Colleague 1
Taryn Casillo,
One of the most difficult work-related decisions I have faced involved the handling of a disciplinary issue with a well-liked but underperforming team member. I was a supervisor at a community-based organization that provided support services for youth and families. One of my case managers consistently missed documentation deadlines, despite repeated reminders and coaching. While their report with clients was excellent and they were known for going the extra mile in the field, their delays in entering case notes and progress reports put the agency’s compliance with funding requirements at risk. As a manager, I had to decide whether to initiate formal disciplinary action or continue informal coaching in hopes of improvement.
The decision was not clear-cut. On one hand, enforcing accountability and protecting the organization’s integrity were essential. On the other hand, this employee’s strengths and community relationships were valuable, and I worried that disciplinary action might damage morale and client trust. I was also aware of external stressors in the employee’s life, including caregiving responsibilities for a parent, which complicated the situation further.
To make my decision, I relied on three key sources: the agency’s employee handbook, which outlined progressive discipline procedures; the organization’s core values, which emphasized compassion and accountability; and my own ethical code, which stresses fairness, transparency, and respect. I chose to issue a formal written warning, with a clear improvement plan and support measures, including adjusted caseload and flexible time for documentation. I explained my decision in a one-on-one meeting, focusing on the shared goal of protecting client services and the employee’s future with the agency.
Reflecting on this decision now, and considering the ethical leadership resources provided this week, I believe I made the right choice but would enhance my approach if faced with a similar situation again. Kouchaki and Smith (2020) emphasize the importance of building moral awareness and courage—qualities I drew upon when addressing a popular employee’s performance without bias. However, if I had the opportunity again, I would engage a peer supervisor or HR partner earlier in the process to gain a broader perspective and reduce the emotional weight of the decision.
According to the Ethics Defined video (McCombs School of Business, 2018), ethics involve “deciding what is right” rather than what is easy or popular. Additionally, Seidman (2017) highlights “truth, transparency, responsibility, and purpose” as the four pillars of moral leadership. I now understand that integrating these principles proactively—rather than reactively—can prevent tough situations from escalating. As a result, I plan to cultivate clearer expectations, provide more consistent feedback, and lead with both empathy and structure in the future.
In conclusion, this experience reminded me that ethical leadership requires balance: compassion and accountability, between individual needs and organizational goals. It’s not always comfortable, but with strong values and a clear process, ethical decisions can become leadership moments that strengthen both the team and the mission.
References
Kouchaki, M., & Smith, I. H. (2020). Building an ethical career. Harvard Business Review, 98(1), 135–139.
McCombs School of Business. (2018, December 18). Ethics defined: Ethics [Video]. YouTube.
Links to an external site.Seidman, D. (2017). The four pillars of moral leadership. Fortune, 176(4), 90–92.
Colleague 2
Alexis Rubin,
When I was working as a project coordinator in a previous role, I had to make an uncomfortable decision on whether to comply with a request made by my manager to reassign people working on a current project to a new project with a better profile. Although the reassignment might have brought some credit to the group and might have enabled our department to maintain its image amongst the top management, it had the potential to set back the initial project and lost credibility to us in the eyes of a retained customer. It was complex ethically because there was no definite right answer among the options that were given.
In making my decision, I applied two of my values as well as the company code of conduct, that is, qualities of integrity and accountability. Ethical leadership implies that it is crucial always to consider core values when making decisions instead of short-term benefits, as Kouchaki and Smith (2020) explain. I also used the competing values framework by Quinn et al. (2021), which focuses on the balance between results and long-term relationships. Consulting our client-facing policies, as well as involving the affected team members, I offered to implement a partial reassignment plan that would enable the new project to go live despite retaining the team members sufficiently to achieve the current deadlines.
In the event of the same scenario today, I would be different in approach, but much to do with transparent communication. Kuligowski (2020) points out that ethical leaders actively engage the stakeholders to reduce the risks of misunderstandings and to establish trust. The decision would also be formalized in a way to present the organizational values as affecting the decision-making process, since it would also be clear and accountable. This experience confirmed once again that strategic thinking alone is not sufficient to make tough decisions that need an ethical commitment. Establishing integrity as the baseline to build on, and consultations with fellow team members, managers will be able to manage competing priorities and offer trust without compromising professional credibility.
References
Kouchaki, M., & Smith, I. H. (2020). Building an ethical career. Harvard Business Review, 98(1), 135–139.
Kuligowski, K. (2023, October 23). How to be an ethical Leader: 10 tips for success. Business News Daily. to an external site.
Quinn, R. E., Bright, D. S., & Sturm, R. E. (2021). Becoming a master manager: A competing values approach (7th ed.). Wiley.
