I Caught a Student Cheating—Then Realized I Was Part of the Problem
What do you do the first time someone on your team crosses an ethical line ? It happened in an ethics class I was teaching—the irony wasn’t lost on me—when I caught a student cheating. My initial reaction was emotional and personal: “How could they do this to me?” Only later did I realize I’d been skirting the conversation about academic integrity, mumbling a line or two, and moving quickly past it because it felt uncomfortable.
In the video below, I share how I shifted from vague expectations to a clear, five‑minute integrity talk that spelled out what cheating looked like, what the consequences were, and why it mattered. More importantly, I share the leadership question that changed everything: “What did I not say, clarify, model, or reinforce that might have made this outcome more likely?”
If you’re exploring ethical leadership, accountability, integrity, or how to set and communicate expectations in your organization, this story will give you a practical starting point. Watch the video to see how this experience reshaped the way I lead and how you can apply the same mindset in your world 🎥
Catch the full story below 👇
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