We all know that at times in our lives there are events occurring that cross our own moral values thus creating conflicts that have to be resolved most of the time, under pressure especially in the workplace. Working with individuals who are driven and influential in your personal and professional life creates situations or needs to resolve or find resolutions on both ends that require a certain degree of delicacy to fix the problem. Learning how to do the right thing is not easy and requires strength and internal fortitude to stay the course according to your own moral compass. Walking a fine line between being a compliant worker or a disgruntled worker, you try to meet your organization or your family in the middle balancing a tightrope that resembles walking on the top of a picket fence. Your first reaction is to react with anger and become verbally aggressive towards the source of the issue often resulting in shooting the messenger rather than the person sending the message. Executives walking a fence are rarely acceptable in leadership positions thus your own conscious must alert you to what direction to take as you expand your own personal and professional endeavors. Explaining his moral reasoning he writes “
So how do we do the right thing under pressure and strategies do we use to avoid conflicts? The answer is strength in emotional intellect [think smart] and moral intellect [think right] as you make your decision based on these two principles that are not the same in any way. Emotional intellect can be defined as doing something good or bad or ethical or unethical in many cases. Moral intellect is skills that are driven to do good and is a very important element of leadership. It is the cause and course we take that is worthwhile and gives us the necessary fundamentals for life’ challenges.
Being a good leader you must believe in holding on to a set of well developed principles and consistently use those principles to guide you through your daily events. This same set should be the same set that all organizations adhere to throughout time but as we already know, there are many who have drifted away from the “right” thing to do and created their own fundamental beliefs that are embedded to suit their own needs rather that the “good” for others. Embracing the universal principles throughout the business world and your personal life includes taking and recognizing the elements of personal responsibility, reciprocity of your acts or good faith, and the ability to empathize with others. Basically this resembles those qualities taught in most religions and preached throughout the world as sound guidance for positive behaviors that self respect, taking responsibility for your own acts and caring for others.
Antonio Rossini’s Theory of Ethics explains moral powers are “two kinds of moral powers: those moral in themselves and those moral by participation. The former direct the practical judgment and the latter regulate affections and external acts. External moral acts presuppose the power of acting externally, this becomes a moral power when moved by moral affectivity. This power in turn becomes moral when moved by practical esteem or practical judgment which in itself is a moral power. The others are powers by participation. When speaking on the “Conscience” Rosmini wrote “If I make a practical judgment based on non moral motives I sin, and certain affections and immoral actions follow. I am conscious of sinning, and experience interior bitterness. I am conscious of not assenting to direct knowledge and of violating it. I judge myself, declaring my practical judgment evil and immoral. This judgment is moral conscience. It is a speculative judgment on the morality of my practical judgment and its consequences. We say we must follow our conscience. That is, we must appreciate and judge things for what they are worth, love them proportionately, and then act according to this well ordered love. Conscience precedes practical judgment, indicating how it should be made. When it has been made conscience approves or disapproves of it.”
Explaining his definition of moral reasoning he writes “Practical Reason: Is the capacity of voluntary reflection to form decisive esteem of the object and consequently of the action which follows. As we saw above, decisive love is bound up with this esteem and the external action then follows. The practical reason is the power which controls the practical judgment. This power vacillates in its preference between moral and eudaimonological [concerned with human happiness. It is the power to apply being as a rule for judging our own subjective good] motives presented to it. After it has considered them, it makes the practical judgment or esteem which activates the affection and then issues in an external act. It is the judge between the utility and probity of actions. It judges what is better to do here and now and is based on moral and eudaimonological reasons. For example, 'Do I feed myself and leave my brother or sister to starve, or do I deprive myself and give them what they need?' Both ethical and eudaimonological reason are included in practical reason. These are theoretical and speculative and reduced to practice by practical reason. A comparison is made between moral and eudaimonological motives, their importance is weighed and an operative judgment is made. Affection and action follow immediately. This is the practical judgment as opposed to the speculative judgment and it is controlled by the practical reason.”
Walking the talk means to be in position with your self-identified moral compass [that includes your basic moral principles, personal values, and beliefs]; your goals and your behavior including those inward or unspoken thoughts, emotions and external actions. Living in alignment means being consistent with personal goals and is not something that is accidental in any means. Moral intellect is an outgrowth of “living in alignment,” the interconnection of an individual’s moral compass (basic moral principles, personal values, and beliefs); their goals; and their behavior, including inward thoughts, emotions, and external actions. “Living in alignment means an individual’s behavior is consistent with their goals and that their goals are consistent with their moral compass. Living in alignment is not accidental. It requires individual strength in understanding and building on each component while maintaining alignment among all components, especially during pressure points in our work or personal life.”
Just like your vehicle’s GPS serves as your navigational tool while you are on the road, your moral compass keeps you on track in your life’s journey, analogous to the GPS used in your vehicle. However, just like the GPS system it may lead you into the right direction but there are many individual and sometimes complicated decisions that have to be made to stay on course. Giving you the aide of general directions gives you confidence in your destination and goals but to achieve the best out of life you must be creative and use your personal strengths and potential to arrive at your destiny with a safe and sound attitude or purpose.
The bottom line is if you use your moral compass with good awareness of its power as it would be hard to conduct your business or personal life with ignorance and deniability of what is right or wrong in the matters at hand. A leader must recognize this advantage gives them the ability to achieve lasting personal and organization performance and dependability others seek to acquire through sound mentorship and leadership methods.
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