After reading the article titled “How to Live With Purpose, Identify Your Values and Improve Your Leadership”, I can think of a few instances that reflect my own life. I have been fortunate enough to take a field ecology course with the same instructor (Grayson Patton) for the past three summers. During these experiences, I often felt completely aligned with what mattered to me, being outdoors, learning in nature, and growing alongside others who shared the same passion. As Loehr describes, these “peak moments” reveal our core values and act like a compass pointing us toward our “true north.” Looking back, I can see that adventure, curiosity, and connection to the environment are values that energize me and give me a sense of purpose, both personally and professionally.

This article is very similar to the material we have begun reading in my Organizational Leadership in Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Event Management (PRT-359) course. So far, we have only covered Chapter 1 of Leadership and Management in Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Services by Hurd et al. (2024), which explains the distinction between leadership and management. The chapter emphasizes that leadership is about setting direction, inspiring others, and staying grounded in vision and values, while management focuses on structure, organization, and achieving results. Loehr’s article “How to Live With Purpose, Identify Your Values and Improve Your Leadership” builds on this by stressing that effective leadership starts with knowing and living by one’s personal values, which serve as a compass for authentic decision-making. Taken together, both the chapter and the article highlight that while management ensures efficiency and order, leadership rooted in values fosters meaning, authenticity, and stronger organizational cultures.

With a topic like leadership, there are hundreds of connections that can be made in the real world. Every day, all around the globe, sports are being played, and leadership within sports is pivotal. Loehr’s article connects directly to this idea because great coaches and team captains lead not just through strategy, but by staying true to their values. For example, a captain who values respect and integrity will model those behaviors on and off the field, inspiring teammates to do the same. Just as Loehr describes, when leaders align their actions with their values, they create an environment that motivates others and strengthens the overall culture of the team. For instance, as of now, Ohio State is preparing to face Texas, and both teams must embody these values to succeed and achieve victory. 

Hurd, A. R., Barcelona, R. J., & Zimmerman, J. M. (2024). Leisure Services Management (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Loehr, Anne. “How to Live with Purpose, Identify Your Values and Improve Your Leadership.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-live-with-purpose_b_5187572.

After analyzing the article “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices”, I noticed many of the scenarios Carucci describes reflected my own experiences. This past summer, during my internship at Mount Airy Parks and Recreation, I observed that my supervisor, the department director, often faced excessive pressure to meet ambitious goals. While many of his objectives were realistic, at times the pressure to achieve results overshadowed his attention to his employees. As Carucci notes, excessive focus on performance targets can create “tunnel vision,” causing leaders to prioritize outcomes over people. I saw this firsthand, as my supervisor’s drive to serve the community and achieve goals sometimes came at the expense of listening to and supporting his team. 

This article really reminded me of our Hot Topic Headline for this module. Both Ron Carucci’s “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices” and the Titan submersible tragedy highlight how good intentions can be brought down by the pressures of the job and questionable leadership choices. Carucci emphasizes that excessive pressure to meet unrealistic goals, lack of psychological safety, and leaders’ subtle signals can push otherwise ethical people into making harmful choices. Similarly, in the Titan incident, the ambition of the leaders may have created an environment where safety concerns were overlooked or even disregarded. Both cases illustrate that ethical lapses are rarely the result of personal flaws alone, but they often stem from organizational conditions that incentivize risky or unethical behavior.

Everything discussed in this article reflects patterns I see happening in everyday life. Around the world, individuals and organizations continue to struggle with unethical behavior and decision-making. Despite the creation of policies, codes of conduct, and ethics programs intended to guide leaders, human nature and free will still play a major role in how decisions are made. Carucci’s point that systemic pressures such as unrealistic goals, conflicting priorities, and lack of psychological safety can push even well-intentioned people toward unethical choices is evident in many current events, from corporate scandals to public sector failures.

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 29 Aug. 2025.