A few weeks ago in our Business Ethics class, we were assigned a fascinating article, Giving Voice To Values by Mary Gentile (2010). There’s a book of the same name, and its website shares the summary of the work:
“Giving Voice to Values (GVV) is not about persuading people to be more ethical. Instead, GVV starts from the premise that most of us already want to act on our values, but also want to feel we have a reasonable chance of doing so successfully. It raises the odds for success, by drawing on the actual experiences of business practitioners, as well as cutting edge social science and management research, and focusing on questions such as: “What if I were going to act on my values? What would I say and do? How could I be most effective?”
The article mainly focuses on helping us find and exercise our voice when we know the values we stand for, and shares practical reflection questions, communication strategies, and situational considerations for doing so.
There’s an area of Gentile’s work that stood out to me even more: they gathered and examined many right-versus-right dilemmas, and discussed the importance of normalizing values conflicts in our lives.
Regarding ethical dilemmas, this paragraph was dead on:
Precisely because the ethical dilemma is perceived as something separate and apart from business-as-usual, we are more likely to think in terms of just getting through this challenge so we can get back to business. Framing the challenge as “exceptional” can mean that we view our actions as not really expressions of who we are. Instead, they are aberrations that we just need to “get past” somehow.
Gentile (2010), p. 10
It hit me – I realized I’ve view the many ethical dilemmas, conflicts, hard decisions, and unexpected occurrences as departures from ‘regular business’. When in fact, all the smooth and tumultuous times collectively ARE regular business.
Mind-boggling moment: Perhaps my subconscious assumption that believed ‘normal’ to mean ‘smooth’ has been the primary source of frustration in the first place, rather than the actual events themselves.
Without addressing this assumption, I’m setting myself up for disappointment, as normal business includes all of the above (maybe not to the extent and duration that COVID caused), but unpredictable events are nevertheless inevitable.
What would I prefer?
My business coach Susan often reminds me I have agency and power to reframe a situation. When I’m not happy with something I’m doing, or I see a less-than-favourable pattern in myself, I tend to feel ashamed. Susan would ask me, “well, what would you prefer to be like in this situation?”
And here it is: I prefer to move through challenges with patience, level-headedness, and grace.
Practically speaking, how might I make this mindset shift, to approach dilemmas in a way that I prefer?
Thinking about specific issues, a strong management skill would be to anticipate, learn, prepare, build skills and teams to handle various situations (hello systems and processes!). And, within the first couple years in business, the carousel of issues completes its first revolution and you’ll see same-same-but-different challenges pop up again and again. Observe closely, there are probably 7-10 themes on repeat in your business. Gentile writes:
“If we approach our business careers with the expectation that we will face values conflicts [and challenges] and have anticipated some of the most common types of value conflict [and challenges] in our intended industry and functional area, not only can we minimize the disabling effect of surprise, but also will likely find ourselves framing attempts to speak about these issues in a less alarmist or emotional manner and more as a matter of course. Such an approach can have the effect of normalizing and defusing the topic for ourselves, as well as for the individuals with whom we hope to discuss them.”
Gentile (2010), p. 11
But many challenges are unpredictable and unique, so rather than laying out contingency plans for specific situations, I believe leaders must clarify values, cultivate problem-solving mindsets, and teach decision-making frameworks to fortify teams to handle anything that comes our way – (hopefully) with patience, level-headedness, and grace.
Clarifying Values
There are 21384.7 articles about developing values for your organization and feeding them to your staff for breakfast, so I won’t talk about that.
Instead, there’s a concept that’s rolling around in my head… so instead of talking about something I haven’t fully thought through, I’ll pose the question to you, dear reader:
Should companies have a separate list of underlying values that informs how leadership should conduct themselves in times of ethical dilemmas or crises?
I feel a future blog brewing…
Cultivate Problem-Solving Mindsets
We must encourage critical thinking across all levels of staff. I find this challenging: on one hand, we write systems to streamline efforts and standardize the quality. On the other hand, becoming too automated encourages mechanical responses that don’t leave room for nuance.
I’m still figuring out how to balance this (maybe I should write a system on how to critically think? haha)
Even if I don’t have that figured out, I AM confident in being able to cultivate a belief that ‘everything is figureoutable’, to quote one of my faves, Marie Forleo. If you can train staff to trust that a solution IS possible, you’ll minimize panic, overwhelm, and overreaction. I try to remind staff that there’s always a way out of the tunnel, it just might not be in the direction you expect. Asking ‘what else might we try?’ or ‘what about _(different direction)_?’ in a curious and open tone may spur more ideas.
Teach Decision-Making Frameworks
Learning how to make good decisions is one of life’s most elusive skillsets (to me, anyway!). There are hundreds of frameworks out there, and no single framework can be applied to every situation because context matters, and no two situations are identical. But, if you can learn and teach a variety of frameworks to your staff, then we can consider which combination may be useful in each situation.
I LOVE the work of Shane Parrish (Farnam Street), and his article highlighting ~100 Mental Models. My favourite mental models that I find helpful:
- Understanding Your Circle of Competence
- Second-Order Thinking
- Leverage, Gaining Disproportionate Strength
- Bias From Envy & Jealousy, and the danger of Mimetic Desire
Since reading Gentile’s article a few short weeks ago, I’ve found it extremely helpful in reframing my assumption that ethical dilemmas and all-consuming challenges are rare. They aren’t; they’re business as usual, and life as usual.
Rather than spending energy trying to avoid stressful situations, we can prepare our minds, anticipate when possible, and consciously decide how we prefer to show up when these challenges arise.
References:
Gentile, M.C., (2010). Giving voice to values. Yale University Press.
Parrish, S. (2022). Farnam Street Blog. https://fs.blog/mental-models/
Join me in the classroom of life!
Andrea Gets Schooled 
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