
Everyone has an ethical code.
Not written.
Not signed.
But felt in every move you make.
I walked into the room.
Silence.
All eyes on me.
No one said a word,
even if they’ve never put it into words.
but the test had already begun.
Am I living up to what I said I would?
Does what I said yesterday match what I’m doing right now?
That’s when it hit me
everyone has an ethical code,
It’s not a legal document.
It’s not in your contract.
It’s the quiet agreement between you
and the people who are watching you.
And it shows up in the smallest moments:
how you share credit,
how you react when someone makes a mistake,
how you treat the person on your team who has the least power.
Because in the end,
people don’t remember your presentations.
They remember the little things,
the signals,
the tone,
the look on your face before you spoke.
So here’s the real question:
What’s the unwritten code that walks ahead of you?
Is it the code of “You can count on me”?
The code of “I see you”?
Or maybe the code of “I talk big, but don’t always follow through”?
And you
which unwritten code showed up most clearly in you this week?

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