Graphic: https://svgsilh.com/image/1753098.html
Two things are clear to me – 1) there has been a collective awakening (especially among white people) about massive structural racism and police misconduct, so evident in the wake of senseless, videotaped police murders and racist incidents; and 2) I’ve been inadvertently ignorant of the extent of my white privilege.
The lack of application of humanity and morality is obvious in how George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others have been treated, especially when we realize how often cameras were not present as evidence.
For most of us, what is less obvious is how to uphold values in the workplace, especially when standards are lower or nonexistent. Those new or newish to the workplace can be molded in a profound way by what they observe as acceptable behaviors or procedures at this impressionable stage. They are looking at their leaders and colleagues to learn how to operate in all aspects of their jobs. This is where paying it forward is extremely important and valuable for those in later stages of their career. Experienced folks must take the time to reinforce that high ethical standards are expected regardless of circumstances.
Beware the suck up!
I was lucky in this respect. I came into government as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF). At that time, PMF billets were paid out of a central funding pot, and not the office we were assigned to. So while we reported to and learned from our managers, we were not as beholden to our management structure for blind obedience. Our PMF program leaders made it clear that we took an oath to the Constitution and US taxpayers, not to any individual manager or senior leader.
This was reinforced a bit later when one of my early bosses, who was in a very visible and influential position, went out of his way to caution me never to lie or do anything illegal in the service of anyone in government. We worked on climate change policy, and his admonishment was to never cook the books — or in our case, alter economic modeling results — to bolster a particular political position. While this should seem obvious, there are a lot of blurred lines that can be hard to navigate as we try to please our management chain.
This message about upholding high ethical standards was so powerful to me as a young, ambitious and eager to please civil servant. It was just one example of extremely valuable and serviceable advice that helped me develop my own list of best practices. Being aware of my list gave me courage to go against the tide when I observed questionable practices. Over the years, I became very attuned to watching what my superiors did and how effective or ineffective they were in various settings or policy debates. As much as possible, I passed on my lessons learned, including this ethics lesson, just as others did for me.
In the years before I retired, there were several instances where political appointees took puzzling actions – appearing to serve more the special interests of those they knew or hoped to work for in their post-government careers than the national interest. This happened in both Republican and Democratic administrations. While I was not in a position to change the actions, I found it necessary to point out these transgressions to newer employees – to impress on them that these actions should not be normalized and to point out why.
My experience is that career government employees tend to have higher ethical standards, and are held to them, than political appointees, who need to constantly justify their jobs to their political masters. This has been very evident in the current Administration. I was extremely proud of the many career folks who testified in Trump’s impeachment proceedings – they really demonstrated the guts, earnestness and ethical standards of career officials that I saw daily.
“It takes a lifetime to build integrity and a moment to lose it” [not sure who said this but I like it]
I relay these stories to convey the importance of always abiding by human, moral values, even when it’s really tough and expedient to just go along. Although some may disparage this as corny and overly politically correct, I’ve always embraced the responsibility of government service and passed this on to younger folks. I note that the attractiveness of working in government has waned significantly, in many years disparaged by those outside of government (and in some cases political appointees in government) who gauged respectability and prestige by how much one takes home in salary/bonuses. It was at these times that I found myself looking within to see why I stayed. In every case, I realized how lucky I was to work for American taxpayers and not quarterly profits.
Paying Attention
These examples from my career point to the importance of paying attention – to what works and what doesn’t. While I was especially attentive to instances of implicit bias against women for self-serving reasons, I realize now that I paid less attention to the dearth of people of color or their experiences in my offices. I never consciously witnessed racist attitudes, but perhaps I or others exhibited racial bias in some way. I wish I had done better.
There are a number of reasons why being attentive is key to one’s success. It’s critical to pay attention to what works and doesn’t work in how a manager communicates and listens; makes decisions; manages budget, deliverables and their time; treats employees, etc. This helps us develop our own list of best practices. I would add that, more than ever, we have to keep our eyes open for implicit bias of all types – by ourselves or others. Speaking up and confronting transgressions, even when it’s difficult, is what really determines one’s integrity. My examples are from government, but are applicable in every work setting.
With such high unemployment, many will be especially thankful to get hired or change jobs as we emerge from the shattered covid economy. It might be easy to turn a blind eye to suspicious actions, particularly given how grateful we might feel to get out of a desperate situation. I hope that this blog, however sappy it appears now, will remain etched in your brain, especially if navigating a tricky situation. As referred to above, “it takes a lifetime to build integrity and a moment to lose it.”
Simple steps that help improve your success and that of your work environment:
- Keep your eyes and ears open to what works and what doesn’t, and write it down or make mental notes
- Discuss with others what you observe – to test its legitimacy or wrongdoing (not to gossip)
- Speak up, especially for those in a less powerful position
- Pay it forward – use the principled lessons you’ve learned to teach those new or newish to the organization
- Apply best practices when you’re in a leadership position
- Remember – those with guts, integrity and initiative are most remembered.
Recommended media:
Nice article about positive habits we should continue after the pandemic
Brene Brown’s conversation with Professor Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Anti-Racist
Informative podcast about James Baldwin (1924-1987), a sometimes controversial ,often revered and widely quoted leading thinker, essayist and novelist about civil rights, systematic racism and gay rights. He is in the news now, even though he’s been long gone, for his efforts to get the white community to understand the black American experience.
Wow. Linda! What a great post. It really got me thinking about my time spent on construction sites for ten years in the 2000s as the only woman and, quite often, the only white person amongst the workers. The supervisors were almost always older, white men, of course. I saw how those workers were treated by bad supervisors and by good supervisors. I turned a blind eye to the bad supervisors on most occasions, simply because I felt that I should “fly under the radar” and not draw attention to myself. I was lucky to have proved myself in that industry—enough to be awarded fairly good-sized contracts. The last thing I needed was to point out that I was female and an illegal-immigrant sympathizer, so to speak. I, too, wish I’d done better. The stories I could tell you about how those Hispanic men (and a few women) were treated on the job site. It was often terrible. And then, I met a contractor who treated his workers like family. That was a real game-changer for me. I gravitated to working with him as often as I could, if for no other reason than that he treated me like an equal too! (Are comments on your blog post supposed to be this long? My apologies if not.)
I remember bringing a cooler full of popsicles to a scorching hot job site one time. As I walked up, about a dozen men sat down their equipment and wandered over to sit with me on a slab of concrete below the one remaining tree that provided some relief from the sun. No one spoke. I could see the job site contractor and a few of his subs across the field in their trucks, engines running so the air conditioners could cool them down. In that moment, I felt a sort of solidarity with those workers in my disgust for the supervisors in the trucks. They were free to drive off, grab some lunch, run a few errands, gas up, and stop back by the job site to make sure holes had been dug and truckloads of soil had been spread out. They could pull a cell phone from their pocket, take a slug from their water bottle, and call up their spouses or kids to check on them. Hell, they could go find a gas station bathroom to take care of their business instead of climbing into a disgusting, broiling hot, stinking port-o-potty that might or might not have been emptied in the last week. And then it hit me. I was one of those privileged assholes who went home at night without worrying about what tomorrow would bring. I wasn’t one ICE raid away from losing everything. I had choices about where to pick up some lunch. I had an air-conditioned car and a cell phone. I was one of the lucky ones. And I didn’t do enough.
”. . . never cook the books”. Or use a sharpie to change the direction of a hurricane.
I recommend Professor Kendi’s book as well. The title is the same.
Linda, thank you for sharing a fresh perspective. I really enjoyed my time as a civil servant. I felt as if I was living my purpose. I enjoyed our conversations. Thanks for listening. I’m still walking in my purpose, in a different lane, with Dignity (one more word for your word cloud).