Ethics is generally viewed as a boring topic, but it is one of those basic concepts that we unconsciously take part in on our daily decisions. Our sense of ethics goes on full display when other people witness our actions and the consequences of our decisions and behavior.

For this session, our esteemed guests are Dr. Kimberly Miller and Retired Deputy Chief Roy Bethge. Dr. Miller is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and trainer for the criminal justice profession, and is behind Kimberly Miller Consulting. Through her workshops, coaching sessions and organizational intervention, she assists organizations to improve employees’ skills, supervision, and management. Meanwhile, Roy Bethge is a veteran police leader with 29 years of experience in the industry. He is currently the co-founder of The Virtus Group, and a nationally-renowned speaker on the topics of leadership, instructor development and organizational change.

Today’s webinar takes a different form with the key resources on an extemporaneous exchange to talk about ethics. Some of the themes they touched upon include:

• How ethics is viewed as both the standard and the individual’s observable behavior.
• How policies and rules serve as the minimum standard of behavior that is acceptable.
• The easy way of distinguishing black from white and wrong from right, as well as the more difficult to navigate gray area.
• How the gray area becomes the barometer in which one’s ethics can be gauged.
• Circumstances that cause character compromises in individuals.
• Three questions that serve as steps in navigating the gray area by looking into law or policies, balance/fairness, and one’s feeling after the incident.
• How as flawed humans, we have a tendency to have our ethical standards deplete through time.
• How to reset this and maintain a high level of ethics through awareness, owning up to mistakes, and constant self-reflection.
• The concept of now for later where an individual decides on matters by looking at its long-term effects and consequences.
• The importance of practicing and building our character muscle to be reminded of utilizing it at all times.
• Looking for candidates with ethics and integrity through specific techniques that highlight character-based hiring and predictive validity.
• General recommendations to constantly be mindful of to maintain high ethical standards.
• Questions raised during the Q&A segment relates to:
  • Handling ethical issues in a small office
  • Choosing between loyalty and integrity
  • Unethical practice observed from the command staff
  • Re-establishing self-care

Resources Mentioned During the Webinar:

• The Virtus Group
• Dr. Kimberly Miller & Associates
• The Power of Ethical Management
• In Search of Ethics: Conversations With Men and Women of Character
• The Road to Character
• The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone–Especially Ourselves
• The Center for the Army Profession and Ethic
• WINx Chicago 2016 – Restoring Communities as Sacred Ground