Richard Shell, who teaches negotiation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, is our guest in this episode of Agility at Work, which I cohost along with Kim Leary from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Richard’s latest book, just published this summer, is The Conscience Code: Lead with Your Values, Advance Your Career.
Our conversation explored moral issues that we’ve been covering here in Jazz articles in recent months, including “Fair Enough?” and ”Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.” We also discussed moral issues in the leadership context, particularly the delicate dance of simultaneously exerting authority and power, while being respectful and empathetic with the people we lead.
For both settings Richard emphasized the importance of anticipating tough choices, rather than grappling with them on the fly. He also offered a core principle for making hard decisions. Before acting, always ask yourself, “What would a person of conscience do?”
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Listening to Your Conscience