Whistle blowing – A change of tune required

The history of whistle blowing is not a happy one and, more often than not, it is the whistle blower who is made to suffer most.

Perhaps the earliest corporate whistle blower was William Bolt who in 1772 accused the English East India Company of nefarious deeds in its administration. The result for Bolt echoes down the ages to the present day. The East India Company ruined him. Not that he was altogether blameless having been an ‘insider’ in the Bengal administration prior to his revelations.

In contemporary times we have seen increasing frequency of revelations of the leadership of corporations failing to meet acceptable levels of probity. Such misdeeds are often exposed by whistle-blowers who can often suffer similar results to William Bolt. Examples of the significant dangers to whistle blowers abound in all sectors – healthcare, financial services, industry, government, among many others others.

As a consequence of the often deleterious effects to the whistle-blowers themselves it is no surprise that many people with important information of poor corporate governance, behaviour and even malfeasance, are reluctant to put their heads above the parapet.  

Something needs to change.  

One major action we could take to initiate such a change is to transform both the designation of whistle blowing and its connotations. 

If one thinks about the word itself the connotations triggered in our minds are primarily negative. Thoughts of ‘telling tales’ or ‘causing trouble’ and even ‘sour grapes’ are hard to avoid. Even people not involved in the whistle-blower's claims may often wonder, “why are they doing this - what's in it for them?”. Rarely is it seen as a purely altruistic act for the benefit of the organisation as a whole.

So, what name could we choose that might transform these negative connotations?

 I propose ‘Governance Guardians’ - and every company should have a Governance Guardian policy. This designation is positive for both words.

In the modern era, Governance is the ‘the word of the moment’ around the world. It refers to more than just good management and compliance with regulations. It goes to the heart of leadership and organisational ethos, purpose and values. It goes to the core of how leaders discharge their responsibilities and obligations to society as well for the organisation itself. Good governance is also an area of keen interest for quality investors concerned about performance degradation through reputational damage. It is the ‘G’ in ESG.

 The word ‘Guardian’ is even more positive, conjuring up a custodian or stewardship role, or in its strongest form, the position of sentinel or guard. It implies, for everybody in an organisation, a positive sense of obligation and responsibility to protect the good and ‘call out’ the bad for the sake of the organisation itself.

I maintain that there would be considerable pride in being seen as a Governance Guardian rather than a Whistle Blower. What do you think?