Doing your best on the job requires sticking with your conscience and morals, and honing the skills you need to keep on your path, including your conflict management technique.

So says G. Richard Shell, Thomas Gerrity Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics and Management and chair of the Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department at the Wharton School in Philadelphia, who joins International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution President and CEO Allen Waxman for a conversation about Shell’s new book, “The Conscience Code: Lead With Your Values. Advance Your Career,” which was published on June 8 by Harper Collins Leadership.

Shell tells Waxman that “late” millennials and early Gen Z-ers may have a tough time in the workplace. “These are people for whom values are nonnegotiable, in a different way than some of the earl[ier] generations,” says Shell, noting that he has been seeing MBA candidates who are seeking to escape from what they view as unethical work environments.

But, he explains, these employees have insufficient skills to “move the organization toward the good” and to navigate workplaces that push and test their moral codes.

That, says Shell, is the inspiration for “The Conscience Code.”

Shell and Waxman discuss workplace conflicts that fall on middle management arising from a variety of sources, and how managing the conflict can “enable purpose,” in line with CPR’s mission of fostering a dispute resolution culture.

Shell adapted a self-test from “The Conscience Code” on conflict management skills for the new July/August issue of Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation.  The test advises users on how they face conflict, with the scoring pointing the user to the personal style categories of Advocate, Problem-Solver, Compromiser, Avoider or Accommodator.  The article can be found here.

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