symbols of life in the 21^st century. The Lexus (motor-car) indicates global aspirations for consumer icons known the world over. The olive tree symbolises our local roots in our own place, in our own culture, and among our people. It gives us identity as we engage in a new world which can destroy identity.

The inter-play of global and local is symptomatic of our age, and the cause of conflict if we do not get it right. We see it right here in Auckland, which in the 1950s was largely pakeha and based on western-style Christian. Today, with successive migrations of Maori, Pacific Islanders and Asians to Auckland, we are multi-cultural and multi-faith.

In 1950, in the absence of other cultures, it was easy to imagine that pakeha culture was the norm, and that naturally our race, our culture and our faith were pre-eminent. Today such attitudes lead to tensions which can explode, as we have seen in debates about the Treaty of Waitangi, the desecration of Jewish graves in Wellington, hate mail against Muslims after the events of 9/11, and the rise of fascist-type groups. On the world scene larger conflicts play out as cultures clash, backed by military and economic muscle.

In December last year I attended a government-sponsored Inter-faith Dialogue in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It was attended by 125 delegates from thirteen Asian and Pacific nations representing ten different faiths. Governments of the region promoted the event as part of an effort to address issues of peace and security in the region. They see religious leaders as representing large sections of any nation’s population, and want to assist them to be pro-active in building bridges in the community across divisions of creed and culture.

The conference expressed clearly its conviction that there was but one God (as St Paul said to the Athenians in Acts 17.24). And because there was but one God, so too there is but one global family on earth, as has been poignantly made clear to us by the many images of people in Asia affected by the recent tsunami. The conference agreed that no religion can properly be claimed as the basis for terrorist activity, but that all religions share in common convictions such as those expressed in Micah 6.8 : “What does God require of you but that you act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”.

It is idle to pretend there are not significant differences between religions : the differences may cause conflict, but they are often used as a platform for far greater differences in culture, politics, economics. To achieve unity globally in the face of diversity, the conference suggested :

• A national statement on inclusiveness, such as exists in Indonesia and Singapore, which affirms every culture and creed, no matter how small, as an equal and valued part of society. This nurtures everybody’s olive tree, and helps to ensure that minorities do not feel excluded and turn to extremist strategies.
• Education in schools and communities on different cultures and religions. Instead of suppressing the religious dimension of Christmas, as some propose, we promote awareness of major festivals of all religions.
• We need to work on our attitudes to people who are different from us. As the late bishop John Robinson said : we can live with diversity while preserving our own identities if we have a faith which has a “firm centre but open edges”.
• Commitments and choices : all of us have choices as to whether we are agents of division or agents of building community. Leaders who start picking at other groups foment division, and the community reaps the whirlwind. By contrast those who steadily and patiently build bridges shape a future where everyone has a place, and communities unite in common endeavour.

In a new age the interplay between unity and diversity, the Lexus and the Olive Tree, is a pervading characteristic. The choice is ours, whether to build or divide. The words of Micah have great pertinence : “What does the Lord require of you but that you do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”.