Mary Gentile discusses her book "Giving Voice to Values" and insights on navigating ethical dilemmas in business.
Key Takeaways
- Mary's approach focuses on rehearsing and pre-scripting effective ways to voice one's values when facing ethical conflicts, rather than just philosophical debates.
- Anticipating objections and finding ways to address concerns while upholding values is key, without requiring the other party to feel shamed.
- Self-knowledge, understanding motivations/fears of others, and normalizing ethical conflicts as part of doing business enables more constructive conversations.
- Practicing scenarios and developing scripts allows building "muscle memory" for voicing values effectively in real situations.
Voicing Values Effectively
- Understand your most effective style (questioning, analysis, storytelling etc.)
- Anticipate objections and reasons/rationalizations for unethical behaviour
- Frame responses addressing the other party's fears and motivations
- Position yourself as solving a problem for them, not opposing
- Build trust by demonstrating understanding of pressures they face
Practicing v Role Play Scenarios
- Unlike role-plays, GVV scenarios have all parties working towards voicing the ethical stance
- Avoids defaulting to embedded unethical arguments and rationalizations
- Focuses on developing new, constructive ways to reframe and address the situation
- Builds "muscle memory" for having these conversations effectively
Managing Pressures and Ethical Conflicts
- Understand your strengths for persuasion that align with your values
- Explore the other party's fears, risks and what's at stake for them
- Provide substantive suggestions showing you understand their situation
- Position yourself as being on their side, not simply opposing them
- Normalize that ethical conflicts are a normal part of business life
Contact Mary via her website:
Giving Voice to Values – How to Speak Your Mind When You Know What's Right (givingvoicetovaluesthebook.com)
Contact marcus@laughs-last.com
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