British MP's Behaving Badly

From the Executive Coach column at Government Executive magazine comes good advice concerning British legislators caught up a scandal over dodgy expense reimbursement claims:

What's amazing to me is that many of the MP's are putting a few hundred or a few thousand pounds ahead of their long term credibility, reputation and effectiveness. They are becoming a laughing stock while they argue over expenses that seem hugely inappropriate to the average citizen. And that is what leaders really have to watch out for. It's easy to get into a bubble when you're a leader and pretty soon the abnormal begins to seem normal. One of the executive speakers in the session I spoke to yesterday summed it up really well. There are, he said, rules and there are appearances. There are times when the appearances matter more than the rules. True leaders understand the difference. When the rules you're following wouldn't stand up to a smell test with the average person, it's time to take a step back and upgrade the rules. When it's all said and done, the most valuable currency a leader has is integrity and credibility.  Maintaining that currency requires an understanding that it's more valuable in the long run than currency of the paper sort.

via blogs.govexec.com