{"id":608,"date":"2012-01-23T10:13:26","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T16:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/?p=608"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:19:39","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:19:39","slug":"12-important-lessons-from-the-penn-state-and-syracuse-fiascos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/12-important-lessons-from-the-penn-state-and-syracuse-fiascos\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Important Lessons from the Penn State and Syracuse fiascos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Joe Paterno with Jerry Sandusky<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With the passing of Joe Paterno, there is a lot of debate\nabout his legacy and how he will be remembered? \nIt is a shame that a historic coach with over 400 victories even has\ndoubts that his main accomplishments were in mentoring athletes, helping them\ngraduate and teaching them to become better people.  Yet, due to a variety of factors (some of his\nown doing and some outside of his control), Paterno’s reputation will bear a\npermanent tarnish.  Still, I believe that\nhis accomplishments should not be completely nullified by his mistakes.  Our legacies are a complex interaction of the\npositive and negative things which have occurred during our life.  I hope that after reading these lessons you\ncan help prevent this type of situation in your life\/organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Understand\nthe risks of actions of those underneath you<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Among the most underanalyzed\nareas in all of business are the risks and liabilities created by people who\nare below the upper management.  Many of\nthese risks are not adequately explained to the employees and often the\nemployees do not receive sufficient training to allow them to truly understand\nthe consequences of their actions (or inactions).  If your organization does not implement a\nsystem to train and educate your employees to watch for things beyond the\nimmediate scope of their employment you will suffer severe consequences.  Employees should be taught to question and\ncritique things that are going on because they are your eyes and ears.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Deal\nwith initial reports<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Many times initial reports are\nvague and sketchy.  Victims or the\nindividuals reporting the inappropriate activity are fearful, either for their\npersonal safety or for their jobs.  In\ntoday’s economy, it is easier to ignore problems that you see than to\njeopardize your own well-being.  It is\ndifficult, but your organization needs to implement rewards and confidentiality\nelements to encourage and protect those that are trying to help you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Don’t\nignore warning signs<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Sometimes things just don’t\nmake sense. Any one incident with one employee can mean nothing (i.e. working\nlate, no vacations, always around).  But\noften, you actually have multiple people in an organization who are becoming\nsuspicious of the same situation. \nHowever, taken alone, their observations mean nothing.   Without a reasonable reporting system to\nencourage employees to provide you with this information, you ONLY have a\nrandom series of events in the eyes of the observers, instead of the clear\npattern which exists when viewed within the sequence of the behaviors.  If something doesn’t add up, move on to a\nStep 4 without hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        • Conduct\nthorough investigations<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          When the initial reports are\nvague and you have not received corroboration from other witnesses, it can be\neasy to ignore the allegations.  Often\nthey are written off as a misunderstanding” or something taken out of\ncontext.  Do not be so quick to dismiss\nthe claims.  Conduct a proper\ninvestigation using resources appropriate to the scale of the issues.  If police need to be involved, this is the\nappropriate time to do so.  The\ninvestigations that are hastily dismissed because people want to get on with\ntheir real” jobs are the ones that leave many stones unturned, many witnesses\nunquestioned and many issues waiting to cause problems at a later date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          • Cut\nthe ties early<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            If there appear to be problems,\nsevering the ties early can avert significant problems at a later date.  If you look at the Sandusky situation, PSU\nknew enough to remove him as a coach in 1999. Yet Sandusky was still allowed to\nremain connected to the program and use the facilities for a long period after\nthat.  PSU’s athletic department\ncontinued to provide him access to the student-athletes, the facilities and\nmany other perks of being around the program.  Reports surfaced this week that he was in the\nPresident of the University’s box at a football game just weeks before his\narrest.  If they found out enough to\nremove him in 1999, the other elements should have been cut off as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            • Be\naccountable in your role<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              This was a major failing at PSU\nand a terrific contrast with Syracuse. \nAt PSU the information and the details lay dormant for over a decade,\nallowing countless other alleged victims to suffer.  Nobody in PSU stepped up to make sure that\nthe incidents got reported to the police and that a proper investigation was\nconducted.  The lack of accountability\npermeated every level of the university, something that ultimately resulted in\nthe layers of problems.  At Syracuse,\nChancellor Cantor stepped up quickly and acted decisively.  Perhaps aided by the immediacy of the PSU\nissues, Syracuse’s swift actions demonstrated its desire to be accountable as\nan institution, rather than working to protect an individual accused of these\ncrimes (we will examine the double edge sword nature of this a bit later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              • Make\nthose under you accountable in their roles<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                You can only make other\naccountable to you if you are accountable to them.  The clich? of respect being earned is one\nthat fits aptly here.  There seemed to be\na circular passing of the buck of the responsibility for dealing with the\nsituation.  None of the people felt they\nhad the obligation or the power to take the proper actions.  Whether this was all because of their fear of\nJoe Paterno or not, someone at the institutional level needed to be asking more\nquestions about what was going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                • Don’t\ntry to cover up<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Cover ups can create more\ndamage than the crime.  We have seen that\nsince Watergate.  If there was not an\ninstitutional cover-up going on at PSU it is very difficult to imagine that ALL\nof the elite leaders of the institution, acting independently, would have\nagreed to ignore the apparently overwhelming evidence.  In today’s media and technology driven world,\nthings will not stay hidden for very long. \nAnd in fact, the more you deny and try to hide from the truth, the more\npeople will dig and dig until they find out the reality.  If you think that all witnesses and all\nevidence will remain out of sight you are kidding yourself.  And if you think your identity and details\nare secure and safe, go watch the TV show Person of Interest” on CBS.  While possibly exaggerated the point should\nbe clear.  NOTHING you do or say is\nsafe.  You have to assume every call is\nrecorded, every email is read and every action you take is videotaped.  And then govern yourself accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  • Do\nnot attack the victims of overly” defend the accused<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Nothing enrages the public more\nthan attacking the victim.  Even if it\nhas to be done in the context of an actual criminal trial (a tactic far too\ndetailed and complex to deal with in this space), it should not be done in the\nmedia.   It alienates your supporters and\nmakes your organization appear to be insensitive to the alleged victim.  If the victim is lying, you will have plenty\nof time to make your statements and issue your press releases.  But if you come out like Jim Boeheim\nattacking the accuser and defending Bernie Fine you will have trouble if the\nfacts do not support you.  The biggest\nproblem is that the people closest to the situation are often far too connected\nand involved to see the defects. \nRemember that clich? about right under your nose.”   The\nbest statement is one indicating that you are going to let the investigation\nplay out, cooperate with the authorities and decide from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    • PR\nfrom inaction typically worse than PR from overreaction<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      When a story breaks, the public\nwants to see some action.  Quick\nstatements, calls for investigations, interim suspensions pending\ninvestigations and other proactive stances will generate a lot of goodwill on\nyour side.  As we mentioned before, they\ncould have a double edged sword because suspending or terminating someone\nbefore a full investigation could lead to institutional liability. Typically\nthough, the lack of action will hurt the institution far more than overreacting\nsince the overreaction can usually be corrected by announcing positive findings\nin an investigation or issuing a press release exonerating the accused.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      • Take\nresponsibility<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        Everybody makes mistakes.\nEVERYBODY.  Nobody who is in a position\nof leadership has a perfect record.  They\nhave regrets, decisions that could be second guessed, behaviors that they would\nnot want to be made public and issues in their personal life they would not\nwant exposed.  Step up and own the\nmistake.   Acknowledge the fault.  Accept the responsibility.  Indicate how you have learned from the\nmistake or what steps you have taken to ensure that it will not happen again.\nThese actions not only reinforce your acceptance of the responsibility, they\nmake you publicly accountable to ensure that it does not occur again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        • Apologize<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                          We live in a VERY forgiving\nsociety.  Things will be on the news for\na relatively short cycle.  Most of us in\nour lives do not receive the scrutiny of Joe Paterno, Jim Tressel, Bill Clinton\nor other high profile sports, entertainment or political figures.  If you apologize for your actions in a\nsincere fashion, you will earn a lot of respect DESPITE the severity of the\nmistake.  Had Bill Clinton apologized to\nthe American people for his encounter” with Monica Lewinsky, he would have\nendured a week or two of ridicule rather than the extended ordeal he went\nthrough. Once you apologize, show your contrition and then move on.  Something else will come in the news cycle\nthat will take you off the front page. \nYour actions will never go away and you will need to live with yourself\nand live with the prospect of facing your victims or those you have wronged,\nbut after you have apologized all you can do is move forward and try to regain\nthe respect you have lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          As Joe Paterno was laid to rest yesterday and has his\npublic memorial today, the question we ask is What do you feel was Joe\nPaterno’s greatest accomplishment?”  In a\nperverse way, I feel that this whole scandal may ultimately result in the\ngreatest positive impact on the most people. \nIt took a person of Paterno’s stature to shed the light on this issue,\nand he helped” it receive even more attention than other high profile\noccurrences within the church.  It is\nonly when a man (or woman) of great stature suffers through an incredibly\ndifficult time that the whole world notices. \nHad Paterno reported and acted promptly on the Sandusky case in 1998, we\nwould not be having this conversation. \nHis failure” may end up being the action which creates the greatest\nsocial change.  So let us know how you\nremember Paterno and what you feel his legacy should be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                          With the passing of Joe Paterno, there is a lot of debate about his legacy and how he will be remembered? It is a shame that a historic coach with over 400 victories even has doubts that his main accomplishments were in mentoring athletes, helping them graduate and teaching them to become better people. Yet, due to a variety of factors (some of his own doing and some outside of his control), Paterno’s reputation will bear a permanent tarnish. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[294,80,17,11],"tags":[357,353,358,356,351,352,6,355,354],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roykessel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}