With the events in the world recently, there have been increasing calls for businesses and leaders to stand up and make their opinions known. We must remember, organizations aren’t monoliths – they are groups of people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and opinions that may not all share a common opinion on a social/political topic. This is a fairly new phenomenon – we used to be instructed to leave social/political issues at the door and out of the workplace. Recent events have lead to lauding of those that do engage and demonizing of those who don’t. There has been criticism of to what extent opinions are held and what actions are taken as a result. When you think of business social media (like LinkedIn), you’ll see numerous posts about the social/political topic of the moment from organizations, C-level leaders, and employees. Then you will see comments filled with support, disagreement, and annoyance that the topic was raised on a business platform.
Choosing if and when to weigh in on a topical issue is a complex yet critical assessment for a CEO to weigh. Some of the questions include: Is this a question of morally right or wrong? What is the impact on society? What is the impact on my workforce? What is the impact in the communities we operate? Do we make a statement? Do we take any action? Do we make a donation? Do we empower employees to take action or multiply their donations? Do we publicize the actions we are taking? How do we do that tastefully? What is the impact on my brand if we do take a stand? Ultimately, the CEO must not only consider their personal feelings, but also the impact of any statements/actions on their stakeholders (employees, partners, shareholders/owners, community, and customers) as it relates to the organization and it’s values. The understanding that any statement/action will not be aligned with everyone is a given; the question becomes which social/political issues necessitate a response at the corporate level and which do not.
That may sound clinical and unfeeling, but it is actually the opposite. In the vast majority of cases, corporations aren’t social/political movements. They intend to be inclusive and cast a broad tent for all potential stakeholders to join. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that – inclusivity is another topical and critical issue. Some organizations (and leaders) choose to be more active than others. Depending on the topic and the audience, organizations may be lauded or derided based on their action or lack thereof. It may help their brand or it may hurt. In any event, they are taking a calculated risk by choosing if/how the engage in these issues, and to me that actually is a step in the right direction from a decade ago.
As mid level leaders, this choice can be as challenging, if not more so. The factors are different, but no less daunting. The impacts are more personal often since you will be face to face with those on your team day after day.
First, what is the organization’s position on a given topic? Does it align with your belief? Are you able to run contrary to the organization’s opinion?
Next, how does this situation impact your team? Do folks expect to hear from you on this topic? Does it personally touch folks on the team?
Third, how could I best address this in the spirit of inclusivity and productivity? Should the whole group be included in the conversation? Is discussion/debate necessary and/or appropriate? Will the conversation be accretive or diminishing?
None of this touches on your personal level of comfort and skill in having the discussion, your strength of belief on a topic, your ability to not change your professional feelings about others based on their beliefs, and a litany of other internal factors.
All in all…it’s a tough decision.
As someone who has had to make these choices both as a midlevel leader and at an organizational level, I am sympathetic to both sides (action/inaction). For me, it has always come down to a three key factors (each weighted differently based on the situation): is my team deeply impacted?, would the team expect to hear from a leader based on our organizational values and culture?, and can I share a message that is informed, inclusive, and beneficial aligned to the above?
From my perspective, there is no right or wrong for organizations and/or leaders. Each has it’s own unique situation, environment, culture/values, personal opinions, etc. Each has to determine if and when to engage with the broader world around them relative to the impacts on their stakeholders (listed above). Each deserves the right to choose how active they want to be, much like we do individually out side of work.
In our current state of increasing division, please show care in expressing your and respecting other’s opinions on the social/political topics of the day. No one has been on another’s journey nor are we privy to their opinion forming process/decision making, so try to avoid assuming intent or belief. If you approach any topic with empathy and patience, we’ll all be a lot better off.
View from the Middle 