By Liz Hall
Leaders and coaches should use the breathing space afforded by the postponement of the UK Bribery Act to fine-tune their approach to ethics in business, urge lawyers and leadership coaches experienced in ethics issues.
The Bribery Act, due to take effect next month (April), has been postponed once again while the Ministry of Justice clarifies guidance for employers. However, when it does come into force, it will be more important than ever before for leaders and coaches to sow seeds of ethical resilience.
“With the Act creating corporate liability and potential personal liability for a company’s directors and officers, businesses would be well advised to use this hiatus to review the Act and consider the implications and risks to their operations,” said David O’Hanlon, associate at law firm Thomas Eggar LLP.
Neil Scotton, former president of the International Coach Federation (ICF) UK, is a leadership coach who does a lot of work on ethical leadership. He said: “If any coach finds themselves in an ethical dilemma and their normal sources of support – colleagues, supervision, etc – are not fully resolving for them, I suggest they contact their professional body for advice. Good ethical conduct is in the profession’s interest.”
Under the Act, for the first time, proving ignorance of bribery will not be a defence for companies under investigation. They will now need to demonstrate that they have adequate procedures to prevent it from happening in the first place.
Scotton is a co-host on the ICF’s regular pan-European Ethics Forum calls, where members can safely air their ethical dilemmas. He said that it is clear from these calls, discussions with colleagues internationally and personal experience “that coaches can often find themselves in a tension between feeling uncomfortable about a situation or what they are being asked to do, and a fear of upsetting someone or losing business”.
Coaching at Work, Volume 6, Issue 2