1. Do your actions match your thoughts? This is how most people tend to let themselves off the hook, Pastin says: You judge yourself by your thoughts and intentions rather than by what you actually do. “The most important thing is to judge your own ethics the way you would judge someone else’s, which is by their behavior. Particularly in situations when it’s not easy to do the right thing.” People are victims of what the Ancient Greeks called akrasia, which Pastin defines as “knowing best but doing worst.”
2. How do you reward loyalty? Loyalty, Pastin says, is an interesting ethical test case. Most people and companies claim to value loyalty, but as in question 1, their actions tell a different story. “People who say they’re loyal may be working for a company that developed them and brought them along, but if they get a slightly better offer, they’re gone,” he says. “And companies, if their first action when things go wrong is to fire people, they’d better keep their mouths shut about loyalty.”
3. How do you handle whistle blowers? “When someone speaks up to identify a problem, the immediate instinct is to hurt that person,” Pastin says. “So really protect employees who bring you significant issues. Make sure there aren’t reprisals. Learn to love your whistle blowers.”
4. Do you over-promise? “In smaller companies, the chief executives have to be very careful about what they say,” Pastin says. “If they say one thing and do something else, they can’t hide from it. If they over commit or exaggerate, they’ll be called out.”
5. How much business do you get by word of mouth? Pastin is often asked whether or not strong ethics confers a business advantage. Though there’s no simple answer, on average he says it does because strong ethics leads to a good reputation. Having your business grow by word of mouth or referrals is one of the best indications that your reputation is solid.
6. How do you treat your vendors? Most companies focus on customers, Pastin says. After all, they’re the ones paying the bills. But how do you treat people and companies when you’re the customer? Do you pay bills on time? If you can’t, do you get in touch to explain, and let them know when to expect a payment? “What ethical face are you presenting to the world? Your vendors probably know best,” Pastin says. “You usually show who you truly are to the people you’re paying.”
7. How do you deliver bad news? If you need to discipline an employee or fire someone for cause, do you do it yourself? Do you deliver the news yourself? Face to face or by email? Or do you hand it off to an HR person or another manager? “When there’s bad news, you need to point out something negative, or take a negative action, your willingness to own the consequences is a good measure of your ethics,” Pastin says.
The post 7 Signs You’re Not as Ethical as You Think appeared first on LCwire.com I News for leaders who serve as stewards in critical decision-making roles.