Avoid moral dogma, strive for moral insights
Moral dogma seems prevalent today. We need breakthroughs, and we can begin by using moral insight. Moral insight is a leadership practice to build genuine stakeholder capitalism and enliven mutual trust.
Morality involves societal norms that bind us together for a greater good, an ethic of care. Recovering our spirit of morality is critical. As I consider this challenge, a return to virtues comes to mind, but how do we build a moral foundation?
Some may do so through religious institutions, yet many seem to have lost their way (e.g., Southern Baptist). Others may look to philosophers. Virtue ethics embraces the idea that a happy life comes from living and doing well, putting virtues into action within our communities.
In our society, individuals and organizations play a role in what they say and do and how they interact with each other.
Individuals and organizations have embraced specific values, so how do they appear? Which values are the right ones?
Both questions are tough. Consistency of actions to specified values requires a level of self and organizational governance. Governance means holding oneself and others accountable when wrong is said and done. In corporations, a board of directors carries an essential responsibility, as do other stakeholders. In our society, citizens and institutions also need to step up. Governance also comes from our relationships – having friends who call us out when needed.
And this is where moral insight comes into play.
Moral insight is discovering a solution to an ethical dilemma or tension without picking one moral imperative over another. The challenge of moral insight is to use our imagination to find a remedy while honoring both values. The standard is high.
Why both values? The answer is simply dogma. If we choose one value over another, then we are adopting one truth over another. We are avoiding the work of figuring out how to honor both. It is easy to be dogmatic. I’m right, and you’re wrong. Easy. We see this a lot in politics today.
When we get locked into ethical dogma, we all lose. Our society begins to falter and becomes autocratic.
Wholeness is the mission.
If we want to get to the whole truth, we need to have the willpower to explore and tap into our imagination. We must be willing to do the work to understand each other and find common ground between our values. No one value is right or wrong. Instead, it is the ground to discover and find a way to raise each other to a new, better standard of morality and principle. The outcome of moral insight is moral understanding and renewed collaborative action.
What does this mean for us as business leaders?
We must avoid dogma.
We must be ready to do the work of understanding different ethical and moral perspectives and principles.
We must use moral insight to begin our conversations of discovery to honor differing values and principles while finding a new, blended moral understanding.
If we are truly going to adopt stakeholder capitalism, we have a lot of critical work to undertake. When different stakeholders have different principles, moral insight needs to be practiced by not choosing one over another. We must find the principle that moves us forward to achieve a better good.
When PwC, a global consulting firm, says they will train business leaders on trust, they must be willing to use moral insight in their offerings. In our leadership, we need to begin to learn and use moral insight to build trust. We are in a transitional age, and no better time exists than right now to re-center ourselves with vital philosophical foundations.
References
Chun, R. (2017). How virtuous global firms say they are: A content analysis of ethical values. Journal of Business Ethics, 155(1), 57–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3525-3
Grant, P., Arjoon, S., & McGhee, P. (2017). In pursuit of eudaimonia: How virtue ethics captures the self-understandings and roles of corporate directors. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(2), 389–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3432-z
Huckabee, T. (2021, June 15). An SBC church investigation found 10 abuse victims as the convention reels in Nashville. RELEVANT.
Merced, M. J. de la. (2021, June 15). A major revamp at PwC is all about trust. The New York Times.
Royce, J. (1885). The moral insight. In J. Royce, The religious aspect of philosophy: A critique of the bases of conduct and of faith (p. 131–170). Houghton, Mifflin and Company. https://doi.org/10.1037/12799-006
Zhang, T., Gino, F., & Margolis, J. D. (2018). Does “could” lead to good? On the road to moral insight. Academy of Management Journal, 61(3), 857–895. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0839