Who do you want to be when you grow up?

We often ask children, “Who do you want to be when you grow up?” Their answers include firefighter, police officer, and these days, social media influencer. But, is there something deeper that may matter more than the job title? Over one lifetime, a person may transition from a waiter to a financial analyst to an executive leader. What remains consistent is the core of that person: their character.

So often in business, we lose ourselves. We are so set on achieving a goal that we forget about the person we wanted to be when we were that child. Some people even show up as one person at home, and a completely different person at work.

We may go through our day at work as if we are playing a video game. We look for rules and social norms. We look for the way to move from one level to the next. We look to maximize our prize, or our salary and title. But, at what cost?

When I was considering business schools, I stumbled upon Pepperdine University. At the time, one of the things that stood out to me was that they offered a concentration in entrepreneurial management. But, the other thing I found to be unique about their program was that they had a focus on business ethics.

Over the years, I had heard about disasters like the one at Enron. I had seen leaders in my own workplace making decisions that seemed dishonest. I was drawn to the idea of a program that incorporated the importance of ethics into business, and I wasn’t wrong. In many of our courses, we not only discussed how to maximize revenue and productivity, but how to do it in a way that is meaningful and ethical.

C.S. Lewis famously said, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” I could not agree more. Whether it’s respecting a patent in the world of manufacturing – or doing the right thing by your customers and colleagues, these decisions often happen when no one is watching.

You’ve probably read articles on what wise older people say was most important in their lives. They talk about relationships and experiences. They talk about living life authentically. Rarely do they ever talk about their achievements at work. Or, if they do speak about work, they remind us that work is not the most important thing in life. When you get to the end, you will rarely regret not spending more time at work.

If you’re a numbers oriented person, I’d ask, what is the incremental gain of operating in a way that’s anything less than ethical in the workplace? You may get your next promotion a little faster, but you will hurt yourself in the long run. You’ll forfeit future connections and trust that you need over the lifetime of your career. In the end, who do you want to be?

I hope these tips have helped you. Visit CopelandCoaching.com to find more tips to improve your job search. If I can be of assistance to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.

Happy hunting!

Angela Copeland
@CopelandCoach