Exception to the Rule encourages leaders in organizations to create a strategy for success using the seven pillars of character to build solid business and interpersonal relationships. The seven pillars provide a foundation that supports integrity and a life well-lived. The authors provide relatable examples throughout each chapter to illustrate the age-old moral dilemmas that are presented as learning opportunities for character growth and development.
There are several red or blue pill matrix moments that prompt the reader to think deeply about the choices they make daily that can change the course of one’s life over time. The introduction to the Exception to the Rule beautifully lays out the authors’ takeaways like respecting others, how we can teach virtue and the carrot versus the stick theory. While this book discusses some serious topics, it is sprinkled with colorful and at times humorous illustrations that drive home the points the authors aim to make.
Each chapter begins with the definition of the virtue being discussed and a vivid illustration of what that virtue looks like in action vs. what an action lacking that virtue looks like. Chapter one focused on the first of the seven pillars, trust. Trust is the foundation of any relationship and the chapter brings out examples of how cultivating trust in your organization can encourage more productive employees describing the term of social capital that socialists call reciprocal altruism. Statistics have proven that people perform better when they are in a trusting culture. According to Exception to the Rule this also creates a feeling of safety and when people feel safe they are more likely to take a calculated risk that can ultimately yield positive returns.
Compassion, which is a hot button topic in this current climate, is discussed at length in chapter two as the second pillar in creating the foundation of integrity. The authors define compassion as a concern for the suffering and misfortunes of others. One may ask, “how does that have a place in business?” Showing compassion in the workplace can prove to be a powerful driver that can lead to satisfaction in one’s job, renew employee and employer engagement and enhance organizational performance. This chapter was one of my favorites as it brought out that compassion should be the bedrock of an organization. Of course, we think of compassion as a necessity in specific industries such as healthcare, but as the authors brought out compassion connotes leaders who are willing to share, sacrifice and surrender. Similar to the idea of servant leadership, compassion requires courageousness to put others before ourselves when making decisions. Compassion strengthens trust and creates teams who cooperate to reach a common goal.
Courage is the third pillar of the seven virtues. Moral courage is described as knowing your moral standard. As this chapter boldly and frankly declares, it is choosing the hard right over the easy wrong! When put in such simple words it is clear to see that courage is not simply taking a stand when everyone else is also taking a stand, it is the act of being the “interrupter,”that person who speaks out or interrupts the situation to declare that it is wrong. This has been a lesson I have taught my children and I found it profound to ponder how and why courage in the workplace is important. The authors share statistics of a case study of more than 6,000 employees who witnessed unethical conduct by a superior of which only 40% of those polled would report those unethical acts that included sexual harassment, discrimination, or falsifying financial records among other undesirable behaviors. When an ethical leader was at the helm of an organization, over 65% of employees reported misconduct. The courageous leader who takes a stand against unethical behaviors made it safe for employees to also take a stand against unethical behaviors, thusly creating a more trustworthy organization.
Desmond Tutu stated, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of the mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” Many of us believe that neutrality or sitting on the fence is the best way to be perceived as fair, but as Desmond Tutu beautifully pointed out, you have still picked a side in your silence. Justice, the fourth pillar is defined as fairness or equality, while those words do not equate to the same thing, they are often used interchangeably. As Exception to the Rule brings out, we are all capable of putting our concerns in front of the needs of others and can be conflicted when we are required to step into a situation that may make us feel uncomfortable. In the workplace, the words equal and fair, while similar, have clear differences as do the concept of legal and ethical. The distinction between law and ethics is that law is what we have to do while ethics is what we should do. Cultivating justice within the workplace as a valuable virtue increases engagement and morale. If employees do not view the organization as fair they are less likely to be fully engaged and opposed to being open to your leadership. They are more likely to become guarded. When thinking about justice as the fourth pillar we do well to bear in mind that the purpose of justice is to create rules that bring people together. Navigating this particular virtue requires wisdom which is the next virtue discussed.
Wisdom, the fifth pillar, is described as doing the right thing, the right way, for the right reason. Wisdom allows us to navigate complicated situations that require us to consider various perspectives. Applied wisdom leverages the strength of your employees. According to Exception to the Rule, 20% of the workforce disengage when their employer focuses on their weakness. On the other hand that number drops from 20% to just 1% when an employer focuses on the strengths of the employee. The strength-based approach creates more productive and more satisfied employees. What also stood out to me in this chapter centers around the barriers of wisdom and how they create stumbling blocks. A few of the barriers to wisdom are being unreliable and not honoring your verbal commitments, not learning from the experiences of others, not learning from your failures, lack of resilience and lack of openness to new ideas, or lack of curiosity. Wisdom is learned through experience and adds the dimension of practical skill to knowledge and information.
Temperance, the sixth pillar, defined as moderation in thought or actions, is a virtue focused on cultivating patience. A mantra that is repeated several times throughout this chapter is “Calm is Contagious,” a quote from a former Navy Seal, Rorke Denver. While many believe the best way to run an organization is to dive in and make quick decisions to keep the pace with the ever-changing business landscape, temperance helps us keep in mind that it is important to do things in a timely fashion and its due season as opposed to in haste. Temperance is the mastery of our urges and desires to resist extreme behaviors that lack discipline and forethought. Practicing this principle can bring balance to our lives and our organizations. This chapter brings out that temperance is learned on two levels, the leadership level and also the cultural level. It is our responsibility as individuals to put the virtue of temperance into action, thereby shaping the culture of our organizations. A simple way Exception to the Rule introduces action items related to temperance is through the 3A’s. The 3A’s are Awareness: gaining insight into our strengths and shortcomings associated with each virtue, Attention: focus on one virtue and leveraging our strengths, and Action: what we do and how we act.
The seventh and final pillar is Hope, which is a matter of controlling our responses to circumstances beyond our control. Having hope allows us to frame adverse situations into opportunities for growth and development. As the chapter quipped, it is about “being better, not bitter” and to do so we have to be open to receive the lesson that is sometimes buried under a mountain of disappointment and failure. Empathy is encouraged as a tool to make us all better as opposed to bitter because through our suffering we are better able to understand someone else’s suffering. When displaying empathy our relationship will be strengthened, we will also acquire a deeper understanding of purpose through the experiences of adversities. It is also easier for us to recognize our vulnerability and we come to understand the fragility of life. These adaptations to adversity are described as PTG or posttraumatic growth. We do well to practice these strategies not only in our organizations but also in our own lives, creating a culture filled with hope and understanding that can benefit us all.
Exception to the Rule creates a blueprint that substantiates the idea of not having to compromise one’s moral and ethical values to achieve success. By strategically weaving core virtues into the fabric of our organizations and our lives we can create a work culture that is productive, positive and highly successful. Creating a place where employees feel valued and engaged and motivated while knowing the ethics of the organization are built on the seven pillars including trust, compassion, courage, justice, wisdom, temperance, and hope all culminate in a workplace of integrity. Creating such a workplace is an attainable goal.
