How can you speak up for others?

Fundamental Competencies
Written By Stacia Aylward

The Challenge

Think back to an incident in the past year where you felt a coworker was treated unfairly. Maybe someone else took credit for their work, or they were blamed for a mistake they weren't responsible for. Take 15 minutes to write about the incident. How did you react? Why? Was the issue resolved, or did everyone just move on? Is your organization's culture to blame. Was there more you could have done to intervene?

Why do this?

Part of behaving in an ethical way at work is standing up for others and doing what you can to correct wrongs.

People will notice that you speak up if a mistake is made, and will respect you for your integrity.

What’s next?

If the incident you're thinking about is recent (or impactful) enough that it could still be corrected, consider speaking with your boss or whomever has the most power over the situation. In most cases, this can be done fairly casually.

Stacia Aylward

Zelos CEO Stacia C. Aylward is an executive leader and lifelong learner with broad professional experience in envisioning and leading programs, projects and teams; facilitating and teaching adults; conducting research; and developing client relationships using proven methodologies in many government and technical fields, including economics, education, healthcare, housing, non-profit governance, IT and law. Stacia holds a master’s degree in Communication and Information, a bachelor’s degree in English, a Six Sigma black belt certification, and a Coach Approach to Leadership credential.

Previous

Who are your customers?
Next

How do you fit into your organization's budget?