Sometimes It's Bravest to Not Take a Stand

In a divided, violent world, leaders' humility, willingness to listen, and core values are what matter most.

- PETER VANHAM

"Our strength is the respect we have for each other." "We are one firm, one community." "We stand united against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and acts of hatred in any form." 

These days, such run-of-the-mill corporate nods to diversity, equity, and inclusion might elicit an eye roll from a cynical employee. They can read like a kind of throat-clearing, a prelude to a bland memo that manages to be both verbose and grandiloquent - while saying nothing at all.

But when Citigroup's CEO Jane Fraser and her team described her company's values this way in a statement on Oct. 22, it was not a run-of-the-mill situation.

It had been just two weeks since the Hamas incursion into Israel - the brutal murder of 1,200 people and kidnapping of 240. The violence was multiplying, and by mid-November, the Israeli bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip had killed an estimated 11,240, including 4,630 children, according to the Hamas-controlled government. Hundreds of thousands of homes had been destroyed, and millions of people displaced. Refugee camps and ambulances had been hit by missiles. Countries around the world and international organizations were angrily condemning one side or the other. In the U.S. there were marches of solidarity and protest. Social media had become a sea of outrage and recriminations. Rifts were forming between friends and family members.

Those stark divisions were as evident at work as they were anywhere else-especially at multinational companies such as Citigroup, where employees trying to do their jobs dwelled in grief, worry, and loss, as well as anger.

And in a moment that Fraser correctly called "gut-wrenching," her basic affirmations of core values-compassion, respect, humanity, and unitylanded differently. They took on a certain power, especially when paired with pledges of financial support to humanitarian relief organizations.