Integrity: The Ethical Imperative of Culture Transformation

Having served as the head of Compliance and Ethics in a multinational corporation for more than eight years, I found myself intimately exposed to the intricacies of human nature - including my own - along with its inherent flaws.

Throughout my journey, I have constantly pondered upon a fundamental question: What lies at the core of a leader's decision-making process, resulting in both sustainable and ethical performance?

In this article, I delve into this captivating realm that goes way beyond compliance and ethics work, which henceforth gave me a fertile ground to investigate the nature of ethical leadership and sustainable high performance.

In order to do so, we need to talk about the unconscious.

The part we are unaware of: our unconscious

The unconscious, often referred to as our shadow, is not just a psychological concept but an integral part of every human being. Its influence on our actions, decision-making, and ethical conduct is profound.

Recognizing this, I advocate for reflecting on and integrating the unconscious as a key to generative, more ethical decision-making, social justice, integrity, and human flourishing.

Embracing this ethical imperative is crucial for fostering a positive work culture in organizations.

Embracing the “New Ethic”

Erich Neumann, a student of Carl Jung, introduced the concept of the "new ethic." In his book "Depth Psychology and a New Ethic," he emphasized the significance of revering the happenings in the human psyche to cultivate a genuine moral attitude toward ethical leadership.

This “new ethic” challenges the traditional "old ethic" that is still prevalent in our corporate world and driven by perfection and the constant striving to eliminate imperfections, weaknesses, and the negative aspects of human nature – while all these aspects form an integral part of our whole human being.

Instead, the “new ethic” advocates for wholeness and reality, rather than perfection. It urges us to integrate and come to terms with our dark side, our shadow, in a reflective manner.

By accepting and consciously working with our shadow, we can overcome the split within ourselves and within society, becoming more accepting of ourselves and embracing a more vulnerable stance.

Casting our dark side into the unconscious (the resulting tendency under the old ethic) only allows it to live a separate, uncontrolled (because unaware) existence and often results in projecting our own flaws onto others through blaming and scapegoating – the opposite of integrity, ethical leadership and decision-making.

Integrating our shadows

Therefore, my approach is to integrate these shadow sides more and more and help the individuals and teams I work with to become aware of them, so that they can be altered or corrected.

In addition, these alleged dark sides are very often also the very areas of ourselves that hold our unique creative potential. Shutting them down as “negative, unprofessional, and unwanted” means shutting down a huge part of our human potential.

And as mentioned before, shutting them down means letting this unconscious part live an uncontrolled life of its own, often creating much more harm through reactive projections and triggered responses – a bad foundation for ethical decision making.

Working with the unconscious requires accessing parts of our psyche we are unaware of. Through this exploration, we can tap into genuine creativity and authentic agency and integrity that has been repressed and labeled as "bad" due to societal norms, corporate rules, and cultural responses.

The “new ethic” calls for integrating our shadows, connecting with our unaware sides, our imperfect humanness, and embracing our weaknesses. This process leads to more integrity, ethical conduct and inclusiveness rooted in self-awareness, responsibility, and the recognition of our shared humanity.

The new ethic in culture transformation

Applying the principles of the new ethic to culture transformation in organizations is essential. It encourages us to create inclusive work environments that value diversity, recognize the contributions of every individual, and empower employees to bring their authentic selves to the table.

Therefore, being and showing up as a role model under the new ethic acquires a whole new meaning. By embracing the ethical imperative of working with the unconscious, organizations can foster true authentic leadership, deep collaboration, more innovation, personal growth and sustainable decision-making.

Methods for integrity and the new ethic

In my doctoral research, I employed methods informed by depth psychology, embodiment, critical societal studies, and quantum physics, challenging prevailing norms and highlighting inequalities through creative and expressive means to delve into one’s own shadow.

By integrating previously repressed or unaware aspects of one’s shadow, we learn to trust our feminine/masculine body and establish a responsible relationship between the conscious and unconscious.

This endeavor allows for shifts in our discourses and collaboration and for transformative actions; it enables more humaneness and has implications for how we approach all aspects of corporate life, including such crucially important topics as ethical leadership, collaboration and sustainable growth.

Engaging the new ethic involves acknowledging conflicts of duty between alleged societal, corporate, or other expectations and our inner voice (embodied wisdom). By making these conflicts transparent, we can generate alternative, new and transformative actions, making true moves for the better.

It enables us to work towards greater wholeness (versus absurd perfection), making use of our entire human existence (not just our left-brain rational mind). It allows us more social justice and, ultimately, human flourishing.

Conclusion

In summary, recognizing the ethical imperative of working with and more and more integrating our unconscious is essential for any work on culture transformation and leadership development.

It invites us to embrace the shadow, integrate our imperfections, truly grow, and foster a positive work culture that celebrates diversity, collaboration, and ethical conduct. Let us embark on this transformative journey and create organizations that thrive on the principles of the new ethic.