Difficult Decisions

CHAPTER 6Using the Triangle to Make Difficult Decisions

Between our moral code, our ethical context, and our role responsibilities, we've now drawn three clear lines in forming our complex decision-making framework. Alas, three lines do not a triangle make: developing deep understanding of the moral, ethical, and role dimensions of making challenging human decisions doesn't, on its own, actually get us to the decisions themselves. Where the depth of self-awareness that we are cultivating becomes useful is in its application of the angles that each dimension creates when aligned to one of the others. To what degree (pun intended) does our moral code prop up our role responsibilities? How is that identical to or different from the angle joining our role responsibilities and our ethical context? (The equilateral triangle is an easy graphic for considering the dimensions, but real human challenges rarely rely on each dimension equally.)

At its simplest, the triangle enables use of the third dimension as a tiebreaker of sorts when the first two present as being in conflict. Your personal beliefs don't match with the responsibilities of your role? Well, what does your ethical context say is helpful or harmful? Alternately, are broader social expectations different from your moral code? Well, what's your job, and what do your stakeholders need? Sometimes, that third dimension enables reconciliation of the conflict. Sometimes it allows for illumination of the underlying conflict and ...