NBC suspended news anchor Brian Williams this week after accusations arose of him falsely
reporting multiple, significant, first-hand encounters in Iraq, Israel and New
Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. It appears NBC hopes that implementing this
six-month suspension will allow the controversy to blow over. What
remains to be seen is whether or not Williams will be able to recover his
reputation as further details surface on his mistaken accounts of these major
news events.
These days, network
newscasters are considered celebrities and experts. We allow them into
our homes every night and assume that what they tell us is fact. We
expect them to check their sources and report with the utmost accuracy.
Trust is a difficult thing to garner and once it is lost, recovering it can be
difficult.
“It is hard to imagine why
Williams would falsely report events from his perch in one of broadcast
journalism’s most coveted jobs in exchange for slightly louder applause,” said Washington Post opinion writer Kathleen Parker.
Brian Williams made a
mistake. He apologized and will likely
have to do more of that in the future but, right now, he
is holding his breath in hopes that he will be granted the opportunity to leave
this debacle behind him and return to NBC Nightly News. So what do we
learn from Williams and where do we go from here?
Key opinion influencers,
role models and respected leaders in the media and business
world must maintain a code of ethics and possess a level of integrity and
authenticity of the highest level. When they stray from this practice, there
are repercussions, for leadership, for the organization and even for the fans
they have let down. How do they regain respect and how do their viewers,
colleagues and organizations rebound?
Have you or anyone in your
company communicated key information inaccurately? What was the outcome and how
was the situation addressed? Many people offer leaders their trust assuming
they are worthy of the honor based on their role or title. Trust and
credibility should be treated like fine crystal. Once broken, it is very
difficult to rebuild.
Authenticity is necessary
for a leader to be able to have influence over others. It doesn’t take long for
people to catch on when leaders are not authentic or do not follow through with
their promises. People have a desire for their leaders to be real and
relatable. Simply put, a leader is not leading if no one is
following.
One of the most difficult
roads for organizations to maneuver is the period after an M&A. Far
too often the employees who remain feel the organization lied to them or at the
very least that the company was not being honest and candid. The new
organization is now tasked with rebuilding trust where it was lost while their
people are wondering who will go and who will stay when the dust settles. So
the seed of doubt is now rooted in a bed of distrust. Savvy leadership would
focus on rebuilding the morale of the organization during this time, while
establishing new corporate values and rules of engagement in an effort to make
a smooth transition. It’s often not a quick and easy process but the sooner the
employees have vision and experience of the new world the sooner trust can be
established and the more effective the outcome.
Will Brian Williams receive
a second chance? That has yet to be determined. Six months from now there will
be a new controversy to occupy our blog posts and social media rants.
Throughout history great leaders have made mistakes, yes leaders are human.
Unfortunately in life most of us do not get a second chance in situations like
this. Leaders must be authentic or prepare themselves for what could be
an indefinite suspension from influence. When you compromise integrity and
trust, recovery can be a very hard, long road.
