When bosses act with impunity, trouble usually follows
You may have never rubbed shoe polish on your face to mock African-Americans, but did you wear a Confederate costume to an antebellum-themed gala, don a sombrero for a “Border Patrol Party,” or throw on a Sambo T-shirt?
Hundreds of scions of Texas’ most prominent families have done all of those things, and probably worse, at the University of Texas at Austin since 1990. Anyone who thinks the bar for racism is set at blackface needs to take a hard look at their college yearbooks and party photos through a contemporary lens.
We have all done things we have regretted, but transgressions like these, highlighted by the political turmoil in Virginia, are different. Some mistakes call into question the character of people with power and privilege, their sense of impunity and their suitability for leadership.
After all, a sense of impunity has ruined many a leader, both political and corporate.
Following revelations that Virginia’s top politicians have a history of demeaning AfricanAmericans, the Wall Street Journal reports that boards of directors and executives are hiring opposition research firms to see what dirt might exist on them or their management teams.
Not a bad idea as a public relations exercise, particularly if activists are already looking to embarrass your industry. But the strategy is akin to shutting the barn door after the horses got out.
For most of American history, colleges have educated the children of the wealthy and powerful, who segregated themselves by joining fraternities and sororities. We all know that adolescents will test authority and social norms, so we should not be surprised when they press on hot-button issues like race to test their privilege, as those at UT did.
The problem comes when they
do not face any consequences. If they get away with something reprehensible, they believe no one will punish future transgressions. There is no need to ruin someone’s life, but they should learn an unforgettable life lesson.
The ire trained on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, comes from the sense that he never faced any consequences for his bad behavior. Critics fear that if he is allowed to remain in office, then others in similarly privileged positions will believe they too have impunity.
Only voters can punish Northam. But business leaders answer to their board of directors, who sadly are no more likely to punish a CEO than a protective parent. Until the behavior becomes too foul to ignore.
The most recent example is Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Renault and Nissan. He’s had a reputation for being a vindictive person for over a decade. But he also served as chairman of the board at both Renault and Nissan, which helps explain why he thought he could misbehave.
Ghosn has been sitting in a Japanese jail cell since Nov. 19, 2018, on charges of financial misconduct and abuse of his position while head of Nissan, part of a global alliance with Renault. French prosecutors are now examining why Renault paid for his wedding reception at the Palace of Versailles.
Les Moonves’ sense of impunity while CEO of CBS Corp. cost him a $120 million golden parachute, but only after the board fired him for allegedly sexually harassing six women and keeping another woman on staff to perform sexual favors. If journalists had not investigated, he’d still be in the corner office.
Then there is Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, who sent sexually explicit photos and texts to his girlfriend during a trial separation from his wife. The National Enquirer obtained the images and threatened to publish them.
“If in my position I can’t stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?” Bezos admirably declared in refusing to comply.
The better question is, why did the CEO of one of the world’s largest technology firms think it was a good idea to transmit the images? The answer is simple: He didn’t think the normal rules applied to him.
I routinely meet powerful and privileged people, and I am astonished at their aides’ and lieutenants’ sycophancy, treating their bosses like demigods. Boards of directors of public corporations often allow the CEO to also serve as chair, helping pick the people whose job is to monitor his or her performance. This is bad for the company and the CEO.
When picking through the debris of a corporate train wreck, the precipitating cause is most frequently an arrogant, poorly supervised CEO.
The antidote for impunity is accountability. Setting high standards that discourage bad behavior is critical, but enforcing them is even more so.