I define genuine leadership as acting ethically and in the interest of all stakeholders, all the time, even when no one is looking.
How is Facebook doing at that?
“Despite repeated promises to its billions of users worldwide that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook undermined consumers’ choices,” said Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons.
The FTC recently announced that it is fining Facebook five BILLION dollars for privacy violations and the failure to inform users about data leaks. Issues reported range from the spread of fake news, exploitation by foreign governments, to improperly securing personal data.
So my answer to the Facebook “post” question… “What’s on your mind?”… is:
I would like to know where the genuine Facebook leaders are.
- Did leaders understand, clearly define, and communicate the privacy standards reasonably expected (required) by all stakeholders – customers, users, regulators, shareholders?
- Are leaders holding individuals accountable for meeting those expectations?
- Were audit leaders conducting audits based on actual performance relative to the standards? (Sorry fellow auditors, I have to pick on you as well – unfortunately we spend WAY too much time focusing on ALL the wrong things. Yes, I said it.)
Apparently, none of this was happening.
Common sense (and likely soon to be legal requirements) in the social media business screams that users want control over their data and they want to be quickly informed if the data is mishandled. It would not seem that this is rocket science. But unfortunately, as John Bogle, founder of Vanguard mutual funds has said, “It’s amazing how difficult it is for a man to understand something if he’s paid a small fortune not to understand it.” Facebook is making a small fortune. And Facebook clearly is having difficulty understanding and meeting customer expectations.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said recently that Facebook would now make “major structural changes to how it builds products and conducts business.” Let me tell you something, Mark, genuine leadership is building products and conducting business ethically and in stakeholders’ interests proactively, not reactively… after being fined BILLIONS.
So… is this on your mind now too? It should be.
Does your organization have clear, ethical expectations for meeting all stakeholders’ needs? Are you providing (or being provided) the resources and closely monitoring to ensure that these expectations are being met? Are YOU a genuine leader? Are YOU working for a genuine leader?
Genuine leadership is doing the right thing for all stakeholders, even when no one is looking. Trying to do the right thing after you are fined… not genuine leadership. At that point, you have lost the trust of your stakeholders forever.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.”
~ C.S. Lewis
