The article “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices” by Ron Carucci explains how good people can be influenced to make poor choices in negative and unethical workplace settings. I have had both positive experiences with coworkers and been in toxic work environments that cause chaos and resentment between employees and employers.

One of the main reasons for these instances of misconduct is lack of responsibility from leaders in a position of power. When you are a leader you must set a positive example for your peers or they will follow negative patterns. In the text there is an example of a “white lie” that seemed like no big deal to tell at the time, but lead to repercussions associated with dishonesty. The example explains that telling the entire truth could prevent the company from getting the wanted outcome so full transparency was not provided. This unethical choice from a leader could cause followers to think that it is fine to bend rules and act in a way that hides important pieces of information from consumers. It is extremely important for everyone involved to recognize these negative behaviors in order to promote sustainability.

The main takeaway I gathered from this article is that in order to be a good leader you must make the right choice even if it doesn’t seem like the best choice. In order to grow you must take responsibility for your actions and lead with integrity. When making any decision, especially one in a workplace, I will make sure to think back about the key reasons that good people are tempted to make poor choices.

Carucci, R. (2016, December 16). Why ethical people make unethical choices. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/12/why-ethical-people-make-unethical-choices