Most of us assume that our personal code of ethics was formed during our childhood and locked in for life. Our upbringing – home life and parental rules, relationships with teachers and other authority figures, religious beliefs and practices – formed a protective armor of character that kept us in line. It helped us stay out of trouble after school (or to feel really bad if we got caught), kept us from swiping stuff from the convenience store and prompted us to keep a sworn secret.

Then, as we made our way into the world, we brought along that armor of character. There would be ethical dilemmas at work as we’d strive to get noticed by the boss or devise ways to beat out the competition. Tax season would roll around and, well, money’s really tight this year so who would notice a slight exaggeration of deductible expenses? And little white lies come in handy when we’re trying to keep peace at home. Still, the character’s intact. A few dings in the armor, but looking good overall.

But are we really as ethical as we think we are? Here’s an eye opener: a personal integrity survey.  This quick 10-minute quiz reveals that even the most ethical of us have a few blind spots and squishy areas. While we may rate ourselves high when we consider the broad definitions of ethical character and integrity, those “rare instances” of unprincipled behavior are actually more common than we care to admit.

The survey is courtesy of the Josephson Institute, an organization focused on increasing ethical behavior in all aspects of society.

Take the personal integrity survey now – it might be the first step to fixing those character flaws we thought we could get away with.

- LuAnne Speeter