Every year, we resolve to make changes for the better. As leaders in our organizations, we set goals, refine strategies, and recommit to performance. What we rarely do, however, is recalibrate the one thing that quietly charts our course through the year with every decision we’ll make to achieve those goals – our ethical compass.
Ethics is at the core of leadership – a tool with which leaders rely on to make decisions when the pressure is real, the answers are incomplete, and the stakes are high.
For members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), ethical decision-making isn’t an abstract ideal—it’s a professional expectation. In my day-to-day work advising executives on communications, reputation, and risk, I’ve experienced this firsthand. Through my observations, I have come to realize that we as leaders don’t fail ethically because we don’t know right from wrong. We fail because we don’t slow down long enough to make a deliberate choice guided by our ethics. When the map runs out, we all too often find ourselves drifting off course by doing what’s most comfortable in the moment, turning to the easiest or quickest solutions without considering the long-term consequences of those decisions.
Savvy leaders recognize the competitive advantages of staying true to their ethical North Star. Research consistently shows that ethical leadership isn’t just good optics—it produces measurable results. The Ethisphere Institute reports companies recognized for strong ethical practices outperformed comparable global peers by nearly 8% over five years.1 Beyond the impact to revenue, ethical cultures also tend to foster trust, loyalty, and resilience among employees, customers and stakeholders.
“Business moves quickly,” some might say. “We can’t afford to overthink every decision.” Fair enough. But that argument misunderstands what ethical leadership actually requires. Being considerate of your ethics shouldn’t result in paralysis. Just the opposite in fact. It should instill confidence and promote decisiveness. When your ethical compass is properly calibrated, meaning you’ve established a clear internal standard before a critical moment arises—sound judgment is already in place to help you make the best call when time is of the essence.
What slows organizations down is the absence of ethical clarity. This leads to second-guessing, cynicism, reputational damage, and crises in extreme cases. Leaders who treat ethics as a side issue often find themselves spending more time managing the consequences of their decisions than they would have spent making the right call upfront. These are the moments we must pay close attention to – the quiet ones, the uncomfortable ones, the ones that don’t come with obvious evils or clean solutions.
Realigning your ethical compass doesn’t require a policy rewrite or a mission statement refresh. It starts with a simple question leaders should revisit often: What standard am I actually operating by when no one is watching—and will it hold up when it matters most? Start today by writing down your standard. Decide now what you won’t compromise later. Talk about it with your team and make it part of how decisions are made.
Ethics isn’t a New Year’s resolution. It’s a leadership discipline that can be carried with you year after year.
1Ethisphere Institute. 2025 Five-Year Ethics Premium.