Leadership and Ethics Day Brings Lessons from the Boardroom into the Classroom

Rockhurst University’s Helzberg School of Management has at its core the mission to develop leaders in business who are globally minded and driven by a strong sense of ethics.

And last week, students in the school got a chance to see exactly what that looks like in practice as alumni and community leaders brought their own personal ethical lessons from the boardroom to the classroom during the fourth annual Business Leadership and Ethics Day.

In what is becoming a Rockhurst tradition, more than 20 professionals representing companies ranging from Tesla Motors, Hallmark, UMB  and the Federal Reserve Bank, among others, brought the lessons they’ve learned in their careers back to Rockhurst giving students a rare opportunity to talk directly with their alumni counterparts.

“Leadership and Ethics Day sends a clear statement to our students that successful organizational leaders must integrate ethical thought and practice into their decision-making on a daily basis,” said Cheryl McConnell, Ph.D., dean of the Helzberg School of Management. “The stories and cases professionals shared provided compelling examples of ethical leadership in practice.”

Lindsey Roy, a Hallmark innovation executive, spoke to students about how she learned the power of “disruption” in her personal and professional life after a boating accident in which she suffered serious injuries, including the loss of one of her legs.

“I think that everything I’ve gone through has given me a new perspective,” she said.

Roy emphasized that her story taught her that disruption can be a positive as well a destructive force in one’s life, and that new perspective led her to realize her own leadership style, which is based on being herself.

Joe Anello, ’85, shared stories of how he was confronted with situations that tested his sense of ethics early in his career as he tried to get his own food marketing business, J. Patrick Marketing, off the ground. And as much as he hoped that the students would learn from his example, he said he appreciated the opportunity to come back to campus.

“For me, it really is very, very special,” he told the class. “Rockhurst was always the place I wanted to start my career.”