Page 367 - kf fyi for your improvement license eng 3-4-15

Factor: N/A
Cluster M: Trouble with people
Career staller and stopper 103: Lack of ethics and values
103. Lack of ethics and values

Being seen as having questionable ethics means the values and ethics you are operating under are not in
line with those of the people around you. On the more negative side, it could mean you have
unacceptable values and ethics in a more absolute sense; that is, most would reject them. You may
hedge or operate too close to the edge for people to feel comfortable with you. Most of us haven’t thought
out our values/ethical stances well; we are on autopilot from childhood and our collective experience.
People deduce your values and ethics by listening to what you say and, more importantly, watching what
you do.

“Ethics is knowing the difference between
what you have the right to do
and what is right to do.”

Potter Stewart – Former Supreme Court Justice of the United States

A problem
• Lacks the necessary sensitivity to the operating ethics and values of the organization.
• Operates too close to the margins.

• Pushes the limits of tolerance.
• Doesn’t operate within the norms.

Not a problem
• Values and ethics are generally aligned with the organization’s.

• Operates within boundaries most others would agree to.
• Looked to for guidance on standards and norms.
• Stays steady through crises involving close calls on ethics.

• Can articulate own and others’ values.
• Helpful to others in making close calls on values/ethical matters.
• Projects a consistent set of values.
© Korn Ferry 2014-2015. All rights reserved. WWW.KORNFERRY.COM

367