Skip to main content

Them's the Breaks: What Companies Can Learn from Boris Johnson's Downfall

Corporate Compliance Insights

In this article, co-authors Alejandra Montenegro Almonte and Nicole Gökçebay discuss U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's abrupt resignation following a series of scandals that caused Johnson's Conservative Party to lose confidence in his ability to lead, and share insights relevant to compliance and ethics leaders. The authors share four important compliance lessons that can be learned from this series of events: integrity is a necessary component of credible and sustainable governance, failure to act on allegations of misconduct erodes cultures, hiring and promoting someone without regard to their past misconduct is risky, and rules apply to leaders too. "Commitment to compliance at the highest levels of an organization and communication of that commitment to more junior employees is key to nurturing positive morale, accountability, and a culture where employees at all ranks are subject to the same rules," the authors said.