Leaders are often faced with tough decisions and must resolve ethical dilemmas. They think about the ends – what will be the possible result of each alternative? Hopefully, leaders also examine the means – what actions will be taken and how will they measure up against our values?
When you are pondering an ethical decision, there is one question that can be a guiding light in the darkness. Would I want my decision to appear on the front page of the newspaper or be posted prominently in the public arena?
Re-think choices that you would not want to showcase on Facebook or to be re-tweeted in perpetuity. It’s said that whatever is posted on social media lives forever. The consequences of your choices do as well.
Make all of your decisions worthy of front-page review. Contact Humanergy today.
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I have a friend who says something similiar: “How would my grandmother feel about this decision? What would she say?”
You can insert the name of the person you respect and whose opinion you care about in place of “grandmother” and get the same effect.
I also like Nash’s 9-Step Ethical Decision Making process…it sounds onerous, but it’s not…actually we probably do 7 of the steps very quickly in any decision making process. Check it out, you might like it!
Mary, is this the same thing? I found several reference’s to Nash’s 12 steps: http://ethicsalarms.com/rule-book/ethical-decision-making-tools/
Thanks for always adding value!