Judgment Matters
In the late 1990’s I negotiated a contract with a man who was the personal attorney to the Clinton’s while President Clinton was still in the White House. In our first meeting, we naturally talked politics. I revealed that I had thought about entering politics, but it was too negative and dirty.
He asked me if I knew how it got that way? I did not. He went on to explain that prior to 1980 the best and the brightest went into politics. Then in the 80’s the best and brightest decided to go to Wall Street as that is where they could make big money. The result, he said, the C students started going into politics and nastiness and mud slinging grew from there.
Politics used to have a gentlemanly quality to it. Since the 80’s, due to many actors, there has been a steady decline in civility and integrity by politicians, so much so, that we now elect people who are blatantly uncivil and proud of it or known to have integrity issues prior to even getting into office.
In the last election cycle George Santos got elected by lying… about seemingly everything in his background. While legal action has been taken against him, I believe he will ultimately be held accountable by his constituents who I suspect will not re-elect him.
While I don’t blame others for his actions, all the lying and deceit of other politicians certainly paved a path for him.
Recently we have learned and continue to learn about gifts Justice Clarence Thomas received, for years from a large GOP donor, including buying his mother's home and allowing her to live there rent free. When confronted with the charges he claimed he had sought council with others as to if it was ok and if it required reporting. Apparently, he was led to believe it was ok and he didn’t need to report it. Sounds like he was asking for permission for something he knew was wrong. Additionally, his wife received payments for work which he did not disclose as required on a financial disclosure form.
Some say the Senate is the most exclusive club in the United States, but in reality, it’s the nine Supreme Court Justices. Our country relies on these individuals to make decisions which impact the lives of everyone in our country and beyond. I would say, judgment is the single most important capability we need from our Supreme Court justices.
Judgment is defined as the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions. I’d love to get Justice Thomas’s answer for how he determined that to hide gifts and income was a sensible conclusion and why he believe that it was an appropriate way for a Supreme Court Justice to act.
Unfortunately, Justice Thomas was not legally bound to report the gifts; only the income. Based upon his actions I question his judgment, and as a result all of his opinions and votes he made on the Supreme Court during his tenure.
I assure you that if a CEO of any publicly traded company intentionally tried to deceive employees and shareholders there would be swift accountability, they would lose their job. 3M recently fired an executive who had been with the company for 30 years just weeks after promoting him to a top role after discovering he violated company policy.
The Boston Celtics first suspended and then in February 2023 fired their head coach Ime Udoka for violating team policies.
In the real world you and I live in, actions have consequences. I’m afraid that in the political world consequences are generally limited to lost elections. In the case of Justice Thomas, he likely will not be impeached nor face any consequences. That’s disappointing because we expect impeccable judgment from our Supreme Court Justices.
What can we learn and do to assist us with our judgment and ensure we demonstrate good judgment? To assist you, I offer the following.
Someone asked Albert Einstein, “how would you go about solving a problem if you only had an hour to solve it?” He responded, “I’d spend 55 minutes figuring out the right question to ask and five minutes solving the problem.” This quote, for me, reveals that questions, not our thoughts, are our best guides to help us deliver good judgment and problem solving.
In the 2000’s I led a First Level Leaders program for over 1500 managers over an 18 month period for a Fortune50 company. The company had violated federal government contracting rules and was put under a consent decree and was ordered to do ethics training for all their managers. During the programs I led, the client had an ethics manager come in and do a two hour talk about ethics. It was there that I learned a few valuable lessons I’d like to share with you.
First, he offered a different but profound definition of honesty, the intent not to deceive. That cut right to the core for me. In the actions I’m taking or the decisions I’m making, am I intending to deceive others? If the answer is yes, then I probably should reconsider.
Second, he shared the following. Before you make a decision, ask: will it pass the test of public scrutiny? Another way of saying this is, if the action I take or the decision I make ends up on the front page of the NY Times or the Wall Street Journal, would my mother be proud of me? If the answer is no, time to go in a different direction.
As I’ve shared in previous blogs, axiology is the study of value. The extent to which we are able to value people, problems or tasks and systems in balance is a direct arbiter for judgment. Another question you could ask comes from the Universal Laws, what is in the highest and best good for all?
If you employ any, some or all of these questions and perspectives, I’m confident that you will demonstrate good judgment and decision making.
Clearly, had those in the examples above used these prompts I suspect their actions would have been different.
As leaders you and I should be judged by and held accountable for our judgment.
“When a man shows you who he is, believe him.” Maya Angelou