Leading a 'Doing Good' Movement
Doing better, the problem with fear as leadership, rumors and risks, political communication flaws, and false and dangerous beliefs about well-being
"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."
Deborah Enix-Ross
American Bar Association President, 2022-23
& Senior Adviser to the International Dispute Resolution Group
Debevoise & Plimpton
Ms. Enix-Ross was receptive to a brief conversation about that comment. I asked her about the origin of that belief and conviction of thought that she spoke of, about doing, “all the good you can,” since humanity seems to be, at least at times, painfully adverse to that ideal or moral duty.
The quote, she said, was a maxim she learned as a child and is often attributed to John Wesley, English theologian who founded Methodism.
As to how we as individuals and a societal collective can pursue this higher-level thinking and humanity to carry us forward, she focuses what professionals in her profession can choose to do to be catalysts for positive change.
“The quote is important to me as I begin my year as president of the American Bar Association because I want to advance the idea that lawyers must lead the way in promoting civics, civility, and collaboration,” Enix-Ross said. “These cornerstones of democracy are critical to restoring confidence in the rule of law and empowering people to work toward a more just society.”
And she is confident that Wesley’s guidance holds great potential in that direction.
“By following the words of Wesley to ‘Do all the good you can,’ we can make inroads toward restoring our society to a more cooperative place where we can advance our common goals.”
"Once leaders consistently use fear, they destroy the trust necessary to achieve outcomes in any other way. Fear, and the coercive tactics that carry it, become the only viable path for these leaders, further undermining long-term effectiveness."
Admired Leadership, Field Notes
Choosing intimidation and fear as a strategy, consciously or subconsciously, can become a habit, especially when it works, with little effort and zero or minimal initial cost sustained.
This means people conducting themselves this way develop a false sense of security and blindness to risk and losses being accumulated.
People naturally don’t respond ideally to fear, at least not forever. Trust decays or is smashed to smithereens. Resentment grows. Over time, this approach becomes a significant leadership and organizational liability.
Helpful reminder and insight
"More and more in crisis communications, we find that a decades-old rumor or allegation can be just as disruptive as any modern-day crisis. Remember: Statutes of limitations are a legal concept, not a reputational one.”
What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting a Crisis
Article available at this link if desirable.
Politician Beto O’Rourke wasn’t going to tolerate any heckling while he was giving a passionate talk about gun violence.
At a campaign stop in north Texas, O’Rourke was speaking about the mass shooting and mass murder in Uvalde, Texas that resulted in the deaths of 21 people. Someone in the audience interrupted O’Rourke, saying something the gubernatorial candidate didn’t respect, to the point he turned around and lashed out, "It may be funny to you, motherf*****, but it's not funny to me, OK."
Cheers commenced. When I first viewed the video myself, I thought it was a powerful yet unimpressive reply. While the subject of gun violence and finding solutions to it is an emotional issue and a shameful societal plague that the majority of the public is fed up with, not everyone will respect how O’Rourke communicated.
"These are voters who are Democratic voters, Republican voters, who don't have an issue with profanity in their private life but hold public officials and those making public pronouncements to a higher standard," Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, told NPR.
Agreed. Will O’Rourke’s communication behavior hurt him politically. No. Was his anger understandable? Yes. Will it be beneficial to him to all desired voters? No.
It’s not a good look to many people, calling another human the insult that he did. Not everyone is going to approve of that type of language and ugly loss of self control.
O’Rourke should strongly consider apologizing for the language and name calling, and at the time this issue of the newsletter is published, maybe he will have done so.
He should also refrain, angry or not, from this type of ugliness moving forward. As a leader, you don’t have to win over the echo chamber. You have to get opponents to listen and consider your point of view and calls to action.
Society is tired of such weak emotional regulation in its leaders.
Still fresh off a courtroom “win,” Johnny Depp’s brand apparently is still strong.
Headline: Johnny Depp signs 7-figure deal with Dior after defamation trial victory
Depp fans, by in-large, believe he was defamed by Amber Heard. Critics are convinced Depp is an abuser and got away with it, as well as shaming his victim, and they’re angry.
Could he and Heard both be responsible for criminal behavior? Is it only Heard? Or just Depp? Is Depp being enabled? Or, according to the law, was justice determined?
Depp’s "victory" in America after a legal loss in the U.K. has made him an attractive business partner again for some companies, who are willing to pay Depp large sums of money.
Dior doesn’t seem to be worried about what is factual, true and what might not be. There is cash to be made. Lots of it, as the company and Depp have enjoyed a highly-profitable relationship, with Sauvage cologne, which the International Business Times has said was “the best-selling cologne on Sephora and Ulta's websites amid his recent trial, the Wall Street Journal reported in June.”
A question worth considering, just how clean is Depp’s reputation now in the world, as a movie star, in his social circles and as a parent? Time will tell. For now, for Depp to consider himself free of future claims and crisis would be very dangerous thinking.
He would benefit from a deep self-examination and objective feedback from others as to where he stands in his life now, what he could do that is compassionate in areas of his life where conflict exists and then invest in himself with personal development.
No one likes to be caught off guard, especially in a public setting, and feel attacked with critical questions. People usually don’t respond well to it. This said, difficult questions happen in life, especially if you are a public figure.
When this occurs, it becomes incumbent on us to make a grand effort at being poised and respond with decency, even if we are unhappy and are being set up with what we believe is a “gotcha” moment.
Think about how we’re going to appear if we react impulsively and poorly. Not good. Our reaction and communication gets written down, photographed or videotaped, and worse, widely shared.
Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader in Major League Baseball history, is no stranger to conflict and reputation crisis. He’s self-inflicted a lot of pain in his life. He’s done it again, in public, after news emerged of a statutory rape claim against him.
In this 24-second video clip, Rose reacts negatively — and yes, he was caught off guard and maybe could have been asked the question in private — and says something so irresponsible (watch and listen for “50 years ago”) that he came across as morally and legally guilty to many.
Surely not what he should have done or wants to do.
Even devoted Rose fans have to wonder now, “did he really commit a crime or do something immoral with a girl?” He doesn’t realize that it doesn’t matter one bit to the media and public that it was “50 years ago,” especially if the person is a public figure like Rose. He clearly hasn’t been paying attention to how society works now.
It would be wise for him to comment further, this time civilly, about his embarrassing, nasty reaction to the reporter and the yes, the situation, if he cares a wit about what showing character now about what happened “50 years ago,” that he knows is wrong and if he cares about yet another negative narrative becoming associated with his name and legacy.
Right now, Rose's ego is getting the better of him and he is thinking in a very defensive, unimpressive and short-sighted manner. The Phillies wanted to honor him and decided not to move forward doing so after the story of Rose’s behavior emerged.
It might only be the beginning of more punishments.
Michael Toebe is the creator of Reputation Notes and founder and reputation specialist at Reputation Quality, a practice that serves and helps successful individuals and organizations in further building reputation as an asset and when necessary, ethically and successfully protecting, restoring and reconstructing it.
NOTE: if you would like to be interviewed for the newsletter and can talk about important, interesting and insightful matters of reputation, you can contact me at Michael.Toebe@Reputation-Quality.com.