The pressure a nonprofit manager experiences when things go wrong can be crushing, especially if it occurs on a slow news day or when a politician is worried about being re-elected.
If you followed procedure, you're a hidebound bureaucrat more worried about covering your backside than an enlightened manager really working to help people. Deviate from procedure, and you might as well jump into shark-infested waters and open an artery.
In their book "The Ethics Challenge in Public Service" Carol W. Lewis and Stuart C. Gilman maintain that there are five lessons that can be learned public exposure of ethical lapses or damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't attacks.
Use common sense. Be realistic. Learn what to expect from the media: nothing; that is the media's calling and professional duty. Be prepared for special scrutiny, not special treatment.
Go on record. Professional survival skills include making it difficult to be misinterpreted, misunderstood or misquoted.
Establish ethical credibility. Take a hand in training. Help break in media novices to establish a good working relationship and personal rapport and to expose them to the legal and professional standards.
Tell it as it is. Tell the truth. Let the media know they are dealing with a person they can trust. Lying is both unethical and impractical.
Tell it as it should be. This concept invokes a senior manager's responsibility to protect a blameless subordinate who is unjustly accused. It also involves compassion, which is more compelling when not self-serving.
