Maybe I am just too old. I remember when a handshake was more binding
that a signature; when my word was worth more than gold.
Perhaps I was too gullible but I generally believed
what a news anchor was reporting.
When I looked you in the eye I expected an honest
answer to a direct question.
Today we have ‘alternate facts’ or someone
‘mis-remembered’ the details of an incident. When caught in a lie, culprits
simply invoke the phrase ‘…I made a mistake…’ when it really should be ‘…I got
caught…’
Now lies are not new. But when those in whom we have entrusted
power lie as a natural function of their normal behaviour, authentic leaders
must stand up and demand accountability.
To be certain, this takes courage and it involves risk.
But to tolerate the intolerable involves a greater
risk!
Society today is behaving like the frog in the pot
of water that is heating up. Initially
the frog does nothing to escape. Only
when it is too late does the frog want out of the water. But by then it is cooked.
The behaviour we are witnessing today amongst key
elected representatives around the world fails to meet the ethical and moral
tests of character. And increasingly it
fails to meet the legal standard as well.
We are better than this. Women and men have gone to war and died for
the freedoms we enjoy and these freedoms are being trampled by the few who are
quick to blame others for their circumstances while failing to first look into
the mirror.
Now, before the water boils, leaders in all walks of
life MUST STAND UP FOR TRUTH. They must
put right above wrong; they must stand for dignity and integrity; they must be
loyal to something, not someone.
How well are the principles of your company
communicated across your network? Do
your employees know where they stand because they know where you stand? Do your clients know what they can depend
upon because they know that you are dependable?
Do your suppliers appreciate the integrity of your company and therefore
reciprocate in kind?
Let us not get so far down the lane that when we
stop to ask for directions we wonder how we ever got here in the first
place. The truth has always been this
‘…evil triumphs when good people do nothing…’
Not all who read this are leaders. That does not absolve you from action. Speak truth to the liars. Demand integrity. Demand honesty.
Demand better.
The sooner that we all get started on this road, the sooner we reverse a
trend that leads only to disaster.
