Ethical Intelligence in Conflict Engagement

by Holly Hayes

I recently read the book Ethical Intelligence by Bruce Weinstein, PhD, also known as The Ethics Guy. The subtitle of the book is “Five Principles for Untangling Your Toughest Problems at Work and Beyond”.

In Chapter 10, titled “If I Am Not for Myself, Who Will Be? Ethical Intelligence with Yourself” Dr. Weinstein talks about “Five Rules of Engagement” for dealing with anger using ethical intelligence.

1. Stop. Don’t react right away. Take some time to assess what is going on.

2. Breathe deeply. Cooling down will make it easier to come up with a strategy that will succeed.

3. Look at the matter from another point of view. What are all of the possible explanations for why this is happening?

4. Ask, “What response is most likely to be effective?” It probably won’t involve blowing your stack.

5. Get help if need be. The problem may be too big to handle alone. Help can even be in the form of some feedback from another person.

The book is based on five overall principles of ethical intelligence:

1. Do No Harm

2. Make Things Better

3. Respect Others

4. Be Fair

5. Be Loving

To read more about Ethical Intelligence, see here.