Leadership Skills

Ethics: Self-assessment

In many situations, we instinctively know right from wrong based on our experiences. Most people consider themselves to be ethical, but have you ever thought about how you would act in new situations? There are not always clear divisions between right and wrong. While most of us are not organizing Ponzi schemes to make massive amounts of money, we may be behaving unethically in smaller ways.

Below are some questions to ask yourself. Have you ever:

• Pretended to be sick to get out of work, school, or obligations?
• Made a mistake and refused to acknowledge it?
• Conducted personal business while in class or at work?
• Withheld information that someone else needed to know?
• Allowed someone to make a mistake when you could have prevented it?
• Passed along gossip that you suspected was incorrect?
• Eavesdropped on someone else's conversation?
• Breached confidentiality?
• Told an inappropriate joke?
• Used a racial slur?
• Talked negatively about another person?
• Violated a law?

There may be justifications for all of the above, but consider how often or under which circumstances the above behaviors are appropriate.