Guard Your Reputation and Realize When Your Credibility is Fading

Ever met someone you didn’t trust … or stopped trusting someone you once trusted?

We all have. Safeguarding your reputation — your integrity — is important. It takes ongoing effort because often, it’s not a conscious decision to do something dishonest or marginally honest. Instead, it’s a snap decision made on the spur of the moment that sends you gradually off course. But unethical behavior is noticed and little things can shake your credibility.

It was my first job out of school and one of my first business trips … An experienced colleague, Billie, took me under her wing to “show me the ropes” at a national tradeshow in Chicago. As she gathered discarded food receipts off random tables to pad her expense report and flirted with every employee in the convention center to get what she needed, I wondered if this was normal. Should I follow suit? Should I tell her I thought what she was doing was wrong? It was wrong, wasn’t it? Or was I just being naïve? Should I tell my boss? Maybe my boss already knew and she was testing me? Did I want to work here?

While a few extra dollars to one employee’s expense report isn’t (and probably shouldn’t be) cause for alarm, stories about huge business ethics issues continually pepper the media. From environmental cover-ups to “cooking the books” to unfairly restricting trade, ethics in business seem continually stretched.

How did Google make the decision to manipulate search results?

Why did Equifax rely on out-of-date security systems that put millions of consumers’ data at risk?

Our imaginations take hold as we envision the covert meetings it might take to pull off these unethical maneuvers, all primarily designed to protect profits. But it’s important to consider that breaches of ethics can occur at any level and often start out small.

How did one of the 73 cadets at West Point who cheated on a calculus test make that decision?

What makes one employee decide that padding an expense report is acceptable behavior?
 

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What triggers an ethical lapse?

Professional ethics covers attitudes and behaviors — how you do your job, the respect you show co-workers, bosses, subordinates and anyone you come in contact with. It includes honesty, integrity, humility and accountability.

Psychologists point to several dynamics that cause us to cross the ethical line:

1. Omnipotence. When someone feels entitled: “The rules don’t apply to me.”
2. Cultural numbness. We all play along so often that deviant norms become accepted behavior. “It’s just the way it works here.”
3. Conformity. “Everyone’s doing it.”
4. Obedience. Some of the earliest social psychology research points to our inclination to follow orders from superiors. Obedience is ingrained and allows us to step away from the decision.
5. Justified neglect. When we don’t speak up about questionable behavior because we want to stay on good footing with a more powerful person. “Who am I to judge that behavior?”
    

Guarding your integrity as a businessperson takes ongoing effort.

Seemingly minor ethical choices such as habitually showing up late to work, taking credit for someone else’s work, using company time to catch up on your personal social media or showing a consistent lack of respect for someone’s time or effort clearly aren’t crimes. There’s no law against fudging a little and calling in sick when you really just want to sleep in.

But ethics matter. Your ethics define you. People see you based on the way you approach situations.

What did I do in the situation with Billie? As any bold 23-year-old would, I made the decision to do nothing. I didn’t follow her example. I didn’t report her. I distanced myself and she was dismissed about three months later. (I never heard why.) Coincidentally (or not), the company also switched to a per diem system for travel expenses right around that same time.

My experience with Billie did teach me the ropes — just not the ones she had planned. Despite what seemed to be her best intentions of showing me how the business world worked, I immediately didn’t trust her. Her nonchalance in reporting her expenses made me question her integrity. It made her seem dishonest. And it made me uncomfortable.

Don’t underestimate the power small, professional ethics missteps have. They can play a big part in the impression you make on those around you and should be guarded. I never saw Billie again, but if I did, I’d still assume the worst, because I haven’t had any evidence to the contrary. Impressions stick.