Ethical Filter Worksheet
Value
Personal Source
with Examples
Justify the Value's Position in the List. Include any challenges to employing these values consistently when making personal and organizational decisions.
Lead by example
The training and experience in the military has indoctrinated me ( I'm unashamed to say) to believe and support the awesome responsibility that leaders provide in their organization. Poor leaders almost always fail themselves, their organization and their subordinates. Many of the discussion questions and dialog among the class members show failure of leadership in setting or maintaining a high standard. While no one is perfect, the expectation I carry each day is that as a leader I can make a difference for myself, my team and my organization.
The main challenge in leading by example is internalizing the rewards. Leading is not for the uncommitted. People see right through that smoke screen. Personal satisfaction is achieved in taking tough jobs and doing them well without complaining, leading a team of people working just as hard as necessary to get the work done. The biggest organizational challenge when faced with senior leaders who do not lead by example is to remain true to my value and not lower the standard. My boss doesn't carry a work cell phone or a blackberry so that if you don't catch him in his office or leave word with his administrative assistant it's tough to get a quick answer when issues arrive. I lead the first team, both government and support contractors to all carry and use a blackberry. I'm not afraid to role up my sleeve and help in tasks large and small. This shows payback when I need my subordinates to rise to unexpected challenges. They know they can count on me. The doctrine of leadership and the need to make it first among my values is tried and true with many military books showcasing this trait.
Balance
(Work smart/hard, play, live)
There is a season for everything under the sun. Figuring out what season it is helps reduce personal stress, organizational turmoil and promotes the idea that even bad moments won't last forever. Believing that in the economy of work their has to be a balance, this formula driven method is time tested. Plan the work, communicate with others (the smart), establish milestones, task, delegate, coordinate, (the hard part) and find a reason to praise,
reward and savor success. For me personally the balance seems at times weighted toward the hard work.
Values include competence, integrity, objectivity, honesty, loyalty to the employer, responsibility to users of financial...
The values that impact my decisions include: accountability, truth, honor, spirituality, reliability, kindness, ambition, family and compassion just to name a few. My grandfather was a successful business man in the 1930’s through 1980’s. He was a firm believer that you are only as good as your word. He did business with a hand shake and a smile. Teaching his grandchildren that if a man’s word is of no value, neither is he. Furthermore, he taught us the importance of sticking with your fundamental beliefs and principals. The value that is non-negotiable in my life is integrity. I believe it is important to be ethical, honest, truthful, reliably and trustworthy in every aspect of life. I am inspired and driven professionally by compassion, kindness and a belief in healing those that are
2. The best lessons I’ve learned in leadership came from experience with bad supervisors, learning to not be like them. Being assigned to a higher position or holding a designation does not entitle anyone to be called “Leader”. Leadership is something that is earned, proved through action and investment of time. Coming up in the ranks, I can’t recall a time from Seaman to Petty Officer First Class I’ve looked at someone and said, “this leader had so much impact in my life and
Something that I can truly attest to is that people are not born with these leadership qualities, they must be inspired. Inspiration is a positive influence to the mind or soul of a person that usually comes from the people around them. People can be inspired by teachers, family members, friends and even strangers. My inspiration comes from my family members and my CNA instructor because their urge and passion for education has lead to their success. Deriving from a family of nurses, professors, principals and business women, I have nothing but all the motivation I need to succeed. They want nothing but the best for me and that is why their lives and decisions have such an impact on my life.
What does it mean to lead by example? When people lead by example, they become a person others want to follow. Taking responsibility for your actions is leading by example. It is this because you are taking responsibility for your actions, which encourages kids and other people to do the same. Inspire people to be just like you. Teach and use teamwork so they can learn to do the same. Following the 10 commandments is a good example. Like number nine thou shalt not bear false witnesses which means do not tell lies about other people that is not leading by example. Honor thy father and thy mother meaning respect your parents because if you were to act out in public and younger kids seen you they might think it’s ok and try to act badly and
What it means to leading in reality. Leading by example requires a person to be honest and truthful and generally a good person To maintain a credible and scholastic record shows other students that they too can set the example with hard work. A mayor who makes promises and keeps those promises by working with the people. Another example of leadership by example is a movie star who maintains a family life and stays away from the drugs and alcohol and avoid the wild hollywood lifestyle. These people are showing leadership by example in a good way.
My leadership philosophy is relatively simple. Give Soldiers enough room to make decisions and either succeed or fail, but not fail so badly it adversely damages their career. I’ve developed my philosophy from watching the Noncommissioned Officers (NCO) around me, and the ones that were above me when I was a Junior Enlisted Soldier. I believe new Soldiers should start to receive simple leadership tasks just before their two-year promotion. A lot of leaders that I’ve seen tend to coddle or micro-manage their Soldiers, while this ensures the task is done it hinders the growth of that Soldier.
In my life i have encountered many different types of leaders. Some were strong and ruled with an iron fist. Some were weak and failed to lead me. We are all leaders in our own way, some of us are born to take the lead. Most achieve their goal of being a leader but most get pushed back and their leadership is diminished.
Leadership is contagious throughout the world and most importantly in the Army. It is not just my view, but of all leaders, at all levels, that organizations are responsible for setting conditions that lead to long-term organizational success. As I reflect on my experiences, through experience and observation, I realize how my values, beliefs, and perspectives about leadership continuously evolve over time. Recognizing these changes over time helps me better understand that people in organizations have different perspectives in life. This leadership narrative serve as important guiding principles for how I will lead at the organizational level and represents my thought, values and beliefs.
One may wonder exactly what it is that qualities a strong leader possesses. A strong leader is determined, and strong willed. They must be of good judgment, and without bias. They cannot easily be persuaded, and they are firm, yet at the same time, a good lead must also empathize with his subordinates, and have the best interest at heart for said subordinates, at all times. However, with that being said, a good leader cannot be afraid to discipline his subordinates when necessary. Unmistakably, being a leader is a very difficult feat – one which not everyone can accomplish. A leader must be an authority, a friend and a counsellor, all at once. They must be responsible, and always take into account the disadvantages of a situation. Not everyone is suitable to be a leader, whereas, just about anybody can be a good role model.
I was in a program called Servant and Leadership Training; nicknamed as SALT or Slave and Labour Training. The nickname halfway sums up the program. Everyday we woke while the campers were sleeping, served when they woke, cleaned when they left, and learned when they were gone. We learned things such as how the Bible and Science are like Hamlet and revenge, and that to become a leader you must first set yourself apart for the masses. This idea is expressed by the brilliant businessman Ray Kroc. Ray Kroc once said, “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves”. This quote moved me to stay on task every day and to strive to do my best. My mindset encouraged my team to push past the unrelenting sandman that reminded us of our exhaustion, to overlook our aching muscles, and to see every smiling face as a success. I soon become the one that our counselors looked to for leadership. I was able to control our team in a way that they couldn’t. My ability to lead led me to run a store while I was there. I assigned my team members jobs, took care of issues, and open and closed for my boss. All of this taught me the importance of being a fair and stern leader; as well as contributing to my personal development.
All soldiers, especially leaders, are highly recommended to keep a certain set of values that radiate throughout the entire U.S. Army. They are challenged to keep them near and dear to their hearts and to define and live them every day. A leader is one who takes these challenges serious and abides by
Almost everyone has had the misfortune of having a leader that should not be in the position of leading others. Unfortunately, I have been in that position. I have had bad managers and supervisors in not just one job, but in two entirely different jobs. One of the jobs was a nutrition associate in a hospital kitchen. The other job was at the restaurant, Cracker Barrel, as a hostess. I will be pulling my experience from both jobs to explain why these leaders were not fit for the position that they held and what they could have done different to be a more effective leader.
Values remind me of ethics and morals, necessary in any walk of life and imperative in the work place. These concepts are guidelines in which employees need to follow to be successful. “Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.” (Robbins, 136) Integrity, courage, service, wisdom, respect and goal setting are a few of the values that are most crucial to me and what I hope to achieve within any work place setting. Values should be lived every day in the work place and should exemplify the
Leadership is something that is heavily prevalent in the workforce and in the world today. Being a leader, in my opinion, takes someone (or a group of people) who is willing and able to lead a few or many people. Not every leader though is successful or leads in a positive way. There definitely exists both good and bad leadership. Many leaders fail while many achieve extraordinary milestones. But everyone, not just leaders, have their pitfalls and rough patches in life. I know that I myself have some weaknesses as a leader, and that is what I want to take some time to reflect on.