This week's ethical dilemma looks at the challenges middle managers are up against on a regular basis and the tensions they need to manage.
You are a mid-level manager working at a major bank. You have been advised by the general manager of your division that there is a major change project about to get underway. Your team will play a critical role in delivering it. Before you even speak to your team you know you're going to get push back - not just because of the extra workload that will be required from each of them but because of the change iteself.
Do you risk being the nay-sayer, branded a resistor and let your general manager know how you and your team feel about the change? Do you let your team know you agree with them and acknowledge there is nothing you can do? Do you say you agree with your team, tell them you will push back, knowing you won’t?
There are many choices to be made here, and whatever you decide, it's unlikely you'll be able to please all stakeholders. So what ethical considerations would you give to your decision-making?
We encourage you to post your answers in the comments so we can create a healthy discussion, with the aim of learning from our peers, becoming aware of differing perspectives and challenging our own biases.
Please share your ethical dilemmas with us - we can post them anonymously. You can email your dilemmas to dilemma@bfso.org