Being a Leader Means Being Able to Explain

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It is said that the eminent 18th century British jurist Lord Mansfield once gave this advice to a struggling Colonial judge: "Consider what you think justice requires, and decide accordingly. But never give your reasons; for your judgment will probably be right, but your reasons will certainly be wrong."

Today we can still relate to the keen insight in this advice because nearly everyone squirms when pressed to give reasons for their views—and not just in the courtroom. It's one thing to venture forth an opinion. It's quite another to back up that opinion with evidence because this increases the chance that we will make a mistake or say something that others will challenge. As we reveal the reasoning behind our decisions or choices, we feel exposed because we make it easier for others to criticize us. It's so much easier simply to assert ourselves; it is far more difficult to have to explain ourselves.

We get especially uncomfortable when asked to give reasons for our ethical judgments. Many people have no trouble saying that they think something is right or wrong. But when pressed for why they think something is right or wrong, people often shrug and reply, "Who's to say?" This evasive response sometimes is an attempt to be polite or to avoid a judgmental confrontation. When dealing with minor issues, most of us would rather not get bogged down in debates about values. Like politics and religion, perhaps ethics is a topic best avoided in polite conversation.

But when dealing with important business ethics issues, we cannot afford to be evasive. There are times at work, like at home, when it is not enough simply to take an ethical stance; we also should be able to explain or justify our stance to others who may have questions or need guidance. And why shouldn't this be so? We expect important business decisions to be supported with the best analytical thinking and the most rigorous evidence that money can buy. Who would accept an important financial decision without first scrutinizing the underlying numbers?

But ethics judgments, it is sometimes said, are not like other business decisions: Ethics is subjective whereas business is objective. This is why we demand solid reasons for our business decisions. Ethics decisions, being only a matter of subjective feelings, cannot be supported in the same way. When we shrug and reply "Who's to say?" we are saying that there are no answers in ethics. Or, that any answer is as good as another. Philosophers call this view of ethics emotivism.

However interesting emotivism may be for philosophers, it is deadly for business. When we conduct business as if ethics only involves mere feelings, we open the door to costly ethics abuses and scandals that make it hard to do business at all. Granted, ethics may not always be as clear-cut and precise as mathematics; we've known that simple fact since Aristotle. That said, ethics is not completely subjective or arbitrary because often it makes good sense to ask someone for the reasons why they have a particular ethical judgment. In other words, people with reliable business experience usually can tell when one ethics argument is more convincing than another. It's not all completely subjective.

For this reason, ethics training in business should emphasize critical thinking skills of ethical reasoning. It is not enough simply to require employees to memorize a list of do's and don'ts. In today's complex and rapidly changing business environment, workers inevitably will encounter grey areas of business where they will have to think for themselves. When asked why they handled ethical issues as they did, we would be outraged if business people shrugged and replied, "Who's to say?" Indeed, especially when serious ethical judgments are at stake, we would expect them to be able to say why! Responsible and effective business people can tell others why their decisions are worth taking seriously.

With all due respect to Lord Mansfield: When dealing with important ethics issues in business, our reasons had better be right. We owe it to ourselves, our employees and our investors to provide the best possible tools for effective, intelligent ethical reasoning. We are long past the era when business ethics training could get by with mechanical indoctrination. Today's business world is more complicated than that. Today, people in business must be able to answer "Who's to say?" with a confident "I am."