Member-only story
1-Minute Insight: What truly matters
During a recent gathering with my former colleagues, a previous boss proudly declared himself a person of principles. To support his claim, he recounted an incident where he resisted the CEO’s demand to compromise on ethics.
As I attentively listened to his story, it dawned on me that being a person of principles involves more than just standing firm in significant moments. It also requires unwavering integrity in the small matters.
You see, while this ex-boss, to his credit, did not succumb to the pressure to compromise on ethics on that particular occasion, he regularly practiced favoritism. Consequently, his day-to-day decision-making lacked principled foundations, fostering a dysfunctional and toxic work environment. Despite his personal belief in his principled nature, nobody else perceived him as such.
The lesson I learned is that the small actions we take every day hold as much, if not more, significance than the few major actions we undertake. Essentially, we live our values rather than merely showcasing them.
