Moral Intelligence Development - Essay Example

Moral Intelligence Introduction Moral Intelligence is the mental capa to determine how universal human principles should be applied to our values, goals, and actions (Lennick & Keil, 2007). It is our ability to distinguish what is right from wrong. Universal Principles are those beliefs about human conduct that are common to all cultures regardless of gender ethnicity, religion, etc. Ethics is the set of moral principles or set of values and standards that we have come to adopt since childhood. Intelligence makes a difference but one must learn how to use it properly as a tool to reach their best potential and capture rewarding results. Some might argue that we already have an idea of our strengths and weaknesses, identifying our core values, yet we sometimes insist on believing in what we think is right or wrong. To help us identify these uncertainties, Lennick and Kiel created a Moral Competency Inventory (MCI). This is a worksheet with a set of values that will help us identify our strengths and point out our weaknesses to measure our moral competency alignment to give us a better understanding how we behave everyday and reexamine the values that needs improvement. Analysis In considering the Moral Competency Inventory in the context of my own there are a number of notable findings. The results indicate my strength is “admitting mistakes and failures.” This shows that I have the quality of being responsible; this is an important part of a morally intelligent person. According to Lennick and Kiel, “only a person willing to take responsibility for her actions-and consequences of those actions- will be able to ensure that her actions conform to universal human principles.” I used to be an individual that took life for granted and just road wherever the boat took me. During my teenage years, I ended up in considerable trouble: disregarded the law, dropped school, served time in jail, etc. But when I turned to my early twenties, a wonderful thing happened to my life – my first child was born. Although it took me a year to realize the importance of responsibility, I was able to overcome a lot of obstacles to be where I am right now. I’m currently a full-time student, working, and a single father of a six year old boy. Admitting my mistakes and failures was one of the hardest decisions I made in my life, but it was also one of the most rewarding aspects of my life – maybe that’s why my strength from MCI is “admitting mistakes and failures.” I was not completely aware of my strengths, but I do believe that I’m capable of “change.” As I look back, I now realize “to change” is to “admit mistakes” and by admitting mistakes and failures, I become a better person inside and out. The benefits of “admitting mistakes and failures” improve my ability to see my goals clearly because they help me accept and learn how to let go of my mistakes and failures. I am now the kind of person who visits my past and constantly reminds myself to learn from my mistakes. Similarly at work, I learned how to admit fault and failure. I hold myself accountable and weigh the benefits and consequences before making a decision. Admitting personal mistakes not only improves my understanding but also makes my work place healthier in several ways. For instance, it prevents others from being blamed for my mistakes. I believe in the practice of integrity and fair play; “right doing” at work helps raise the morale of the entire organization. In addition, it creates a positive energy and a better workplace. Making a good ethical decision is not an easy task because we are not born with moral intelligence; we must learn it and be able to identify specific moral viruses. Decision making is a huge part of managing business and if businesses are to succeed there must be people that are morally intelligent in decision making. There are proven theories to help us overcome facets of decision making. “The best leaders think “we” not “I” (Lennick & Kiel, 2007). A good leader must be able identify the overall benefits and consequences finalizing a decision. In this regard, the utilitarianism approach is one of the best theories because it focuses on actions and consequences. Based on the principle of utility, “an ethical decision should maximize benefit to society and minimize harm” (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). The changes I made to my life not only benefited me but my whole family and, perhaps, society. I hope to continue my moral strength in my present and future work experiences by actively evaluating myself to ensure that I’m aligned with my moral compass. My lowest moral competency is “Standing up for what is right.” According to Lennick and Kiel, “defying conventional wisdom to make a principled stand can be challenging.” I agree with them because it is hard to put myself in a situation (although I know I’m right) and question anybody with authority, especially when I’m at work. Sometimes, I want to speak out but worry about what I think is right or might be wrong. Previously, I worked in the purchasing department as a buyer/planner for a company located in Hayward, CA. While working for this company, I had a firsthand experience in which a manager used power and authority to systematically disregard the company’s hiring process. The manager hired her own family member to fulfill a position under her supervision, and then transferred her family member to a higher position in a different department with her recommendations. I knew that something unethical happened, but I just kept it to myself. I didn’t have the courage to speak up because I was afraid of the consequences, such as losing my job or getting harassed at every move I make within the company. The problem it created for me was the notion of knowing that right people can be more important than knowing the right things. It seems to me that even though a person is not qualified for a position, he or she can still get it as long as he or she knows somebody working in a top management position that is well connected within the organization. The consequence of this perceived belief is that I experienced a moral misalignment; that is, I moved away from thinking what I know is right to what other people what to see is right. Lennick and Kiel states “misalignments don’t usually happen because we lack moral value or emotional skills but they occur because moral viruses or destructive emotions are interfering with our ability to use moral and emotional competencies that we have successfully used in the past” (Lennick and Kiel Page 68). Ethics play an important part of our decision making process and in business it seems hard to avoid moral incompetence as it creates conflict between our values and business goals. I had an opportunity to interview a good friend about moral intelligence and my moral competency weakness. Michael Wright is a senior recruiter for a Company, an intelligence solutions and stability operations company that supports commercial clients. According to Michael, moral Intelligence is “the ability to understand what is right from wrong and to act with courage to correct any wrong doings.” He explains that being morally intelligent is not a simple task. One must learn through education and experience to fully understand the long-term benefits. Our conversation led to the importance of his primary objective in selecting the right people to work for them and for the country. He recalled a situation where he had to speak up for what is right, challenging a senior manager because he believed the decision made was not correct and might hurt the overall morale of his co-workers. Discussing my weakness, he said we need to be courageous to speak up and accept feedback from others to learn. Others might think we are wrong, but other might also think we are right. It’s just a matter of knowing it and we won’t know the positive effect unless we make a move. A person who is courageous can make a big difference to others. Courage by definition is “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery,” in other words, an action that comes from the heart. After talking to him, I realized that I lack courage and need to develop the importance of what it could do to my life in order to climb the ladder of morally intelligence. Moral viruses, such as “I’m not worth much” (Lennick & Kiel, 2007), probably have a connection to my moral weakness because I sometimes think my inputs are not as important compared with people with power and authority. I can try to strengthen my morality by evaluating the greater good, and will always think about the affected parties if I keep my silence. To develop my personal ethical code I first need to determine the purpose of being moral. Morals are “a persons standards of behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable, standards of behavior that are considered good or acceptable” (Green 2010). For me, being moral is living with my principles, values, and beliefs and incorporating what I have learned from my education. My moral development plan is as follows: 1) To describe my ideal self – I want to be a person of integrity and humility. I believe in order to become a better person, integrity and humility are important values to begin with; they create a solid foundation of what I want to be. Humility will help me recognize virtues and talents that others posses. Integrity is authenticity. It will help me say what I stand for and reinforce my beliefs. 2) Documenting my goals – I will reflect and give myself a chance to look back at the decisions I made, whether they were good or bad. I will reward myself for doing a positive behavior and break/correct the bad habits. 3) I will identify the Moral competencies I need the most – My moral weakness is “standing up for what is right.” I will focus on being courageous when I notice unethical behavior and stand up for what I believe is right. 4) Leveraging my strongest Moral Competencies – since my strongest moral competency is “admitting my mistakes and failure” – I will keep an open mind and admit my weaknesses to help change my behavior in order to accomplish my goals. I will focus on doing the right things until it feels right. 5) Reducing moral gaps – I will evaluate myself and measure if I’m in alignment with my moral principles; if I am not I will correct the moral viruses to break the bad habits. 6) Creating a moral development short list – Change is a challenging process. To create a positive environment, I will work on my simple bad habits and gradually work on my fears and greatest weaknesses. By doing this, it will boost my self-esteem towards self-actualization. My personal ethical code is to be a responsible and loving father and my goal is to finish my education. I believe my goal and belief fit well together because finishing my education gives me the opportunity to get a better job and help secure a better life for my family. I also believe my goal is aligned with my purpose in life because it makes me a responsible and loving father by thinking ahead and planning where I want to be 3 to 5 years from now. To help succeed in my personal ethical code and goal I must: 1) Be a person of integrity – I will be truthful to myself and others, keep promises to my child and if there’s a situation where the truth is painful I will pair it “with emotional competency of self-awareness” (Lennick & Kiel 2007). 2) Act with responsibility for everything I do – I will hold myself accountable for any personal choices I make. I will also take responsibility for bad decisions to ensure nobody else gets blamed. I will embrace the responsibility of serving others. I will be not put other goals above my desire to be a good parent. 3) Compassionate and forgiving – I will actively care for others and will not put my self-interest above anything else. I will be forgiving for any wrongdoing and accept that nobody is perfect. I will always remind myself that it is common to make mistakes and to forgive each others to create a better relationship. 4) Be emotionally competent – I will balance my emotions and will not lose control. As a result, I will recognize other’s feeling to be more effective in making decisions. My Moral Compass statement follows: I will be a person of integrity and humility.” This will guide me towards professional behavior and help align my principles, values, and beliefs. I believe a person with integrity is an effective leader. Mike Hughes says, “leadership integrity is his most powerful retention tool.” Mike states, “People see [his] leadership and they want to be part of the team where moral leadership is shown” (Lennick and Kiel 2007, p91). Similar to Mike, I want people to move towards me and not away from me. I want to develop a positive working relationship with others. Humility is another important part of my moral compass. I believe humility can turn a person’s traits to “good” to “great” because it is a quality of being courteously respectful of others. Read More