I conducted 2 polls on Linkedin as shown below:

  1. A boss promised a Rs. 2500 bonus to his employee. But refused to give it when the time came. Is the employee justified in stealing Rs.2500? No – 97%, Yes – 3% (Total 156 responses)
  2. A contractor promised Rs. 1000 bonus to his poor labourer. But refused to give it when the time came. Is the labourer justified in stealing Rs.1000? (he has no means of redressal) No – 80%, Yes – 20% (Total – 69 responses)

Some useful insights emerge from this thought experiment in spite of the small sample size.

Violating integrity in terms of stealing money is not acceptable in most people’s value systems. However, when the context changed from an employee to a poor labourer (underprivileged and helpless), then 20% people, (compared to 3% in the 1st question) are ready to accept stealing money (violation of integrity). 

Even more interesting is the fact that a small percentage of people who answered No to the first question have changed to Yes for the second question.

They may have experienced a conflict between the values of integrity and justice. They see the labourer’s actions as establishing justice, instead of violation of integrity. Therefore in this particular case, their decision is in favour of justice.

This thought experiment highlights the dilemma of decision making when values are in conflict. One of the most famous examples of this is in the Mahabharata – when Lord Krishna convinces Yudhishtira to lie to Dronacharya about his son’s death, so that Dronacharya dies.

Lord Krishna felt that the war was for a just cause because the Pandavas had been wronged. So, he applied the rule “the end justifies the means”, and told Yudhistira to lie. 

Was he right or wrong? Decide for yourself.

Everytime you say “I cannot decide”, you are experiencing a value conflict. Leaders face such situations regularly. A hallmark of great leadership is making decisions after contemplating the values and consequences involved in the decision.

Here are some suggestions on how to do this:

  1.  Get clarity on your hierarchy of values – What are your topmost values? What matters most to you? What are you willing to give up your life for? These questions will help you clarify your values. Non negotiable values should be at the top. You have to think whether life can throw up situations that might make you change the hierarchy in a specific case. Or do you believe that no matter what these values cannot be violated? How much of your value system is clear black and white, and how much ambiguity / grey are you willing to accept?
  1.  In your value system do the ends justify the means? If the end is fair, just, moral, virtuous, noble does it justify the means (when the means may conflict with your usual hierarchy of values)?. Or is it important that both the means and the ends do not violate your value system and its hierarchy? Entirely your choice. 
  1. Filter out the values in conflict –  When you are unable to make a decision, analyse the situation, remove the details and distil down to the values that are in conflict. Now think about these values. How much does each value mean to you? Is there any way to satisfy both values? If not, which value will you choose? What are the consequences of not choosing the other value? How will you cope with it?
  1. What are the chances that you will end up regretting your decision?

The learning here is not a right / wrong prescription of every possible value conflict. The learning is to think and reflect on conflicting values before making such a decision. Going through the rigorous process of thinking and reflection reduces the chances that you will regret the decision later.