Some leaders in this world lack integrity, in other words, they are unethical leaders. Usually, they use their power for personal gain or impact and censure critical or opposing views. A good example we talked about is Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois. He allegedly tried to trade the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for his own benefits. This unethical act, after being discovered, had a huge negative impact in the society. People in Illinois felt that they had been cheated and lost their trust in the government. Thus, the reputation of the government was ruined to some extent. So integrity is crucial not only for a leader, but also for the organization that he/she works for.

 

Basically, holding integrity means that people stick to their firm established values and always do the right things. These values can be separated into two categories: ethical and non-ethical ones. Ethical values are focus on the group level, while non-ethical values are focus more on individual level. They are equally important and serve as guides of people’s behaviors.

 

For me, the top three ethical values are family, caring/compassion and respect. On the other hand, my top three non-ethical values are adventure, meaningful career and independence. By finding my values out, I am able to better understand and define myself, and know more clearly what kind of person I want to be. These values can be very useful when I am facing ethical dilemmas. I learned to be more considerate by thinking about all different people that are involved in the problem, and by analyzing what different choices of decisions I have and their consequences and influence on those people. Through such brainstorming, I will be able to break the problem into several small parts and think about them step by step. Finally, I will be able to make the right decision which ethically complies with my values and at the same time, is the least harmful to all the people involved.