Double - Hammer! Ex - VW Executive Board Member Winterkorn is alleged to have lied

This was one of many headlines about the diesel scandal. Was there a 'Winterkorn system'? How could systematic fraud develop? It is up to the courts to judge this. How does it come about that more and more people in a company become accomplices? And above all: How can one avoid being sucked into the 'complicity maelstrom'? I talk about this with clients in coaching.

An example from my coaching practice

"Again and again, I am confronted with projects that - to put it mildly - require a precise 'weighing up'. To be honest, it's often a question of: is this still compliant or no longer? I ask myself more and more often - especially at the moment, when the pressure on our margins is immense - how I deal with the discrepancy between my own values of integrity and adherence to principle and the actions that are required in contrast to them. That was the coaching assignment. A concern that I encounter again and again in compliance coaching.

Immerse yourself in the situation

Imagine you are having an important conversation in which your counterpart, perhaps a colleague on the board or an important customer, wants to convince you of a business move that does not comply with the rules, i.e. is not compliant. Irritated by the discrepancy between the motives and values that move you as a human being on the one hand and the required courses of action - the expectations of the 'interlocutor' (usually superior) towards you, on the other hand, your inner life is perhaps contradictory, your personal state - i.e. your basic feeling - is in any case highly complex.

You may be in an anxious state, a worried state, because without the required course of action, you will not be able to achieve given margins. After the long, lean period due to Corona, you now urgently need good numbers. Or you may be in an ignorant state, believing that everyone in the industry is bending the rules ("Everyone is doing it - right now!") You may be more doubtful-honest, asking yourself: "What happens if I don't agree? Will I lose my job? How will I pay off the house loan then?". You may also be in a bold state ("I'm not going along with this!"). In the end, however, a synopsis of all the states mentioned is also possible, in which case you are in a "patchwork state". Here, different thoughts cry out for consideration. Depending on how consciously you can now control your state, you can influence the outcome. However, it could also be that you - instead of managing your own state - let yourself be steered by your counterpart and agree to the deal against your conviction.  Conversely, it is therefore undoubtedly advantageous to infect the other person with your basic feeling, to convince him or her of the opposite with your reaction, how you take the deal. Here the question arises: who can control their state better and thus take over the power in the conversation?

The solution

Start by training very conscious state control so that you can use it at any time in a highly complex situation involving contentious compliance actions or have it available as required. For example, a compliance state can be activated that enables you to communicate openly and clearly that you reject deals of this kind. Then the counterpart will also react at least thoughtfully and with restraint. One thing is clear: Your inner attitude - e.g. the awareness of your scale of values - influences your behaviour. Suppose your personal philosophy is characterised by integrity. You convincingly convey the pride and added value for the company that a culture of trust brings because you have trained it. In that case, the arguments are on your side.

To do this, it is essential to know the chain of effects that underlies a state: First, a particular event generates a thought in the subconscious. Then you give this thought a meaning. From this, an emotion develops, which in turn causes a certain behaviour. This results in the individual, personal state. This depends above all on the meaning you give to the situation and the emotions associated with it. As you can see, this is an active action: YOU give things / the situation their meaning and thus influence your own inner attitude through your thoughts. If, for example, you are very clear about how profitable a compliant attitude is for the company in the long term, then it will be easier for you to confidently fend off the 'attack' of your counterpart. (from: Balanceakt Compliance, Dr Kathrin Niewiarra & Dorette Segschneider, fazbuch-Verlag)