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~ J Clay Norton, Ed.D.

The Book Chamber

Category Archives: Conscience

Don’t Let Your Conscience Disappear, Especially If You Are A Leader…

24 Friday Sep 2021

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Character, Choice, Clear, Conscience, Consistency, Deciding, Decisions, Leader, Leadership

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On Friday, April 16, 2021, I wrote on the conscience in my blog titled: The Conscience… It’s For Others As Much As It Is For You. Since then, it has been on my mind somewhat and even more lately that I wanted to say more. The other day I made the statement, “I find it very disheartening that we even have to put the words ‘weak’ or ‘bad’ in front of leadership. Leadership should always be measured as positive. That is why it is so crucial that we have leadership with a clear conscience. If we do not, then we will continue to fail society.”

So, here are some new thoughts… 

The conscience. Your conscience. That “thing” that each one of us is supposed to have. Labeled as good, bad, or not having one at all. Our conscience, an essence of warning that triggers and monitors our lives. The “inner voice” that speaks to us when our minds need confirmation that something is wrong, out of place, weird. An intuition per se.

While I would say most people will equate their consciences with their hearts… then our hearts know our motives, our true selves. Lying to others becomes more manageable when we get comfortable lying to ourselves. And when that happens… like a magic trick… poof, our conscience disappears, and the audience sits with amazement, wondering where did it go?

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When it comes to leaders in our society, their consciences are not any more or less important than others, but I am beginning to see leaders’ consciences leaving them as quick as they can run away from it. It just disappears, or they hide it where it can only be found when they want it. Why? What has happened to a person where we wonder, “When did they start to think a certain way?”

I see the issue not so much growing more popular but more evident. Blame-shifting is so easy to do now. Especially with the anonymity of social media and hiding behind a keyboard. Imagine everyone being made a scapegoat because leadership will not hold themselves to the same standards as everyone else.

We live in a culture where the conscience of leaders is elevated to be valued as medal-worthy due to pride. Leadership has also reached a level where others need to be blamed for a leader’s failure instead of responsibility taken for personal faults. Leadership deflection is so prominent that it is now seen as the norm, and leaders are escaping wrongdoing by claiming that they are now victims of other’s misunderstandings, even accusatory. When leaders shun responsibility, they set rules that only acknowledge self-entitlements.

Our conscience is a part of who we are. We cannot escape it. It does not and will not disappear, regardless of how many times we put it aside. However, the more times we do, the more numb our consciences become; stifled, muted, callous, eventually dead at the end.

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2021 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on…

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The Conscience… It’s For Others As Much As It Is For You

16 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by The Book Chamber in Actions, Conscience, Deciding, Decisions, Leader, Leadership, Value

≈ 1 Comment

You know when you have the “gut feeling” about something? Or that “inner voice” you sometimes hear? Call it what you want, but you cannot say that something is not happening… Maybe a tingly feeling.

Your conscience, it’s there… but the question of the day is, “Do you listen to it?” Yes, or no… the decisions you make because of your conscience affect others as well.

ethical_decision_making.0.1467740803.png

The value of our conscience is a repeated theme throughout our leadership. Clear or muddy, a value is placed. However, how much weight do we put on having that clear conscience in leadership? (We are not speaking of relativism here) External factors aside, no one can really say what they would do regarding the decisions we make. They might say, “Well, I would have…” Yes, that is true, but they really, really cannot say.

We all have, at one point or another, struggled with decisions. Those decisions that keep us up at night, make us fidgety, cause stress… it happens in leadership. While we might see this as a nuisance, I think we should welcome it instead of seeing our conscience as a hindrance in our lives. Decision-making starts on the inside, and for leaders who lead without a conscience, well… it affects others, and it flies in the face of many. So often, we see self-absorbed leaders whose decision-making only affects the results they want. If there is a conscience, it is not working, or they are deaf.

Our conscience is essential in leadership and the role it plays with decision-making. It’s a beacon that keeps us on the right path, alerts us of dangers, and eases our minds. However, I also believe that our conscience is programmed with a life of reflection of our actual selves. How we live our lives, in some ways, determines our decisions and many of those are conscience-driven. Needless to say, everyone’s conscience is not the same.

Nothing is more destructive in leadership than a conscience that relishes self. In the end, our conscience is our witness to our leadership, seen by the decisions made and the long-term effect they have on others.

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2021 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on…

Twitter @thebookchamber

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…

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