1. Identify the act/behavior that is causing the problem.
-Ask why is it a problem? According to whom? Be clear on this.
2. What were the circumstances around this act?
– Here you need to be clear about you know AND don’t know about the circumstances.
– Why? Because what you don’t know can be just as important as what you do know!
– You need to take the time to, find out as much as you can about what you don’t know about the
act before you make a decision. This will help you make the best possible decision.
3. Identify on what basis are you making the decision?
-Is it a compliance issue? Is it an ethics issue? Does it go against your mission statement, values statement? Is it a violation of your code of conduct or ethics code?
-It is crucial that you find the answers to these questions, as they “set the stage “ for processing
your decision.
4. Always, Always, Always seek communal wisdom!
-This point is overlooked many times and yet it is so very necessary. Ask those that you know are “for you”, i.e. colleagues, co -workers, etc. and ask,” I need your wisdom here… what am I not seeing here?” The reason is that sometimes you get so close to a situation that you can’t “see the forest through the trees.”
After and only after you have done due diligence on these four points, should you make the decision.
fbucaro
Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries.
With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody’s responsibility from the top down.
His goal is to help organizations to:
a. Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation.
b. Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent “high road” behavior as a business advantage.
c. Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development.
Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level.
Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!