Money, Sex and Power
By Steve | October 02, 2007
My friend and colleague Carrie Penman worked many years as the ethics officer for a major American corporation. She says that all the major cases boiled down to three things: Money, Sex and Power. “Often all three!” she has told me more than once.
Today’s sexual harassment verdict starring the New York Knicks, Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden fits neatly into Carrie’s findings. You can read the details anywhere, although some of the details are clearly adults only. The interesting points for those of us in the ethics and compliance profession are, it seems to me:
1: While Isiah was found to have engaged in sexual harassment, it was his employer (Madison Square Garden) and the CEO of his employer (Thomas Dolan) who are required to pay the price. (MSG owes $8.6 Million in punitive damages, Dolan $3m.)
2. Half of the damages ($6M) are due to the hostile work environment created by Thomas and MSG. The other half ($5.6M) stems from the jury’s finding that Ms. Anucha Brown Sanders was fired in retaliation for her sexual harassment complaint.
3. Thomas Dolan, CEO of Madison Square Garden, fired Ms. Brown Sanders, then VP of Marketing and Operations. MSG claims she was fired for incompetence and for interfering with the investigation of her sexual harassment complaint.
I have no idea what is the truth of this sordid story. Isiah Thomas and MSG deny all allegations and will appeal. But their ultimate success may not matter. This decision, even if it doesn’t stand, will strike fear in executives everywhere.
Executives who harass should be afraid. So should those who retaliate against those who report misconduct. But the last thing we need is executives who are afraid to hold bad performers accountable for fear that they will be held personally liable in court. Our research shows that one of the leading contributors to bad corporate cultures is when executives don’t hold people accountable.
Organizations need to better equip their leaders to know how to handle employee concerns. With sensitivity and professionalism, without formal or informal retaliation. This is not easy—but it must be done. Perhaps today’s verdict will give organizations the incentives to address this glaring need—and executives the self-interest to pay attention.