Cultivating Moral Values to Enhance Ethical Behavior
If you are like me, there are times when you can only shake your head in disbelief when learning about someone you always felt was a good person who had done bad things in their past. Names such as Bill Cosby come to mind who, allegedly, sexually abused or harassed more than 60 women.
Then, there are those who were pillars of the community but also got caught with past indiscretions. Bernie Madoff engaged in a Ponzi scheme defrauding investors of approximately $65 billion, according to court records.
Doing Good by Being Good
In my last blog I explored, “What Does “Doing good by being good” mean? Simply stated, it highlights the idea that when one acts with kindness and compassion (being good) it will lead to positive actions and outcomes (doing good). It suggests that a person’s inherent goodness, their moral character, is the foundation for their helpful and ethical behavior. This concept can be explored in various contexts, from personal relationships, such as Cosby, community involvement, and/or business practices, such as Madoff.
As moral individuals, we should commit to following ethical values to be a good person. Ethical values such as honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, and integrity come to mind. Good people strive to do the right thing. They recognize that their actions have consequences. They are aware of the rights of others and act in a way they hope others would act if faced with similar situations.
Good people think with their head and act in concert with their heart, and they apply the knowledge and wisdom gained through a lifetime of experiences. Good people are honest, trustworthy, fair-minded, and empathetic towards others. Good people accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions and strive to learn from their mistakes; improve their behavior throughout their lifetime.
Motivation for Unethical Actions
As I have written before, while good people sometimes do bad things it doesn’t mean they are bad people. Instead, circumstances may arise where they feel pressured by peers to deviate from ethical behavior. This happens in business all the time.
Take the case of Betty Vinson. Asked by her bosses at WorldCom ($11 billion fraud) to make false accounting entries, Vinson questioned the entries and knew they were wrong. Still, she recorded the improper amounts out of fear of losing her job and not being able to support her family. She knew the manipulation of accounting records was wrong but did so because of being pressured by the CFO.
In other situations, good people may do bad things because they want to be seen as a “team player.” So, they decide to go with the flow regardless of the ethicality of behavior of their peers. Oftentimes, a cover-up ensues if the offending party is questioned why they acted in a particular way.
Sometimes, good people take actions they believe are for the ‘greater good’, not understanding the harmful consequences. “The end justifies the means” is a saying derived from the literary works of Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli. It implies that a positive result merits any negative action necessary to achieve it. This sense of control is another reason why good people do bad things. An example would be going to extreme lengths of civil disobedience, like damaging property, to draw attention to urgent societal issues.
Although people may feel uncomfortable with what is happening as they move down the “ethical slippery slope,” they convince themselves that “so long as it is legal, it is ethical” or that they are doing what is expected of them. Rationalization — the ability to justify our behavior — is one of our greatest moral failings. Behavior that would clearly be considered unethical by an outsider becomes acceptable to those involved because “this is the way things get done by others in my peer group or work team”, or “it doesn’t really hurt anyone”.
Clarifying Your Moral Values
Good people can largely avoid doing bad things by clarifying their own values and acting on them whenever possible. We become ethical people by making ethical decisions regardless of the pressure to do otherwise. We become kind people by practicing kindness. We become compassionate by having compassion for others. This is an important tenet of virtue ethics.
Being a good person also involves being fair-minded by seeing all sides of a conflict and then acting in accordance with our values. We think first and then act rather than acting without exploring what might happen if we take one action or another. This is the message of utilitarianism, which holds that the consequences of our actions should precede action and, indeed, influence it.
If a good person does bad things, even if it is an isolated incident, all trust may be lost if the community no longer trusts the offender. The saga of Lance Armstrong is a case in point. He cheated to win multiple Tour de France races, which are multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France.
I have found that those who lie or deceive others do so by omitting truthful information that another party has a (Kantian) right to know to carry out their obligations and duties. Trustworthy people always strive to tell the truth by keeping their word; and honest people do so by not exaggerating the truth for their own benefit.
You Are a Human Being; Forgive Yourself for Past Discretions
Displaying behaviors viewed as uncharacteristically “bad” may stem from many reasons, including a lack of self-awareness. But this doesn’t always define who we are. Being unaware of our emotions and values at the moment can lead to unintentional actions that go against our guiding principles, especially under stress.
Think about this: “The human condition is one of imperfections.” Everyone faces their own challenges, makes mistakes, has an error in judgment, or says something they regret after the fact. These moments don’t make you a “bad” person, they simply make you human. What can you do to counteract wrongful behavior? First, omit your mistake. Then, promise not to do it again and third restore trust by making amends.
Being labeled as “good” or “bad” often comes from how others view your long-standing patterns of behavior and personality. If you typically act with kindness, compassion, and fair judgment, you may be perceived as “good.”
Being “good,” however, doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t do bad things. By understanding why good people sometimes do bad things, you’re cultivating your own traits of goodness, like empathy and compassion.
Finally, good people do not need laws to tell them to act truthfully and responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. These are the challenges to ethical behavior in our personal lives and in the workplace.
Posted by Dr. Steven Mintz, aka Ethics Sage, on August 20, 2025. Steve is the author of Beyond Happiness and Meaning: Transforming Your Life Through Ethical Behavior, which is available on Amazon. Learn more about his activities at: https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/ and signing up for the newsletter.