How a Whistle-Blower Conquered Countrywide

In this article Mr. Winston has been pitted against an entire company led by a few very unethical leaders and by the end of this three year dilemma, the whistle blower finally wins. Mr, Winston has certainly beaten the odds when it comes to being a successful whistle blower in a time where frustration and unethical behavior had run rampant on the sub prime mortgage avalanche that felt so right and ended up dramatically affecting a whole country. Mr. Winston held true to his values throughout his employment at Countrywide and represented those that worked him very well by setting a great example in the fight against those who throw ethics by the wayside in a time of crisis. In that light I feel that his efforts should be celebrated and acknowledged in anyway possible.

Mr. Winston demonstrated many different leadership traits and styles as he began and continued his corporate journey to the point where he is today. I would first like to discuss the contingency model because I personally feel that he held several different positions within figure 6.1 in our text. I feel that most professionals have established themselves with specific relations to their peers and subordinates, task structure and position power, but Mr. Winston had to adapt his leadership style to several different situations with integrity and professionalism while being tested by his superiors. While this theory tests how effect a leader will be given a situation, I would like to note that Mr. Winston was a man that wore many hats for CountryWide financial between promotion and demotion after involving Cal-OSHA and refusing to falsify a report to MOODY. The fact is that it would have been much easier and much more profitable at the time for Mr. Winston to ignore all of these warning signs and compromise his ethical beliefs. But instead he showed consistent ethical behavior that eventually won him a lawsuit. In the meantime he was challenged across the contingency scale by being demoted, again it would have been easier for him to hop back on board and be unethical while continuing his career "funding em'". But he handled each demotion with ethical responsibility and ignored the unethical possibilities that would provide him with a much more profitable scenario instead of being demoted.

After being ethically consistent through the many scenarios of the contingency theory, I feel that Mr. Winston is a transformational leader while avoiding the perks of becoming a transactional leader. Winston practiced transformational leadership by calling OSHA in response to his employees sickness, risking his personal career for those around him. I also feel that Winston avoided the positive, yet unethical outcomes that were presented to him through transactional leadership of his peers. I feel that these instances would make him transformational in the fact that he remained ethical despite the most common type of leadership; the process of accomplishing tasks for a reward.

Finally I feel that Mr. Winston would fall into the category of an authentic leader, due the fact that he was genuine when originality wasn't conducive to his career, led from conviction through the worst of times, and clearly based his actions on his values throughout his trials and tribulations. By the time his career was brought to an abrupt end, Winston has given up his power, his identity, and many resources in an effort to give his existence at Countrywide meaning and to accomplish his mission. I believe that today because of his actions previously, he can finally enjoy a sense of fulfillment do to his authentic actions.




http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/business/20gret.html?adxnnl=1&ref=ethics&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1302505269-feV+J5fn3uvZ8Ci+6mezlA

Shae Spitznagle