Last week, I had the great pleasure of being at the European Compliance and Ethics Institute in Berlin, where I heard a fantastic description in the opening keynote by Piergiorgio Pepe, the owner of Quantum Ethics.
The speaker dissected how companies have responded when the political winds shifted around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. It was such a smart framing, and one that applies far beyond those two topics.
When the winds changed, companies responded differently
Many organizations made meaningful public commitments to DEI and ESG in the years following the murder of George Floyd and during the period after COVID, when employees, stakeholders, and the public were all paying close attention to what companies said they stood for. But when the broader political environment began to change, companies responded very differently.
Some said nothing.
Some reaffirmed their values.
And some changed course entirely.
Silence Signals Consent
Changing course and actively abandoning supposed “values” is different than going dark – or “hushed” as the speaker described.
When a company goes quiet in the face of changing political pressure, employees notice. If an organization that once spoke loudly about its commitments says nothing when those commitments become less popular, many employees will understandably conclude one of two things. Either the commitment was never real, or leadership no longer has the courage to stand behind it.
The speaker nailed it when he said, “Silence signals consent.”
What a powerful truth.
This is bigger than DEI and ESG
This lesson is not limited to DEI or ESG. It applies just as easily to anti-bribery, anti-corruption, speak-up culture, fair treatment, human rights, or any other value a company claims to hold. If an organization only stands by its principles when it is easy, convenient, or politically expedient to do so, then those principles are not being experienced as values. They are experienced as branding.
Your classification and handling rules may not match the environment. Many companies have policies that assume “office = controlled space.” Co-working breaks that assumption.
Your employees will do what the environment encourages. If the space makes it easy to print, people will print. If it makes it easy to take calls anywhere, people will take calls anywhere. People are social animals who mimic each other’s actions.
Consistency is the real test
In compliance and ethics, we talk all the time about tone from the top, walking the walk, and aligning words with actions. But employees are not just listening to what leaders say when they launch an initiative. They are also listening to what leaders do when the environment changes, when scrutiny increases, or when standing firm becomes uncomfortable.
That is the real test.
Values must remain visible under pressure
Values are not values because they are printed on a website or included in a speech. Values become real when they remain visible under pressure.
If leadership stays silent when commitments are challenged, that silence communicates something. It tells employees what matters, what does not, and whether the company’s stated values are durable or disposable.
And once employees begin to believe that values are disposable, trust erodes quickly.
The message for leaders
For companies that want strong cultures, credible ethics programs, and real employee engagement, the message is simple: consistency counts. If leaders want employees to believe what they say, the organization has to keep saying it — and keep showing it — even when the winds change.
Because silence signals consent.