When Lightning Strikes: Addressing the Impact of Compromised Leadership on Values and Ethics (V&E) Programs

On May 28th, 2014, EPAC held a half day workshop in Ottawa entitled “When Lightning Strikes: Addressing the Impact of Compromised Leadership on Values and Ethics (V&E) Programs.” The workshop examined the role that a V&E program plays in an organization impacted by “compromised leadership”. Participants heard from three panelists who have worked through this type of impact.

Canadian organizations have seen their fair share of failures in ethical leadership. What can ethics practitioners in particular learn from these unfortunate experiences?  How can our V&E programs best respond when the unethical and/or illegal actions of a leader undermine our efforts to develop and maintain a culture of organizational ethics?

Participants shared advice, recommendations and tools for how to keep an organization moving ahead in spite of the challenges. Presentations and group discussions drew from concrete experiences of maintaining or rebuilding respect for the organization externally, but also internally with employees who question V&E officers about why the leaders implicated in a scandal are not held to a higher level of accountability.

The Ethics Practitioners’ Association of Canada welcomed the following speakers. Their presentations are provided as a resource for you.