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The bank claims that the spying and subterfuge around the episode were isolated.

Maybe people around the situation turned a blind eye or refused to consider the possibility that there was a problem.

«Poaching concerns are legitimate»

Either way, it doesn’t let them off the hook. The saying «If you see something, say something!» very much applies here.

Where do you rank corporate spying in a list of worst corporate ethical sins?

Companies have legitimate concerns about employees leaving with intellectual property or client relationships. That’s why many of them work with non-disclosure contracts or non-compete agreements.

Is following someone a valid method to prevent this from happening?

The thing with spying is that once the word becomes linked to your company, it’s there forever on the Internet. That’s not what you want to have associated with your bank, where what you’re ultimately selling is trust.

So spying can happen, but banks best not become associated with it?

There has to be a legal and ethical way to ensure that people aren’t leaving with your clients or intellectual property – I can’t imagine spying is a legitimate tool to enforce that.

Where does this leave Urs Rohner?

The coming months are the most critical months of his tenure – his legacy is going to be shaped by what he does or doesn’t do.

«Urs Rohner can do a lot in 14 months!»

Suppose that in April 2021, he could say that in 14 months, he made quantifiable progress in developing ethical leadership and sustaining a strong culture: more people are speaking up about violations, for example.

Does he have the time?

You can do a lot in 14 months! Train worldwide staff at every level in ethical leadership, refuse to tolerate unethical behavior and hire and promote only high-character people in every position in the business.

Bruce Weinstein is the ethics speaker and trainer known as «The Ethics Guy». He is CEO of the Institute for High-Character Leadership, based in New York. Weinstein writes about ethical leadership for «Forbes,» and has published several books on ethics in business. Weinstein graduated with a degree in philosophy from Swarthmore College and a Masters and Ph.D. in philosophy with a concentration in bioethics from Georgetown University and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. He was awarded a national fellowship in leadership development by Kellogg Foundation in 1993.