Ethical Crossroads: Leadership, Hiring, and the Test of Integrity

When push comes to shove, will you still hold fast to your values?

Ethics and integrity in leadership are quiet forces, always running in the background until a moment or conversation throws them into sharp focus.

 At a recent reunion, a conversation about hiring practices and leadership ethics got a bit intense. It brought back a memory from a while ago that has stuck with me ever since.

I was contacted by a General Manager, let's call him Mr. B, of an MNC about a leadership role in Talent Management. I wasn’t the right fit, so I referred him to a close friend, Serena, an experienced professional who had been looking for her next big break. They clicked right away. Mr. B was keen to bring her on, though she still had to go through the interview process.

Now, there was another strong candidate, but Mr. B had already made up his mind. He even shared that candidate’s CV with Serena to help her “prepare strategically.” He offered a generous onboarding bonus and followed up with unusual persistence.

One evening, at dinner, Serena told me and another mutual friend about the offer. She was excited. It was a big opportunity with a big package. But ethically, it didn’t sit right with us. We urged her to think it through. To her credit, she didn’t brush off the red flags. Instead, she handled it thoughtfully and used the offer as leverage to negotiate a promotion and expand her role at her current company.

The reunion conversation got me thinking again:

• 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬?

Maintaining our integrity is crucial, especially when our ego flexes or the pressure to win, impress, or move quickly tempts us to cut corners. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦.

• 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬?

  
  

• 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭?

How do you safeguard against situations like this?

Christina SG.