FastTrain

I came across three stories recently all of which have a sad ending.

In one case a very senior executive in a very large organisation had been asked to do something by his organisation which was not ethical. Before committing himself he had thought long and hard about the request. It was clear that if he refused he would soon be forced out of his job. But if he agreed he would be compromising his principles.

Eventually he made a decision and loyalty plus the job won over principles. With time the issue became public and his (not so loyal) organisation ditched him in their attempts to survive. He is still looking for work.

In the second case another very senior executive working in a very large organisation was asked to do something which was not ethical and, even worse, compromised his professional standing. He was left with the imponderable question of whether the job and loyalty to his organisation came before professional integrity.

On this occasion he took the other route and refused to play ball. Predictably he was ousted very quickly and found himself unemployable, being branded as a ‘whistleblower’. His small part in this corporate story was the tip of a very much larger scandal and the organisation eventually went under. Although he did find work after a long while, he has never recovered fully.

The third story I told recently and that was of a middle manager who was trapped between the infighting of his two senior line managers (See Too many managers). Unfortunately he has been forced to leave along with a number of his team members. Life became too unbearable to remain.

In each case the person concerned had not asked for the problem to be thrust upon them; and in each case they paid the ultimate penalty – losing their job. You can argue their individual merits but ultimately you will be forced to take sides.

I do not condemn any of them. Nor in each circumstance could I swear with any certainty that I would act any differently. Anyone disagree?