Grappling with the Gray
Are you ethical? Join Rabbi Yonason Goldson and his panel of thinkers as they grapple with a new ethical challenge each week. Only by contemplating all sides and every angle can we improve ethical decision-making, build more trusting relationships, and help create a more ethical world.
Grappling with the Gray
Grappling with the Gray #142: Favoritism or Meritocracy?
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Is unequal sometimes fair?
That's the question that drives the conversation when Catherine Fitzgerald, 🟦 Dr. Melissa Hughes, and Machen MacDonald join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.
And here is the topic we’ll be discussing:
Recently, a couple’s 22-year-old daughter graduated from an Ivy League college. As a graduation present, her parents bought her a new car, while other relatives paid for her first month’s rent, furniture, and a trip to Europe.
The 25-year-old sister is now resentful, claiming that she was denied a trip to Europe, and that the younger sister stole her college fund and will soon be earning a good salary. The parents respond that they refused to send her to Europe straight out of high school because she was too young, that she chose not to go to college, and that she lives at home rent free.
Commenters on Reddit accuse the parents of spoiling their children, and supported the older daughter’s accusation of favoritism.
Are these accusations justified? Or is this an example of the entitlement culture that seems to be growing increasingly pervasive? And how might the same kind of tension appear in the workplace and in society at large?
Meet this week’s panel:
Catherine Fitzgerald is a speaker, writer, certified coach, and founder of BrassTacksWithHeart - Executive Coaching. She works with founders and their leaders as they navigate the choppy waters of aligning people, performance, and profits.
Melissa Hughes is Founder and Principal of the Andrick Group, applying recent brain research to improve employee engagement, company culture, team dynamics, and innovation.
Machen MacDonald is President of the ProBrilliance Leadership Institute, elevating leaders’ mindsets to grow themselves and their organizations. He is also a Peer Leaders Group Chair with Vistage Worldwide, Inc.