Podcast: Now’s the Time to Hone Your Moral Decision-Making Skills
Skip to content
Insight Unpacked Season 3: Can We Still Build a Green Economy? | Listen
Podcast: Now’s the Time to Hone Your Moral Decision-Making Skills
Leadership May 20, 2020

Podcast: Now’s the Time to Hone Your Moral Decision-Making Skills

Dilemmas are rarely black-and-white. On this episode of The Insightful Leader, we hear what fictional characters can teach us about today’s real-world quandaries.

Based on insights from

Brooke Vuckovic

Listening: Now’s the Time to Hone Your Moral Decision-Making Skills
download
0:00 Skip back button Play Skip forward button 15:42

The COVID-19 crisis has forced many leaders to make tough choices. Which employees should you let go if you need to make cuts? Is it immoral to have people come in to work if you can’t give them all masks? Should you sacrifice time with your family in order to focus on keeping your organization afloat?

When facing dilemmas like these, Brooke Vuckovic thinks that it can be helpful to turn to fiction. “You basically have the world at your fingertips the moment you are willing to engage with fiction and to learn how to extract lessons from it for you as a leader,” says Vuckovic, a clinical professor of leadership at Kellogg, who teaches courses on moral complexity.

On this episode, Vuckovic shares three works of literature that challenge leaders to approach moral questions more thoughtfully.

Note: The Insightful Leader is produced for the ear, and not meant to be read as a transcript. We encourage you to listen to the audio version above. However, a transcript of this episode is available here.

Featured Faculty

Clinical Professor of Management and Organizations

About the Writer
Morgan Levey is an audio producer in Missoula, Montana.
Most Popular This Week
  1. 5 Traits That Set the Best Leaders Apart
    A former CEO and current executive coach discusses the tendencies of these high performers, including sharing credit and ignoring shiny objects.
  2. A Key Ingredient for Making Teams Soar
    A study of pilots breaks down rapport into several components—and identifies which is most important for effective teamwork.
  3. Building Wealth for Your Kids? These 4 Habits Can Help Prevent Entitlement
    Too many advantages can become a disadvantage.
  4. What a Legendary Winemaker Can Teach Us about Leadership
    A renowned viticulturist helped turn Portugal’s Douro Valley into one of the world’s great wine regions. His philosophy holds value beyond the vineyard.
  5. Take 5: Career Advice from the Sports World
    Kellogg faculty share lessons on how to get ahead in fiercely competitive fields.
  6. When the Fog Rolls In, Do Leaders Need a Map or a Compass?
    Some moments call for a business plan, while others call for adaptability. Here’s how to know when to lean on one or the other.
  7. Want More Voices to Be Heard? Turn Up the Warmth
    A study of business-school classrooms shows that even subtle behavioral cues can help people feel more comfortable sharing their opinions and ideas.
  8. Is AI Prompting a Creative Renaissance?
    When people see automation as a threat, they strategically prioritize creativity in their résumés and careers.
More in Leadership
2211 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208
© Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern
University. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.