Recently we all learned that the former Penn State
President, Graham Spanier, has been indicted by a
Pennsylvania grand jury
for alleged crimes relating to the
Sandusky
sexual predator scandal with seven counts of various types, but essentially
dealing with complicity in covering the crimes in various ways after the
President’s office learned of the allegations. We learned from the State
Attorney General that the cover up conspiracy cascaded itself up from the
athletic director through a vice president (Financial and Business) to the
President.
This illustrates our previous blog concerning the
difference between accountability and responsibility. You generally can’t go
to jail for your accountability (Spanier was accountable, under the board
for the entire University), but you can go to jail for what you were
personally responsible for (or for not doing), in this case failure to
report, and actively covering and subsequent perjury.
The lesson? When something arrives on your desk you become
responsible for it as well as accountable for it. If you hear of something
going on that is illegal, immoral, imprudent, risky, you have a duty
(responsibility) as part of your accountability to investigate, but
your investigation also engages your responsibility. The old ostrich
technique will not work.
Take a lesson.
Executive leadership and governance is morally serious business. I wonder if
the Board is nervous.(Originally posted on website Nov. 19, 2012)
RMB
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