Ethics for people managers

Model ethical behaviour 

People managers are senior executives, supervisors, and others who lead teams or hold senior roles. As a people manager, you set the tone for ethical conduct in your team. You must: 

• lead by example
• follow the Code of Ethics and Conduct for NSW Government Sector Employees
• promote the NSW Government sector core values: Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Service. 

Your behaviour influences workplace culture. It’s your role to make sure policies, systems and decision-making reflect high ethical standards. 

Create a pro-integrity culture 

Culture is the unwritten ground rules that we all play by. Simply put, it’s ‘how we do things around here’. A strong integrity culture goes beyond rules – it promotes fairness, professionalism and acting in the public interest. 

Integrity includes: 

• making decisions with honesty, consistency and impartiality
• showing leadership, courage and responsibility
• prioritising the public good over personal interests. 

To build a pro-integrity culture: 

• talk regularly about what integrity looks like in practice
• confront inappropriate behaviour
• refuse to compromise on safety
• proactively identify opportunities to improve systems or processes
• create a safe space where staff can ask questions and raise concerns
• model values-based decision making
• explain the reasoning behind your decisions so your team understands how they align with the core values
• be open to feedback, even when it's difficult – this can take courage. 

When you model bad behaviour, this can contribute to your team members acting unethically as well.  

Strong leadership includes supporting diversity and inclusion, as well as creating a respectful culture. A diverse workforce brings different perspectives and better decisions.  

People managers must also prevent and respond to bullying, discrimination and harassment. 

Learn more from our: 

• Workplace culture resources
• Diversity and inclusion tools 

Support a speak-up culture 

Creating a strong speak-up culture helps ensure that wrongdoing is identified and dealt with promptly, and maintains the integrity of our public institutions. 

Some people may feel vulnerable when raising issues with senior staff. They might worry about damaging their careers or think they have to agree with you to show loyalty. As a people manager, you’re responsible for creating a workplace where people feel safe speaking up if something isn’t right. 

This means: 

• creating a psychologically safe space for feedback
• encouraging independent thinking and listening to different views
• rewarding ethical actions and raising integrity issues, even if someone’s suggestions aren’t implemented
• acting on concerns and addressing problems promptly
• recognising and acknowledging when we ourselves might be wrong. 

Pressure to ‘go along’ can lead to poor decisions and ethical blind spots. A strong speak-up culture helps prevent this. 

To build a speak-up culture: 

• talk about giving frank and fearless advice and real-life examples of integrity in action
• create an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong and can raise issues without fear of reprisal
• recognise and commend employees who speak up and act ethically
• attend ethics and integrity training, even if you’ve done it before
• promote your agency’s policies and code of conduct, and look for opportunities to raise ethics and anti-corruption messages outside of formal training
• show that no one is above the rules – including you
• follow integrity and governance policies, including those on topics like conflicts of interest and managing gifts and benefits
• devote training and enough resources to prevent and address misconduct. 

Build a listen-up culture 

A speak-up culture only works if people feel heard. As a manager, you’re responsible for building trust by showing that you listen carefully and act fairly. That starts with inviting people to speak up and taking time to understand their concerns. 

To build a listen-up culture: 

• make time to listen to your team
• confirm what you’ve heard and agree on next steps
• avoid judging – show empathy instead
• check back in with staff within a set timeframe
• involve staff in problem-solving
• explain clearly what you can and can’t do, and why. 

These resources can help you build a strong, ethical workplace: