Last week, Post Office investigator Robert Daily said ‘I was only doing my job’ as he gave evidence about the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice in modern times.
More than 700 Post Office branch managers were wrongfully convicted of fraud. This was despite there being no evidence of theft, and no other explanation for shortfalls in the accounts – other than that the software might be faulty. Daily, however, didn’t pursue that line of enquiry. Why? Because he’d repeatedly been told the system was robust – by the people who put it in.
60 years ago, former SS officer Adolf Eichmann invoked the so-called Nuremberg Defence of ‘I was only following orders’ at his trial. But at what point should any of us be expected to think and act for ourselves when it requires the defiance of superior forces? Reporting on the trial, political theorist Hannah Arendt said this: ‘No-one has the right to obey’.
In other words, subordination doesn’t justify abdication.
That is relevant to you even if your boss isn’t a dictator, because every organisation has something unique within the fabric of its make up that is every bit as powerful as a direct order: Its culture.
Culture, after all, is specifically designed to shape our attitudes, behaviours, beliefs and assumptions so that leaders don’t have to give direct orders for everything all of the time. The value of 'mucking In’, for example, means you're expected to go beyond your job description to help out without having to be told. But what about the negative values that exist in every organisation? For example, you might not see ‘Don’t Challenge Authority’ in your employee handbook, but inside your head you can still hear those who didn’t conform barking that instruction long after they’ve been let go.
What struck me about ‘No-one has the right to obey’ is the list of characteristics you need to be able to live by that philosophy:
- the curiosity to question your received wisdom
- the courage to stand up for what’s right
- the velocity to change direction as soon as it’s clear you're being led down the wrong path
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised when I realised that these characteristics – the ones that give us the ability to define who we are and to become who we want to be – are the same as those that define our ability to adapt. And here’s the proof: Robert Daily was just one of many investigators, but what if he had pushed harder? Could he have put a first chink in the armour of an organisation that already knew its software was faulty (which Daily did not)? Well, Alan Bates was also just one small cog in the machine: a Post Office branch manager. But he became the leader of a relentless campaign for justice that changed everything.
Rich Alderton specialises in Adaptability Intelligence and executive coaching, so call us on 07873 823 800, email us or complete our enquiry form to find out more.
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