Women's History Month--Women's Leadership Part 2 | Integrity

I have had some time to reflect on the previously posted Wall Street Journal (WSJ) articles on why women mistreat each other in the work place. If you missed the previous blog with the articles, please see the links at the end of this blog. When I think about playing “the game” in the workplace and succeeding on the playing field, one word really sticks in my mind and that is integrity. I really thought about what were some of the leadership traits that I most admire and while I respect leaders who have great vision and accomplishments, charisma, empathy, and respect for others, I think integrity is one of the most important attributes one can have.

Integrity determines how we play the game of life as well as how we lead in life. If we don't possess a strong sense of what is ethical, then we will allow ourselves to cheat and sham our way to the top. The news headlines are filled with examples of employees and executives who have compromised and ended up in jail.

My first job was at AT&T and at AT&T, integrity among other things, such as respect for the individual, was a core value. In fact, in the government division where I started my career, each year we went through Corporate Professional Integrity Program training. At the end of the yearly sessions, we signed a statement signifying that we understood the tenets of the program and agreed to adhere to the tenets of the program. One of the key phases that I will always remember from the training was, “corporations don’t go to jail, people do.” When making a business decision, we were told to think about how we would feel if the decision and consequences were reported on the front page of the Washington Post. That yearly training reinforced a strong sense of ethics in me that has served me well. I am really thankful to that company for reinforcing in me a strong commitment to ethics and professional integrity.

One of the reasons I believe women fail to truly respect and value one another is we are often seeking acceptance from people who require us to be cut throat, disingenuous, sabotage others, and cut others down to be in the “in crowd”. Those women must be respectfully challenged on their behavior. Competitive behavior that emphasizes and celebrates winning at any cost must be discouraged. Just as it is important to follow the rules in sports competition, it is important to embrace sound ethical standards as one seeks to lead in the workplace and in life. It is important how we play the game because true champions win without cheating!

The godly walk with integrity... Proverb 20:7a New Living Translation Bible (http://www.biblegateway.com/)

Wall Street Journal Articles:
Preoccupations: A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting by Peggy Klaus

The Juggle: When Women Derail Other Women in the Office by Rachel Emma Silverman

Can you hear me now? Injustice at the right price.

You were silent...Injustice metamorphose in silence. The unconscionable becomes not only justifiable, but allowable especially when the right price is paid for the silence.

Women's History Month: Women's Rights

When Elizabeth Cady married abolitionist Henry Brewster Stanton in 1840, she'd already observed enough about the legal relationships between men and women to insist that the word obey be dropped from the ceremony.

When I read this line in Elizabeth Cady Stanton's biography on About.com, I audibly chuckled.  Ms. Stanton, along with Susan B. Anthony were the founders and pioneers of the Women's suffrage and rights movement.  Public Television (PBS) is airing a wonderful series on their history and efforts.  This series, "Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony", was  produced by Ken Burns and Paul Barnes.  

The series, among other issues, presents the tension between securing voting rights for freed male slaves and white women and freed women slaves.  I strongly recommend that you take the time to watch.

For more information, click on Not For Ourselves Alone.

March is Women's History Month--Women and Leadership--Part 1

While reading the online edition of the Wall Street Journal, I ran across two articles that I'm going to share below.  I found them to be very interesting.  After reading the articles, I found myself questioning the reasons why women engaged in this behavior and how we can change the thinking that generates the behavior.
--Nona  

Peggy Klaus of the NY Times offered this poignant comment in her article:

Despite all the money spent annually on women’s leadership conferences and professional development programs, you’d be hard-pressed to find a workshop on women mistreating one another at work. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a huge proponent of women’s leadership programs. But teaching career skills is not enough if we ignore one of the most important reasons for holding these events in the first place: learning to value one another so we can all get ahead.

Ms. Klaus went on to say:

If we really want to clear one of the last remaining hurdles to gender parity and career success, let’s start treating one another not worse or better, but simply as well as we already treat the guys — or better yet, the way we want our nieces, daughters, granddaughters and sisters to be treated.

Preoccupations: A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting  by Peggy Klaus

The Juggle: When Women Derail Other Women in the Office by Rachel Emma Silverman
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I say, AMEN!  
Do you have any thoughts on the subject?

Black History Month--How far have we come? Part 3--Presidential Cabinet Members

Today we honor the legacy and memory of Patricia Roberts Harris, the first African American female to hold a United States Presidential Cabinet position. In 1977, she was appointed to serve as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Jimmy Carter. She also served as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and, following a reorganization, she led the Department of Health and Human Services. All of these positions were in the Carter Administration.

Ms. Harris, born in Mattoon, Illinois on May 31, 1924, was a summa cum laude graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. She did postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and American University. In 1960, she received her law degree from George Washington National Law Center graduating number one out of a class of 94. Her work experience included a brief stint at the Department of Justice before becoming the Associate Dean and later Dean of Howard University Law School. She was the first African American woman to be named Dean of a law school. She also was appointed the Ambassador to Luxembourg in 1965 by President Johnson. In addition to her civil service, she was also the first national executive of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

When asked, during her Senate Confirmation Hearings for the Carter Administration position, whether she could identify with the poor and disadvantaged, she remarked, "I am one of them. You do not seem to understand who I am. I'm a black woman, the daughter of a dining car waiter. … I am a black woman who could not buy a house eight years ago in parts of the District of Columbia. … If my life has any meaning at all, it is that those who start out as outcasts may end up being part of the system."

After an illustrious career in education, public and civil service, Patricia Harris died in 1985 from breast cancer. She was married to William Beasley Harris. The United States Postal Service honored Harris in January 2000 with a commemorative stamp in the Black Heritage Series.

 

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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which banned discrimination, made the appointment of African Americans to U.S. Presidential Cabinet positions possible.  Click here for a list of other African American Cabinet leaders.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Roberts_Harris
http://www.huarchivesnet.howard.edu/0005huarnet/harris1.htm
http://www.deltasigmatheta.org/d_history/notabledeltas.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-harris

Black History Month Salute: Althea Gibson

This is a tribute to Althea Gibson. The sample spot was originally created for radio several years ago to be part of a Black History Month campaign by Howard University alum Darryl Claggett and myself. There is no connection to the company or internet site represented by "thebank.com".

Black History Month: How far have we come? Part 2--United States Senate

The Honorable Hiram Rhodes Revels has the honor of being the first African American to serve in the United States Congress as a Senator from Mississippi.  Mr. Revels was elected during Reconstruction in 1870 as a Republican. Prior to joining the Senate, he worked as a barber, educator, and an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  He was also a veteran of the Civil War.  The story goes that Rev. Revels presented a remarkable opening prayer in the state legislature of Mississippi in 1870 that was one of the most impressive and eloquent prayers that had ever been delivered in the Mississippi Senate Chamber.  That prayer, it is said, made him a United States Senator.  Now that's something...to pray your way into office. 

In 1874, Mississippi elected its second African American to the U.S. Senate.  The Honorable Blanche Kelso Bruce served from 1875 to 1881.  He also was a Republican and the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate.  Although born into slavery in Prince Edward County, Virginia on March 1, 1841, he received his early education from a tutor that had been hired to educate his master's son.  At the beginning of the Civil War, he tried to enlist in the Union Army but was rejected because of his color.  So, he worked as a steamboat porter, established a school for blacks and attended two years of college at Oberlin in Ohio.  He moved to Mississippi in 1869 to become a cotton planter. During Reconstruction, he became a wealthy landowner and was appointed to several local positions.  As a Senator, Mr. Bruce supported "civil rights" for African Americans and Native Americans, and the desegregation of the U.S. Army. 

The Honorable Edward Brooke was elected by popular vote in Massachusetts in 1967 and served two terms in the Senate.  An alumnus of Howard University and Boston University, Mr. Brooke was also a commissioned officer in the U. S. Army during World War II.  He is the last African American Republican and the last Republican from Massachusetts to be elected to the Senate until Mr. Scott Brown's election in January 2010.  A tireless advocate against discrimination, he, along with Senator Walter Mondale, co-authored the 1968 Fair Housing Act which President Johnson signed into law on April 11, one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.  For his service, the former Senator was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. 

The Honorable Carol Moseley Braun, of Illinois, is the first and only African American woman to be elected to the Senate to date and the first African American Senator to be elected as a Democrat.  Before coming to the Senate, Ms. Braun held several public service positions in Illinois including Assistant United States Attorney and Assistant Majority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives.  As a Senator from 1993 to 1999, she championed many causes including education and gun control issues.  After leaving the Senate, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton Ambassador to New Zealand. 

The Honorable Barack Hussein Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 in state of Illinois.  A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Mr. Obama worked as a civil rights attorney and law professor before coming to Washington, D.C.  In February 2007, Senator Obama announced his candidacy for the Democractic Presidential nomination.  In a historic election that culminated in November 2008, he was elected the 44th President of the United States. 


Mr. Roland W. Burris, Democrat, was appointed in December 2008 to serve the remainder of the term left vacant by former Senator Barack Obama.  This graduate of Southern Illinois University and Howard University Law School has more than 30 years of experience working in the public and private sector.  Most notably, he led a successful effort to create a Comptroller position for the U.S. Government.  He currently serves on the Armed Services Committee, the Veterans Affairs Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.






Sources:
 http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/sd107-11/pdf/44-45.pdf
http://burris.senate.gov/biography.cfm