Sara Batterton and Kimberley Tait are co-chairs of the Bernstein Leadership and Ethics Board. This article was published in the Leadership and Ethics edition of the "Bottom Line". Leadership, Ethics, and Integrity. Simple words with complicated meanings. Words much easier to interpret when displayed through action and much less meaningful in a theoretical context. Most of us would say we know a great leader when we see one and many of us would argue that we can identify unethical actions after the fact. But what do these words really mean to us as students and future leaders? Why do they matter? And how do we foster a culture of appreciation, understanding, and respect for these concepts at Columbia Business School? While the answers to these questions are forever evolving, we do hope that within these pages of this special edition Bottom Line we can begin a public discussion and debate on the topic. Beginning March 26, the combined efforts of two entities on campus—the Sanford C. Bernstein Student Leadership & Ethics (L&E) Board and the Honor Board, along with the support of many other campus stakeholders—will host “Leadership & Ethics Week” at CBS. This Bottom Line issue serves as a precursor to the week and it is our hope that L&E Week and the newspaper issue itself will help stimulate awareness of and discussion about the School’s new Honor Code and related issues of Leadership & Ethics at Columbia Business School. The Sanford C. Bernstein Student Leadership & Ethics (L&E) Board is a student-led board, advised by Bernstein faculty leaders, with a mission to “foster a culture and safeguard a tradition of principled leadership throughout the Columbia Business School community. The Board fulfils its purpose by developing, implementing and monitoring programs that cultivate leadership, build character and promote ethical decision-making, which, in turn, enable Columbia Business School students to become productive, moral, and caring participants in their companies and communities. Fifteen student board members play an active role in influencing the type and scope of L&E-themed events on Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Personal Leadership & Integrity. The Board also plays a critical role in influencing the role of leadership & ethics content within the CBS Core curriculum. The Columbia Business School Honor Board (formerly called the Integrity Board and renamed with the launch of the School’s new Honor Code) plays an important role in upholding the notions of professionalism and integrity within our community that are so key to shaping an outstanding culture and reputation at the School. It’s about how we do business here, not just the business we do. Board members populate Hearing Panels (along with faculty) when there is a reported Code of Conduct violation. They also spearhead peer-to-peer education of the Honor Code and serve as Integrity Reps within their clusters, acting as a point-person on the Code or school-related ethical issues. How do these efforts relate to the L&E Board and why are we co-hosting this special week? In short, neither of our Board’s respective goals can be achieved without the other. Columbia Business School cannot hope to breed ethical, caring, and productive leaders if we’re not living these notions now—acting with the highest levels of professionalism and respect both inside and outside the classroom. In so many ways, the halls of Uris provide us with a dress rehearsal for the “real thing”—including the real cast of varied characters we’ll face in the business world we enter into as our generation’s leaders upon graduation. Behaving with basic courtesy and truthfulness now will enable us to carry this behavior forward and become the standard by which we influence and lead in our future careers. Integrity isn’t easy: it takes work and it takes practice. A recent survey revealed that more than half of all employees have observed some kind of ethical misconduct, and one third of all employees encounter a situation at work that they believe invites ethical misconduct. It is inevitable that your values will clash with someone or something around you at some point, or at many points, throughout your career. In such a complex world, doing the right thing is often the hard thing. Rising to the occasion takes guts, awareness, empathy, pragmatism, and commitment—all skills we can actively shape during our two years at CBS so we’re ready when the time comes. The front cover of this special Bottom Line edition displays two simple sentences: As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. These two sentences comprise Columbia Business School’s new Honor Code, launched this spring, informed directly by student focus groups held last fall. Articles in this issue will discuss the new Code, how it was created, and what it means to all of us in more detail. But in essence, the new Code strives to be succinct and memorable. It calls on all members of the School community to uphold the principles of truth, integrity, and respect both during their time in Uris Hall, and throughout their careers as CBS ambassadors around the world. The new Honor Code website is a consolidated resource for students on integrity, ethics, and conduct at CBS. The site will also include a discussion forum for students so that you can have your say and take part in an ongoing, evolving dialogue on how we can uphold the highest standards of behavior within our community. By elevating the issues of Leadership, Ethics, and Integrity in a very public and visible way, we hope to engage the entire student body in an important and critical conversation about the meaning and relevance of these issues in both our lives and careers. What do they mean to you? While we know that some students shrug off such debate or feel it may be tangential to their Business School Education, we hope that past corporate malpractices and flawed corporate leadership have demonstrated that poor leadership and decision-making is not always intended. It may be accidental or unforeseen. Good leadership, however, must be practiced and learned over time. During Leadership and Ethics week and beyond, we hope you will engage with us and practice the kind of learning and debate that you hope to practice as a professional and leader once you leave CBS.