When it comes to decision making, regardless of how simple or complex the decision at hand may be, it is extremely important to factor ethics into your decision, regardless of the outcome. Personally, I perceive ethics very similarly to integrity in the sense that it attests to somebody’s character, and it matters about who is doing the right things even when nobody is watching. With that being said, there are a variety of ethical lenses, and I favor the Justice Lens the most. When I think about the leaders that have impacted me in my life, I think of my assistant wrestling coach from high school. The phrase, as defined by the Santa Clara Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, “each person should be given their due, and what people are due is often interpreted as fair or equal treatment” quite literally embodies my coach. Although we had a large team that had both males and females, wrestlers with different experiences, backgrounds, physical abilities, and skills, our coach respected everybody for the wrestler and athlete that they are, and devoted his time to better each and every wrestler in the room. I have experienced many coaches in many sports that do not devote their time equally amongst their respective athletes, violating their own ethical commitment to being a coach. Ethics truly does test the character in a leader – no matter how hard times may get or how appealing the “wrong” decision may appear, true ethical leaders consistently abide by ethical behaviors.

Velasquez, Manuel, et al. “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University, 8 Nov. 2021, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/a-framework-for-ethical-decision-making/

When reading the “Thinking Ethically” article from the Santa Clara Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, I was surprised to see how many different ways there are to deal with moral issues. I believe that I utilize the Fairness or Justice Approach the most often when in people management situations. “Community members are bound by the pursuit of common values and goals” as described by Velasquez et al. is a statement that I firmly believe in when analyzing group efforts, especially successful ones. When thinking about how this text can be connected to real world situations, many team efforts from my personal life come to mind. For example, our Blue Company for the group simulation was bonded by common values in creating interview questions, as well as selecting CEO candidates. In having shared values, group/team members can proceed in unison throughout their efforts, while also increasing the likelihood that they act ethically amongst each other and their stakeholders. In looking at another text-to-world scenario, NC State’s motto of “Think and Do” also connects its members with the “pursuit of common values and goals” NC State, being a STEM university along with its motto, encourages students to be innovative, push boundaries, and challenge norms. In sharing a common motto and ideals, along with the symbolic mascot being the Wolfpack, unites students together to pursue their respective degree and chase career aspirations to the best of their abilities. Both of these examples show the strengths of the Fairness or Justice Approach, and how individuals can benefit from shared beliefs and values.

Velasquez, Manuel, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J. Meyer. “Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University, 2021, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/thinking-ethically/

In David J. Glew’s “Personal Values and Performance in Teams: An Individual and Team-Level Analysis,” he recognizes the difference in values between individuals and teams amongst undergraduate and MBA students. Although Glew recommends further study and research for this argument, he has a evidence-backed claim that values do not tend to matter amongst individual performance, but rather past behavior is a better indicator of success. Alternatively, values such as equality is a reliable predictor of success in teamwork.

Throughout my personal experiences, both in and outside of academics, I have consistently found myself thriving in teams. Whether it be sports, clubs, group projects, or work, I find that I work best when I am surrounded by like-minded people. With that being said, truly understanding my personal values and the ins and outs of value-based leadership should certainly help me in the long run and in my endeavors.

A text-to-text connection that took some serious thinking, and might be an exaggerated example, is “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. It goes to show that with different values and interests in mind, it is hard to maintain unity and successful teamwork.

Finally, a real world example, although a bit drawn out, is the 2008 Financial Crisis. There is no worse group of people to complete a task then individualists with selfish interests in mind, as there is little to no shared values amongst them. This effectively led to financial losses for millions and millions of people, all from self interested and risk taking individuals.

Glew, David J. “Personal Values and Performance in Teams: An Individual and Team-Level Analysis.” Small Group Research, vol. 40, no. 6, 2009, pp. 670–693. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/1046496409346577.

After reading “How to link personal values with team values,” I immediately began thinking about my SLC 250 (Critical and Creative Decision Making Models) course, in which I am enrolled in. We recently completed an activity in which we sorted our personal values in order of priority and importance, and how we can utilize those respective values in decision-making. I found it both interesting and helpful that one of the article’s key points was to “accept no substitute,” as it helps all members of the team clearly define and abide by the team’s core values.

I found this article to have synonymous meaning as “How to Live with Purpose, Identify Your Values and Improve Your Leadership” by Anne Loehr from Module 1. I really liked the exercise from Loehr in which she asked the reader to recall a moment that everything felt “aligned” and what you truly valued from that moment. I believe that effective value-based leadership begins with the ability to define your own values, and then applying those respective values to the rest of your team. I believe that these two articles do a great job of just that.

Finally, this text reminded me of value-based leadership in sports, specifically my favorite team, the New York Yankees, and their team captain, Aaron Judge. Judge consistently abides by his “team-first” values, making him an extremely well-respected leader in not just the organization, but the sport as a whole. This is a great example of defining personal values and a real-world application of them, as well as how it can lead to personal success both in and outside of his respective industry.

Scott, Cynthia, and Dennis Jaffe. “How to Link Personal Values with Team Values.” SlideShare, Slideshare, www.slideshare.net/cynthiascott/how-tolinkvalues-article. Accessed 09 Sept. 2025.

After reading Carucci’s “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices”, I immediately began to think about the lasting effects of unethical leadership and a toxic workplace culture. Outside of financial damages and fines, unethical decisions in the workplace can have lasting negative effects on a company’s reputation, harming all stakeholders and employees. The source also made me realize that it is much harder than you would initially think to create a ethical and comfortable workplace environment, and it is extremely easy to fall victim to a harmful one.

This article reminded me of our Hot Topic Headline for this week, being the 2023 Titan submarine implosion. The “toxic workplace culture” along with flaws in procedure and weak attention to detail did not only bring out the worst in its respective employees, but even led to the tragic death of many. Again, this is hard to directly trace back to the lack of ethical leadership, but it certainly played a part in the preventable death of innocent lives.

My favorite reason that Carucci mentions as to why people make unethical choices is that “a positive example isn’t being set” which is one of the foundations and reasonings behind this course. As a Cross-Disciplinary Leadership minor and somebody who strives to hold a management position in the financial world, I believe it is unequivocally important to set a strong example for your employees and to not boss, but serve your surrounding community in an ethical manner. This semester, I am extremely excited to further my knowledge within this discipline to become a leader in the greater NC State community, as well as pursue my career aspirations and life goals.

Carucci, Ron. “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices.” Harvard Business Review, 16 Dec. 2016, hbr.org/2016/12/why-ethical-people-make-unethical-choices. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.