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February 06, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Shouldn't whistleblowing be an option?
A comment on "How an Advice Line situation turned out," (1/21/2008), about an employee who learned he was on the chopping block, and instead left under his own steam:
Bob, while your advice has once again been proven right, I think you devalue the act of whistleblowing (assuming Venting was able to meet w/HR separately from his/her boss) when you say the only upside is "emotional gratification."
Taking a risk like this, foolish as it is, pretty much cuts to the essence of acting as a free person.
Whether saying the right thing to the wrong apparatchik gets you shipped to Siberia or gets you blacklisted, foreclosed, uninsured, and divorced, the act of saying it is 1) irrational (and some will opportunistically relish your irrationality) and 2) courageous.
"Emotional gratification" is high-fiving after your team scores the go-ahead touchdown. Or distributing a policy memo to subordinates and pompously starting one of the paragraphs with a word like "furthermore," just to show 'em who's boss.
Bob's last word:
I don't recommend Don-Quixote-ism. Mathematically speaking, in an infinite universe, everything that is physically possible has to exist somewhere, which means that somewhere there must be a company where honest exit interviews result in useful corporate changes.
I personally haven't experienced one nor have I ever heard of a case of it from anyone else.
Whistle-blowing isn't something you do in an exit interview. To be done effectively requires extensive planning and documentation, the ability to deliver the message in a way that can't be ignored, and a willingness for self-sacrifice that requires a possible result important enough to warrant the pain.
I'm grateful for those, over the years, who have taken this course of action. Other than possible book deals, it is usually career death, though, which means I can't recommend it except for extreme situations.
- Bob
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Posted by Bob Lewis on February 6, 2008 04:13 AM
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Given the consequences for the whistleblower's career, I'd save whistleblowing for those situations where you have knowledge (not suspicion, surmise, or have heard a rumor) of a violation of the law, and your silence could be interpreted as complicity or tacit approval. Otherwise, I don't think it's a moral obligation to tattle on someone else's bad behavior. I've seen a lot of bad behavior in my career, and maybe someone, somewhere might have been interested in knowing about it, but when weighed against the impact on my career, the call has never been close. I've also been in the position of having been the target of unfair treatment that I assumed upper management was unaware of, only to discover that they were biding their time, documenting the situation, and took action after I left. I even got an unsolicited apology from a high level manager I ran into several years later. Management is not always as ignorant or accepting as we think!
Posted by: Charles at February 6, 2008 12:58 PM|
Three books. Three ways to change the world, your life, or at least Bob Lewis' bank account. Leading IT: The Toughest Job in the World distills the world of IT leadership into eight learnable skills and gives you concrete, practical techniques for each one of them. Bare Bones Project Management: What you can't not do makes project management manageable, even for first-time project managers with no formal training in the discipline. ManagementSpeak: What managers say/What they mean … well, it won't help your career, and won't make you a better manager. Mostly, it will make you chuckle, guffaw, and maybe even chortle. Make friends - it's the perfect gift for anyone who has ever suffered through one of those meetings. Order your copies today! |
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