Figuring out how to manage the situation — or step away from the situation — professionally and without sacrificing your personal integrity, and unfortunately it’s never as simple as it seems from a distance. Distance is a luxury.

The spokesperson’s dilemma is one we discuss often in my classrooms when the topic turns to ethics in public relations. In an ideal world, we choose the clients we want to represent, and we refuse assignments that violate our professional morality. But this isn’t an ideal world.

When I ran my own agency, I left a good deal of cash on the table rather than “swim with the snakes.” I slept well at night. But when I worked for others, my options were more limited. I had a mortgage, two kids, two cars… Resigning my job simply wasn’t an option, so I sucked it up and did the best I could. I tell those stories in my classroom, by the way.

You are correct in saying too many PR folks don’t know what’s happening in the C-suites. When we don’t have hi-level access, we have little control over outcomes, and few chances to impact the ethics of the organization.