Mary Gentile - Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Business

TheInquisitor Podcast with Marcus Cauchi

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 [e-mail]

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#ethicalselling

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