ow to Act Ethically

Three Parts:Identifying Your Own EthicsActing Ethically Towards Other PeopleAvoiding Common Unethical

BehaviorsCommunity Q&A
Being ethical is being conscientious about your choices. If you are ethical, you know
what things are good, and perform those good actions instead of malicious actions. To
be truly ethical, you must be doing it for self-satisfaction, not a prize. Ultimately, one of
the biggest challenges of living ethically is to resist the temptation to serve yourself at
the expense of others. However, with some effort and an understanding of what it
means to live ethically, you can live an ethical life and treat people well.
1. Identify your own ethics

Learn about ethics. Ethics is defined as a set of moral principles that govern an
individual or groups actions and interactions with others. As a result of reliance on
moral principles, most scholars agree that it is extremely hard to arrive at a single idea
of what it means to live ethically. To learn more about ethics, make sure to:
Read about ethics. There are hundreds if not thousands of books that address this
topic.
Talk to others about what they think of as ethics.
Think about the idea of ethics.[1]

2. Reflect on your source of ethics

Reflect on your own source of ethics. The first step in living an ethical life is to reflect
on your own source of ethics. Most people do not have an explicit ethical code, but
rather act ethically (or unethically) based on ideas they've internalized and on what
they've seen other people do. To figure out where you get your ethics, think about what
ideas and actions (by others) have influenced you and your view of ethics. Ask yourself
questions about where you received the your idea about what is "right" and what is
"wrong."
Do you get it from religion? Religious ethics may come from the teachings of your
religion's holy book or sacred texts.
Do you get it from family? Ethics can be passed from family members by example or
explicitly. If your parents treat others well, act honestly, and are generous toward others,
you will likely adopt their ethical system.
Do you get it from your political ideology? Your ethics may vary based on your political
ideology. If you're a socialist, you might believe that people have a duty to help the poor.
If you are a libertarian, you might believe that people have the right to live free of
coercion regardless of their wealth or other people's poverty.[2]
 Write out your ethical code. After you've reflected on and identified the source of your
ethics, commit your ethical system to paper. This is a fairly easy process and will help
you better conceptualize and understand your own ethical system. Make sure to:
Write down your ideas about what ethics means, specifically.
Rank your ethics in importance. Is honesty more important than generosity?
Annotate each ranked ethical point with a comment about how you think you can
implement this in your daily life. This could be as easy as "I will never tell a lie."
Write out your ethical code. After you've reflected on and identified the source of your
ethics, commit your ethical system to paper. This is a fairly easy process and will help
you better conceptualize and understand your own ethical system. Make sure to:
Write down your ideas about what ethics means, specifically.
Rank your ethics in importance. Is honesty more important than generosity?
Annotate each ranked ethical point with a comment about how you think you can
implement this in your daily life. This could be as easy as "I will never tell a lie."
Think about whether you follow your ethics. After you've figured out your source of
ethics, consider whether you actually follow your ethics in every day life. This could be a
potentially tough thing to figure out, as you'll have to truly challenge yourself, reflect, and
even be critical of your own actions. Ultimately, this sort of self-reflection is very
important if you want to act ethically every day.
If you believe in helping the poor, do you help the poor? Do you volunteer at soup
kitchens on weekends, holidays, or regularly?
If you believe in honesty, do you practice honesty in your daily life? When was the last
time you lied, and did it hurt someone?
If you believe in people's right to seek their own happiness, have you ever bullied
someone or used force or coercion to get something you want from someone else?
Apply your ethics. The next step will be to apply your ethics to everyday life. This can be a
very challenging thing to do, as living an ethical life can often go against our instincts to seek
our own self-interest. Ultimately, though, if you are determined to live ethically, you can.
Empathize with people. For many people, being ethical means also being empathetic.
Empathy is defined as our ability to share and understand how other people feel and
experience the world. In a nutshell, to have empathy means that you have the ability to
put yourself in another persons shoes.
Try to imagine what it is to be someone who is less fortunate.
When someone suffers a loss, try to imagine what that loss may mean for them.
True empathy is when you can understand how others experience the world. [4]
Be selfless. Many people also see selflessness as an important part of living ethically.
In this view, to put other people above yourself is a key to ethical life. The key to being
selfless is to commit yourself to self-sacrifice. Sacrificing your own needs for others is
the foundation of being selfless.
 In the view of many, self-sacrifice is virtuous and is at the center of what it means to be
ethical.
When you can, help others instead of helping yourself. For instance, when you're
seated on a bus comfortably, offer your seat to someone who needs the seat (like an
older person who may have trouble standing).
Instead of taking an opportunity to make yourself wealthier, help others achieve
happiness or assist them with basic needs. For example, if you're lead on a team at
work, and you see the possibility of claiming credit for the team's work and getting a
raise (even if you are largely responsible), don't do so. Instead, claim credit for your
entire group and try to secure a raise for everyone (even if it means your raise or bonus
might be less).[5]
Embrace honesty. Many people also associate honesty with an ethical life. To tell the
truth and avoid untruth is seen as one of the cornerstones of modern ethics. This comes
out of the view that lies can and often do hurt other people. Lies, in this view, are rooted
in selfishness.
Tricking someone for your own gain is unethical.
Cheating is unethical, as it hurts other people.
Lying to someone for personal gain is unethical.[6]
Respect the rights of others. Respecting the rights of others is another cornerstone of
modern western ethics. This is based on the idea that all individuals are endowed with
certain rights by the very fact of their existence. To violate an individuals rights is to live
without ethics. In this view:
Individuals should be free from the physical coercion of others.
Individuals should be free to pursue their own interests and their own happiness.
Violence against other individuals violates the rights of others and is therefore
unethical. [7]
Honor your promises and obligations. Making sure you keep your promises and hold
to your obligations is another cornerstone of ethical behavior. The reason breaking
promises and shirking obligations is seen as unethical is that you are seeking your own
self-interest at the expense of others.
View promises as a way of verbally binding yourself to others.
If you have an obligation, make sure to honor that obligation.
Think before you make promises or obligations.[8]
Dont violate trust for your own gain. If someone puts trust in you, it is unethical to
violate that trust for personal gain. By having someones trust and gaining by violating
that trust, you are using your position to take advantage of someone.
If someone entrusts possessions or information with you, keep the possessions and
information secure.
 If someone hires you to do something, dont use your situation to gain from them
without their knowledge.
Trust is the foundation of ethical relationships between people.[9]
Avoid hurting other peoples feelings for no reason. Hurting other peoples feelings
for no reason is viewed as an ultimate unethical activity. Ultimately, being mean and
unkind to other people is a selfish activity that creates a hostile environment for not just
you and the person, but for others. Instead:
Always be kind to people.
Respect the feelings of other people.
Think before you talk. Your words can hurt people.[10]
Do not steal. Stealing is almost universally seen as an unethical behavior. This is
because stealing is dishonest behavior in which one takes advantage of someone else
for personal gain. This not only violates other peoples rights, but demonstrates that you
are a dishonest and irresponsible person who has little concern for others.
Dont take things that are not your own.
Respect other peoples property.
There are exceptions though. Many believe that stealing in order to survive or to help
others survive is in fact a very ethical behavior.[11]
Try not to impose your ethics on other people. Ethics often means different things to
different people based on social and cultural context. As a result, a behavior that you
see as ethical might not be ethical to someone else.This is because we (largely) receive
our ethical code from the society and culture we live in, as well as the religion we
adhere to and political culture we embrace.[12]
For example, one person might see eating meat as unethical behavior, while someone
who grew up in a culture where hunting is a way of life would not agree with this
perspective.

ETHICAL LEADERS ALWAYS KNOW HOW TO DO

THE RIGHT THING. IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO
DEFINE EXACTLY WHAT RIGHT IS, BUT A LEADER
WHO IS ETHICAL IS NOT AFRAID TO DO WHAT
THEY TRULY BELIEVE TO BE RIGHT EVEN IF IT IS
UNPOPULAR, UNPROFITABLE, OR INCONVENIENT.
1. Justice
An ethical leader is always fair and just. They have no favorites, and treat
everyone equally. Under an ethical leader, no employee has any reason to fear
biased treatment on the basis of gender, ethnicity, nationality, or any other factor.

2. Respect others
One of the most important traits of ethical leadership is the respect that is given to
followers. An ethical leader shows respect all members of the team by listening to
them attentively, valuing their contributions, being compassionate, and being
generous while considering opposing viewpoints.

3. Honesty
It goes without saying that anyone who is ethical will also be honest and loyal.
Honesty is particularly important to be an effective ethical leader, because
followers trust honest and dependable leaders. Ethical leaders convey facts
transparently, no matter how unpopular they may be.

4. Humane
Being humane is one of the most revealing traits of a leader who is ethical and
moral. Ethical leaders place importance in being kind, and act in a manner that is
always beneficial to the team.

5. Focus on teambuilding
Ethical leaders foster a sense of community and team spirit within the
organization. When an ethical leader strives to achieve goals, it is not just
personal goals that theyre concerned about. They make genuine efforts to
achieve goals that benefit the entire organization not just themselves.

6. Value driven decision-making

In ethical leadership, all decisions are first checked to ensure that they are in
accordance with the overall organizational values. Only those decisions that meet
this criterion are implemented.

7. Encourages initiative
Under an ethical leader, employees thrive and flourish. Employees are rewarded
for coming up with innovative ideas, and are encouraged to do what it takes to
improve the way things are done. Employees are praised for taking the first step
rather than waiting for somebody else to do it for them.

8. Leadership by example
Ethical leadership is not just about talking the talk, this type of leader also walks
the walk. The high expectations that an ethical leader has of employees are also
applicable on the individual level. Leaders expect others to do the right thing by
leading from example.

9. Values awareness
An ethical leader will regularly discuss the high values and expectations that they
place on themselves, other employees, and the organization. By regularly
communicating and discussing values, they ensure that there is consistent
understanding across the organization.

10. No tolerance for ethical violations

An ethical leader expects employees to do the right thing at all times, not just
when it is convenient for them. Dont expect a leader of such high values to
overlook or tolerate ethical violations.