A story has been unfolding in the news in recent weeks which caught my attention. It’s the story of Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien. I wonder what lessons this story holds for us in the workplace: I have a few thoughts of my own and I also invite you to add your comments below.
In case you’ve missed it, the bare bones of the story are as follows. Cardinal O’Brien, who has been a vociferous opponent of gay rights and was named “bigot of the year” last year by Colin MacFarlane, director of Stonewall Scotland, came unexpectedly into the spotlight in recent weeks. On 23rdFebruary, the Observer newspaper published an article which was initially robustly rebutted by the cardinal, reporting that the cardinal, throughout the course of his career, had made unwanted sexual advances to at least one former and three currently serving priests for whom he had formal responsibility. Two days later the Scottish Catholic Media Office issued a statement that the Pope had accepted Cardinal O’Brien’s resignation on 18th February, 2013, to take effect from February 25th. The media was quick to notice and highlight the implications of this announcement – that Cardinal O’Brien, who was already due to retire in March, would not now take part in discussions to appoint Pope Benedict XVI’s successor.
Catching various discussions of these latest revelations in recent days, I have been struck by the lack of sympathy for O’Brien. Commentators have speculated that his hard-line stance against homosexuality is not only a reflection of the official position of the Catholic Church but also an indication that the cardinal has been in deep denial of his own sexuality and sexual orientation. They have pointed to his lack of honesty in responding to the Observer’s article and to the sparseness of his apologies. No apology to the Observer for initially threatening legal action when they published an article which turned out to be true. No apology to gay men and women for the impact on them of his outspoken comments against homosexuality. It seems that, at the very moment that Cardinal O’Brien is at his most vulnerable, there is scant sympathy for him in the public domain.
What’s all this got to do with the wider world of work? These are some of the things I take from Cardinal O’Brien’s story:
People in positions of power wield it for personal gain: Again and again, history tells us how people can use and misuse the power of their position. We can all name famous historical examples in the world of politics and in the world of business. These are examples of men and women who, no doubt with positive intentions, take actions which shock us when they are revealed. From Hitler to Fred (“the shred” and later “the bed”) Goodwin. Cardinal Keith O’Brien is just one of a long line of people who have used the power of their position for personal gain.
The fall of a leader reveals their “dark side”: Some readers already know that I have recently signed up to train to use the Hogan suite of tests for the assessment of senior leaders. One of these tests is rooted in research that shows that when senior executives fail, it is often because they have a characteristic or characteristics which, when not acknowledged and managed appropriately, presents a risk in increasingly senior roles. It seems that Cardinal O’Brien failed to acknowledge and manage the full range of his own personal characteristics and that this is the cause of his recent downfall.
Organisations struggle to manage accountability: Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy has been beset by the legacy of the Catholic Church’s failure to manage accountability whilst also revealing the unwanted legacy that such a grand-scale failure can leave in its wake. It seems to me that organisations struggle most to manage accountability at senior levels, both because it is senior employees who hold the power and because of the risks to the organisation of addressing infringements. At the same time, it is an organisation’s ability to manage accountability – including at senior levels – that secures its legacy.
People still need to wield power: In working with senior leaders, I notice that some have values which include the rejection of power. It seems that we fear the harmful effects of power. (One recent example has been the refusal of Angela Merkel and her fellow senior German politicians to exercise power in the economic domain. Europe sees Germany as holding the keys to a brighter economic future. Germany fears repeating the mistakes of the past). This refusal to wield power carries the risk that it is those people most likely to abuse their power who end up in powerful positions. For me, the answer is not to aspire to an organisation without power but, instead, to help people to use the power of their position for the good of the organisation.
Personal failings can reveal the need for a wider transformation: Again and again we have learned not only of sexual abuse by priests but also of a failure to hold priests to account – at great cost to those (often children) who have been the object of unwanted sexual advances. Whilst examples in other organisations may be different (the rogue trader in banks, the corrupt politician, the fraudulent employee) the revelation of a misdemeanour tells us a great deal about the organisation and its need for a wider transformation.
At the moment of an employee’s downfall, we get to choose our response: I want to finish with this last point because it is the one most close to my heart. It seems to me that understanding the impact on one individual of another’s actions does not need to equate to a wholesale condemnation of the person concerned. We are all far more than the sum of our actions. Cardinal Keith O’Brien is on the cusp of a spiritual journey which, I hope, leads him to greater compassion for self and others. My own experience has been that we are most able to hold ourselves and each other to account when we can bring compassion to the most challenging of circumstances. The media response to recent revelations reflects a deep, deep need for understanding on the part of those who have been verbally and sexually abused. I recognise that need and still, I believe it can be expressed in other ways.