Color me Jaded...

This morning (November 9, 2015) we have reports of systematic cheating on the part of Russia related to its track and field teams.  In a devastatingly critical report, a World Anti-Doping Agency panel accused the Russian government on Monday of complicity in widespread doping and cover ups by its track and field athletes and said they should all be banned from competition — possibly even next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — until the country cleans up its act.

To some degree this is earth-shattering news.  Even more so if, in fact, the relevant worldwide bodies in charge of athletics actually move to banish Russia from international competition for the foreseeable future.  For most of us, however, I have to believe that we are less naive than that particularly given the historically "robust" nature of some Eastern bloc competitors over the years and our own history of fallen idols in amateur and professional sports in the last number of decades.  Ben Johnson going from Canadian hero to goat within a matter of hours.  Lance Armstrong moving from iconic athlete to obfuscation with Oprah to being stripped of his accolades and awards.  And the list of professional athletes being suspended by their leagues for use of performance enhancing drugs is nigh on endless.  On a larger administrative scale we have the ongoing scandal with FIFA and the awarding of their events.

So color me jaded...Sports of almost any nature other than the efforts of my 5-year old on the soccer pitch have increasingly left me cold and skeptical.

But what does this have to do with business or leadership?  Well in many respects - or in all respects - sports has become a business like any other.  And as a result, we have seen, like any other business, that the ends justify the means.  For far too many athletes and business leaders success can be justified and must be justified at any cost.  As in sports and as in business the key has been in just not getting caught in the impropriety that we assume or know that all of our other competitors are engaged in.  For a current business example look no farther than the current crisis engulfing Volkswagen which has not only had dramatic consequences for the company, its executives and its shareholders but is sending ripples of doubt and despair over the automotive industry and German brand value as a whole.  This, of course, follows on other large scale leadership failures like Enron and Lehman Brothers in the past decade. 

Locally, the provincial government of Alberta has recently initiated new steps to promote transparency and integrity in compensation to those who receive payments from the pubic purse. The proposed legislation extends disclosure to 157 boards, agencies and commissions under the Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act, including Alberta Health Services, Travel Alberta and all post-secondary institutions.  Compensation paid to board members of these bodies will be disclosed, regardless of the amount.  Employees of these agencies, boards and commissions including Covenant Health, AHS and all post-secondary institutions are included, if they make more than $125,000 a year.  Again, like legislation, rules and regulations instituted after Enron, Lehman Brothers, Ben Johnson, or Lance Armstrong, this provincial effort comes as a result of transgressions of past leaders...for which all taxpayers will now foot the bill for extended rules, regulations and reporting.

Yet for all the effort everyone puts in to legislating a higher level of ethics and integrity in sports, business and the public sector we continue to have scandals like Russian track and field, Volkswagen, and public sector perks that defy reality.  Why?  At one level it is clear that the perceived or actual rewards of dishonest or unethical behavior still outweigh the potential and penalties of being caught.  There is also a perspective that holds that "everyone is doing it" so it would be naive and idiotic to not try to compete by any means necessary to stay in the race.  Finally, it is also clear that some business leaders, athletes and public sector leaders still perceive themselves as too smart or clever to be caught.  To some extent history bears them out.  Like an arms race, the escalation in tactics of trying to create a level playing field seem to be in constant catch-up mode to those who would seek a competitive advantage.

The moral of this story for me is that you can't legislate ethical behavior.  And as with the implications of the Russian doping scandal, it is clear that no individual athlete - or leader - circumvents a system of expectation and legality without help.  The mentality that got us systematic cheating on the scale implied in Russia, with FIFA, and Enron also explains how public sector leaders have - and will continue to - circumvent rules designed to promote transparency in compensation.

Until such time as we hold ourselves to a collective level of responsibility and are prepared to and act in the best interests of shareholders - public or private - I can guarantee you brand new, shocking stories of impropriety next year.  
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Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.