The Ultimate in Ethics

Monday's presenter really impressed me.  John Curtis, the mayor of Provo, came and spoke to us about ethical leadership and he definitely knew what he was talking about.  He told us that ethical leadership os doing the right thing even when it's hard.  I took a whole page of notes on his 45-minute talk.  That's kind of a big deal for me.  A few of things he said that I really like were: "Doing the right thing gets harder the longer you wait." and "The moment to correct an error is the moment it happens."  So true. 

On Wednesday in our lab we talked about how ethical leadership means making tough decisions between conflicting values.  It's easy when the values at odds aren't of truly comparable value, but as they get closer to each other, the choice gets harder.  For example an honesty vs. convenience choice is easier than an honesty vs. human life choice. 

In an effort to have a shorter than usual blog and avoid rambling, I'll cut to the chase.  We talked about the differences between religious and secular ethics.  (Side note: this is one of my favorite things about going to a private, church school—my education is very holistic.)  We talked about how in our faith the highest ethical code is following the Spirit's direction.  For a simple person like me, learning to follow the guidance of a divine being seems much easier and more comfortable than wrestling with moral dilemmas on my own.  True, I'll still need to make judgment calls between conflicting values and have a concrete reason for what I chose, but overall, listening to the whisperings of the Holy Ghost seems like a good way to go.  Especially in my leadership role, which is entirely based in the religious world, not the secular one.  Recently, one of our girls requested not to be visit taught, specifically one of my girls.  I was rather crushed and confused, not gonna lie.  But with the Spirit's direction I found a way to negotiate the conflicting values of our need to take care of her and her desire to not be visited. 

Quote of the week: "Awareness is the threshold of learning." -Dr. Paul Broomhead, my choir director.

Have a great week everyone!