September is "Ethics Month" in the Public Relations field, officially. But anyone who has ever practiced in this field knows that building and maintaining good professional ethics is a year-round task.
While PR professionals occasionally get their asses handed to them by media pundits or reporters, most of us are ethically trying to help our clients navigate the slippery slopes of the world without falling flat. In some studies I've read, PR people are even rated as low as car salespeople. That is depressing for a group of people, that by and large, pride themselves on thinking through pitfalls of the modern world.
Thank goodness that another study has been done that focuses on the specific attributes of public relations professionals. It's no surprise to me that the study found that public relations professionals have a highly developed sense of ethics. Here's my favorite finding from the study:
"Relying too much on externally imposed standards indicates lower critical thinking among PR professionals and keeps them from growing cognitively."In other words, having ethical standards ingrained in you is better than having some outside canon of ethics on the wall. The study finds that public relations practitioners have a more highly developed sense of ethics than surgeons and other business professionals. It may be because PR professionals are often asked to do things that are unethical or at least not telling the whole truth.
The first time your boss or a client asks you to do something that is not ethical, your skin will crawl. Trust your gut. Speak out. You might be surprised at the reaction.
A few years ago, I objected to an assignment that was being suggested by my boss. It turns out that I was right. I explained the dilemma to my client and they saw that it was not in their best interest in the long run to pursue that route. They would have had to take a chance that people would ONLY believe their side of the story and not question it. But the whole reason they were on the PR hot seat in the first place is that others WERE already questioning their side of the story.
Know your ethical standards but listen to your gut. What's your best personal story about ethics?
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