In this episode, hosts Merv Jersak and Tim Jerome explore the vital role of ethics and morals in project management through personal anecdotes and professional insights. They discuss the significance of ethical behavior in decision-making, early career challenges with ethical dilemmas, and the impact of cultural differences on ethical standards. The conversation also highlights the importance of addressing issues rather than people, fostering team collaboration, and standing up against unethical practices. Key stories include the influence of a whistleblower, handling fixed-price projects, assessing organizational culture, and a notable instance of returning overbid funds to a client, emphasizing the need to maintain ethical appearances in all situations.

Main Take-Aways

Stories are powerful teachers. Today’s story lessons put the hosts in situations where adherence to ethics and morals were important factors in individual and organizational conduct:

• pay attention to mentors, especially in areas of ethics and morals
• avoid even the smallest of breaches of professional conduct
• confront the issue not the person
• maintain your ethical standards even in situations where the other party does not hold to the same standards
• whistleblowing is appropriate when you observe improper behavior
• look out for your team
• consider when it is or is not appropriate to take shortcuts
• observe your client’s culture to understand how they might behave in various situations
• act rightly even when not anticipated by the other party
• avoid every perception of what could be interpreted as wrongdoing

Show Notes

Today’s Project Managers Coffee Chat: Leadership Lessons from the Trenches – Ethics and Morals at the Forefront

01:16 Tim kicks off this episode with a personal story of how a wise manager guided him in how to make ethical decisions or raise project issues.

03:34 Merv tells of a seemingly minor breach when as a young person he observed a colleague attempting to discover salary amounts of fellow employees.

05:05 Tim tells of a difficult employment situation where the written rule was that there was to be no confrontation, which presented him with the dilemma of how to raise issues. His answer – confront the situation, not the person.

06:37 Merv muses about global perspectives on ethics where in some cultures bribery and other such practices are acceptable. He provides an example that hinted at impropriety, but he could not be certain.

07:42 Tim piggybacks on that example with one of his own from another country. What looked like bribery turned out to be a serendipitous find for his organization.

09:06 Merv gives an account of how one of his colleagues was put into a difficult situation as he resorted to whistleblowing, and some of the downstream repercussions of doing what he felt was the right thing.

10:52 Tim tells of a happy project experience where a manager ensured teamwork through all team members pulling together. Although not an ethics-related vignette, it does provide a moral application to the definition of team.

13:15 Merv confesses his struggle (his personal struggle) with what he considers are ethical challenges in fixed-price projects, where it is occasionally acceptable to take shortcuts to meet deadlines.

15:24 Tim likes to get insights about his client’s company culture and their own standards (ethical or otherwise) by studying the bulletin boards in the break room

16:39 Merv recounts a situation where his organization had significantly overbid one aspect of a contract they had won. His manager repaid monies that would not be expended by the team.

18:34 Merv ends the episode with what could be perceived as a suspicious contract award when he saw a picture in the newspaper of the winning executive playing golf with the contract sponsor the day after the award. Not a perception you want to leave, especially if the situation was completely above board.