A few years back, my son and his high school class decided on the theme of “Be A Good Person” for their week of community outreach and charitable giving. That phrase has stuck with me over the years because of its simplicity and power as a message for everyday life.
It’s a rather basic instruction, the foundation of what I strive for myself and what I hope continues to inspire my son as he heads out on his journey into adulthood.
I would like to think that most people aspire to be, at their core, a good person. What a simple but powerful daily objective as you wake up in the morning, “Today, I’m going to be a good person.”
Where I work, our “Code of Ethics and Business Conduct” (The Code) has its roots in being a good person. After all, a company is nothing more than an organized collection of people, not a living entity itself. A company can’t be honest, ask questions, and speak up when something is not right; but its people can. I hope all employees everywhere feel empowered by an innate, organizational sense of psychological safety to do so. I am privileged to work at a place where that safety exists; unfortunately, I suspect that is not the case in many work environments.
As I set out to be a good person at work, our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct reminds me that I need to:
- Be flexible, responsive and accountable for my actions
- Be committed to the greater good
- Be diligent about doing what is right for my customers, communities, shareholders, and fellow employees
To me, that sounds an awful lot like the key components of being a good person, at work and in society at large. It’s a steady roadmap to follow in uncertain times.
At this time of the year, all employees at all levels (yes, even the CEO,) where I work are asked to make time to complete our Code of Ethics training and certify that we have completed the training and agree to implement The Code in every aspect of our daily work life. Myself, I don’t look at it as “training,” or “compliance,” or “required;” I look at it as taking a few minutes to refresh my personal roadmap that guides my continuing journey to be a good person.
And that is a worthwhile investment.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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