By speaking up to your boss, you are risking your workplace relationship and job security. However, there are ways that Susan can bring up her concerns while still reducing the risk. One suggestion is to ask questions directly when she is prompted with unethical instructions. For example, she might ask Mr. Moon what would happen if a competitor asked if she has any corporate affiliations. Second, she can express her concerns to Mr. Moon by taking the perspective that this might hurt the company as a whole (not just herself). Third, she should have a secondary plan already in place to complete the same task without going against her values. Potentially, if there were another more ethical way to do things, Mr. Moon would be receptive to hearing about it. Mr. Moon might be wanting to do things unethically because he believes this is the only option.
Susan might follow the three-step plan in “How to Speak when it matters” by:
- Understand the worst-case scenario of speaking up and plan what to do if that happens. For example, if she gets fired, have a few backup companies to contact and solidify your story on why the past company didn’t work out.
- Brainstorm ideas for how to phrase her concerns to Mr. Moon. (Can use ideas mentioned in the paragraph above). Talk through these ideas with people she can trust, like her dad or Melinda.
- Finally, make a plan using the ideas mentioned above.
