Through his high-content, engaging, and interactive keynotes, workshops, and webinars, Dr. Bruce Weinstein, The Ethics Guy®, works with organizations that want to do the right thing every time and that know the key to their success is the high character of their employees.
Bruce writes about ethics, character, and leadership for FORTUNE, and his signature presentations include:
All State Insurance, Astellas Pharma, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, The Home Depot, the National Football League, Northrop Grumman, the National Business Aviation Association, the Mechanical Contractors Association of America, the South Carolina National Guard, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers have been among Bruce’s many clients.
Bruce has discussed ethical issues in business, politics, and the news on NBC’s Today, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNBC’s Fast Money and Power Lunch, Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor, and a wide range of programs on CNN. In addition to his regular commentaries for Fortune, Bruce’s writings on ethics and character have appeared in The New York Times, Bloomberg Business, Investor’s Business Daily, Huffington Post Business, USA Today, and the in-flight magazines of many airlines.
Bruce received his BA in philosophy from Swarthmore College and an MA and PhD in philosophy with a concentration in bioethics from Georgetown University and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan awarded Bruce a National Fellowship in leadership development.
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Email him at Bruce@TheEthicsGuy.com, or call him at 646.649.4501 (U.S.)
I once saw a photograph of a dandelion plant. On its own, that image wouldn’t be anything special: dandelions are everywhere. But these dandelions were nestled atop a small mound of asphalt. Somehow they had managed to push through this seemingly impermeable barrier and reach their goal: bathing in sunlight and fresh air. If there is a better illustration of patience than this photograph, I’ve yet to see it.
Loyal employees make the lives of HR managers a lot easier. The following questions will help you evaluate how loyal a job candidate is likely to be in the organization.
How have you responded at a previous job when a better opportunity with another employer came along?
Humility is one of the ten crucial qualities of employees of high character, and smart businesses seek out people with humility to work for them. These employees inspire their coworkers, instill confidence in their supervisors, and move up quickly in their organizations.
Suppose that Helen is the HR manager of a large clothing company, and Adriana and Mirabel are two women applying for a position in Helen’s department. Both women moved to the area recently. Here is an excerpt from their interviews.
Adriana
Helen: I see that you were president of your SHRM chapter a few years ago. What made you want to do that?
In business, the term care is generally applied to the business-client relationship. It has given rise to unwieldy terms like customer care associate for the people formerly known as sales agents.
High-character employees, however, care not only about their clients but about every relationship they have in and beyond the workplace. Their secret weapon is that they also care about, and for, themselves.
Accountable employees keep their promises, consider the consequences of their actions, take responsibility for their mistakes, and make amends for those mistakes.
The following questions may help you discern a job candidate’s level of accountability.
Describe a situation in which you took responsibility for a mistake you made. What were the consequences to you for doing so?
My father once bought a life insurance policy from an agent who was warm, friendly, and had impeccable credentials.
He also embezzled thousands of dollars from my dad.
It can be difficult to evaluate a job candidate’s honesty, but it’s crucial to try, and the following questions may help.
Tell me about a time when you had to tell a direct report an unpleasant truth.
