Personal Values Development
...ach this concept, but rather it is through experience that will. So, in a nutshell, I perceive my family values and upbringing to be the backbone of my personal values. Secondly, the concept of integrity is a valuable asset to abide by. At a grass root level, integrity is all about morality. It is the clear distinction between what is right and what is wrong. I find myself trying to adhere to this principle whenever possible. I personally believe that integrity is an essential component of a person’s overall character. However, I have found that through past experiences, situations and events, the level of ones integrity can sometimes be compromised, but that in itself is another issue. Integrity became an important issue once I entered the work force after college. As a health professional, your competence in making sound decisions are almost synonymous to your your level of integrity as a human being. My very first performance appraisal stated that I had good moral integrity. At the time, I was not aware that I had it, but I did and have maintained it since. Loyalty is the next personal value that is important to me. I feel that loyalty is a measurement of commitment and longevity. In my case, this is reflected through the number of years I have been with a job or an employer. Currently, I have two part-time jobs. For the first job, I have been employed for 16 years and the other for 7 years. In addition, I have been self-employed for 14 years. In reference to my personal relationships with a significant other, I had one lasting for 10 years and the current one is on its 14th year. Just recently, I have learned that in the business world, loyalty can become a victim of compromise if logical reasoning is at play. In addition, conflicts of interest adds to the chaotic mess. However, loyalty in its simplest form is still an essential asset to me. The fourth of my chosen values is humility. I find that humility is a positive force to a person’s character. I believe that when an appropriate statement or action is delivered in a humble manner, whether spoken or unspoken, it exhibits a form of respect to the receiving party. In a sense, I highly consider this a form of professionalism regardless of what others may dictate. A classic example is when I was a new supervisor to employees who were much older and had more seniority than me. I was basically thrown into this position because I was over qualified for the positions that were currently offered. I did not have a formal education on how to supervise nor manage people. My greatest tool was to use common sense the best I knew how, and I started with a little bit of humility. Needless to say, the reactions and results were acceptably positive! The next pillar of my personal values is honesty. I perceive honesty as an indication of a person’s virtue. This is perhaps the most vulnerable of all my values. Personally, I am as straightforward as an arrow when it comes to honesty. However, while I held down a position in management, I made a realization that in order to function in the work force and carry out my job responsibilities, I found myself fading in and out of gray areas when it came to this issue. Today I feel that the level of honesty is dependent upon the perception of a given situation and its outcome. It is based on a case by case scenario. In other words, honesty works hand in hand with integrity. There have been situations where honesty made it hard for me to progress with the issue at hand, but the rewards were much greater and much more meaningful. The last but not least of my personal values is equity. Equity in terms of equality and diplomacy. I believe that initially, situations and problems should be perceived equally without any preconceived judgment. It is all about the right of fairness and impartiality. I am fortunate to have fraternal twin nieces whom I always try to maintain a state of equality between the two by not showing any kind of favoritism towards one or the other. Although I am aware that they have different personalities, likes and dislikes, I always try to show impartiality whenever it is appropriate. Their presence has given me the opportunity to practice this concept on a personal level, and not just on a business level. As a former supervisor, I was constantly bombarded with issues of fairness among employees. The outcome of these issues were not always favorable, but they were always fair to everyone involved. To reiterate, the six pillars of my personal values are family, integrity, loyalty, ...