Normalizing unethical behavior

Many years ago, I read a book titled Bad Leadership by Barbara Kellerman. I learned a great deal from that book about what bad leadership is and the role bad followers play in enabling it. I’m definitely going to read the book again and write a review in the near future. In the book, Dr. Kellerman states, “Unethical leadership fails to distinguish between right and wrong. Because common codes of decency and good conduct are in some way violated, the leadership process is defiled.” 1 

Recently, I read an article in a newspaper about a panel that will be held during the South by Southwest (SXSW) educational conference next year in Texas, which will discuss the True Cost of the Status Quo Public Education in Puerto Rico.2  It’s certainly a significant topic, but to my surprise, one of the panel members is the former Puerto Rico Education Secretary, Julia Keleher, who was sentenced to prison for conspiracy to commit fraud.3  SXSW posted a video where she gave a brief introduction to the problem statement, stating that “students lack access to basic resources like books, teachers, and technology, and that state and federal dollars never make it to the classroom. The failure of public education in Puerto Rico perpetuates generational poverty and threatens the future of the island.” 4 

While Ms. Keleher’s statement may be true, my concern is that she is not qualified to lead a discussion, given that her unethical behavior as education secretary contributed to the very failures she is describing. When I read the article, my mind immediately went to Dr. Kellerman’s book. Ms. Keleher epitomizes bad leadership, and my concern is that we are normalizing unethical behavior. I don’t know how, but we need to solve this problem before it’s too late. 

  1.  Kellerman, Barbara. Bad Leadership. (P. 34). Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 2004. ↩︎
  2. Former Secretary of Education Julia Keleher organizes panel on the island’s educational system. El Nuevo Dia August 20 , 2023. 9 September 2023 <https://www-elnuevodia-com.translate.goog/noticias/locales/notas/exsecretaria-de-educacion-julia-keleher-organiza-panel-sobre-el-sistema-educativo-de-la-isla/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc> ↩︎
  3. Former Puerto Rico Education Secretary Is Sentenced to Prison. The New York Times. December 17, 2021. 9 September 2023 <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/17/us/puerto-rico-education-corruption-keleher.html> ↩︎
  4. True Costs of the Status Quo Public Education in Puerto Rico. 2023. 9 September 2023 <https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/134229?s=09>, direct link to video <https://vimeo.com/845766535> ↩︎

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