It is not difficult for me to say which side I find myself defaulting to. I retired from a company that when it came to rules, regulations, policies and procedures, and code of conduct, it had them all.  I was responsible for indoctrinating new employees in the company.  We spent one entire week of training going over the policies and procedures and the code of conduct.  

 From the boss’ view, I tried to follow the rules and regulations of the company. I tried my best to fulfil my obligation to the company and the company’s stakeholders. But occasionally, I found it difficult to do so, especially when I was asked to do something that conflicted with my personal values or ethics. 

In most cases, when a situation conflicted with my personal values or ethics, I went with my personal values.  Even though a company has rules and regulation it does not necessarily mean that the boss, as an individual, is ethical.

An example of this is a former manager that I had. I felt an obligation to carryout his directions, but not when it conflicted with my values. I was taught from a child not to lie for any reason. Hence, I strongly value truth. My boss, however, when he was busy would ask me to answer his phoneline. Answering his phone was no problem, but he would then say , “Tell them I am not here. I do not want to take any phone calls.”  Lying to protect him conflicted with my personal values.

Rather than lie, I would say, “He is busy right now” or “He is not taking any calls at this time.” It did not take long for my boss to realize that even if he said, “Tell them I am not here”, I was not, because it violated my personal values. However, there were times when I had to compromised my personal values for the sake of the company.

For instance, another one of my personal values is that I do not want to be responsible for firing a person or taking away their livelihood. Occasionally, I have had to do this, and I really would feel bad about it. How did I ease my feelings? I rationalize that it was in their best interest and in the best interest of the organization. They were apparently not the best fit for the job and in the long run they would be terminated or quit on their own, anyway.

So, if my personal values conflicted with the a valid directive, I went with my boss, but if the boss’ directive was immoral or violated my morals, I went with my personal values.

Have you ever had to go against your personal values or beliefs for the benefit of the company or your boss? What did you do and how did you feel?