Are you too good to be promoted?

Is it possible? I am not referring to your proficiency at your job or your over-qualification for that supervisory position. No, I am referring to your personal and professional ethics. For the purpose of exploration, we will set aside all “nice guys / girls finish last” excuses, and focus on professional moral conduct in the Aristotelian ethical sense.

Aristotle: Practice Good to Become Good

Aristotle proposed that a self-actualized and happy human being should experience pleasure “doing the right thing”. The highest human virtues (honor, loyalty, temperance, bravery, etc.) are both a means AND an end, according to the great philosopher. Aristotle believed that if a person practiced these virtues, they would become habits; eventually shaping the character of the practitioner. Practice good to become good.

Modern Workplace: Practice Good to...Get Ahead?

To me, this is a significantly different approach to moral conduct than what is normally exercised or even promoted in the modern workplace. “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” “Don’t burn your bridges.” These are the anthems echoed in most workplaces. Stemming from a point of self-preservation, these adages certainly result in positive treatment of others as well…don’t they? They encourage the same type of ethical actions as Aristotle promoted, but they are a means to a different end. Sizeable chunks of our training budgets every year are spent on ethics education, but what are we trying to accomplish? Employees certainly will be better informed on ways to avoid litigation against their employers. Companies will be less likely to be embarrassed or even ruined by ethical scandals. The end result? Corporate self-preservation.

The Value of Values

Now let’s return to Aristotle’s perfect business environment. What if someone truly tries to do the right thing, not because they want their immaculate reputation intact when their review period ends, but because it is the right thing to do? What if someone does the right thing, not because they may need that person’s help someday, but because it is the right thing to do? Not because that person cut them slack when they were having a bad day, not because people are watching, not because they are “turning the other cheek”, but simply…because. It is the right thing to do. Is that the type of person who is regarded highly by their peers? Their subordinates? Their supervisors? Are they recognized and valued by their organization? Is that the type of person who gets promoted? Hopefully, we can all answer, “Yes!”

Know Your Values

I have long insisted that to be successful in any organization, your core values must align with the organizational core values. Everyone has core values. Regardless of your background, upbringing, or belief system, you believe in something. I love the line fromMacklemore’s song Same Love, “Whatever God you believe in, we come from the same one.” The point being, that we are all human. If there is value to your life, then there is value in everyone around you. What are your values? Maybe your top three values are your family, honesty, and compassion. Maybe integrity, excellence, and freedom resonate more loudly. Your company has core values too, and odds are, there is an intersection of at least a few mutual values. But what if the Venn Diagram of Employee Core Values and Employer Core Values never materializes?

Aligning Values

For many, an honest self-evaluation will turn up a variety of reasons why their careers are not progressing the way they wish. Just because someone is morally above reproach does not mean that they possess all other qualities necessary to advance. But that is for another article. What if a person is not “successful” within their organization ONLY because they hold firmly to their own values, rather than their organization’s values? Perhaps this person is nobly trying to do the right thing, for the sake of doing the right thing. The difficult, honest answer is that they have two options: Change values or change jobs. Either we can align our values to match with our organization, or we can align with an organization to match our values.