Complicity is an interesting word.
It is defined by Dictionary.com as the state of being an accomplice; partnership or involvement in wrong doing: complicity in a crime.
From Wikipedia – An individual is complicit in a crime if he/she is aware of its occurrence and has the ability to report the crime, but fails to do so. As such, the individual effectively allows criminals to carry out a crime despite possibly being able to stop them, either directly or by contacting the authorities, thus making the individual a de-facto accessory to the crime rather than an innocent bystander.
Current events in the football program at Penn State and past events involving Catholic priests make me think about complicity.
Can managers be complicit? Is it OK to not take action when aware of other managers in the organization engaged in wrongdoing? Maybe it’s not something illegal, just inappropriate. Or maybe not even inappropriate, just unfair. Is it OK for a manager to look the other way when they know an employee or a customer is being treated unfairly?
Complicity is an interesting word.
Updated February 11, 2015 after participating in Dialogue Race Advanced Beyond to include customers in that next to last sentence.
[…] The report on Penn State, Sandusky and his heinous behavior started me thinking again about complicity and the responsibility of leaders, especially gifted, charismatic leaders. The greater the gift, […]