Brene Brown is one of my favorite people. Her work on leadership and organizational culture is profound. I mention Brene Brown in light of the terrible crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky who is a former assistant football coach at Penn State University. How could Sandusky hurt so many children within the organization of Penn State football? Brene suggests the following…

“When the culture of an organization mandates that it is more important to protect the reputation of a system and those in power than it is to protect the basic human dignity of individuals, you can be certain that shame is systemic, money drives ethics, and accountability is dead. This is true in corporations, nonprofits, universities, governments, churches, schools, families, and sports programs. If you think back on any major scandal fueled by cover-ups, you’ll see this pattern.” ~ Brene Brown