Panthrobotics Leadership Team: Code of Ethics

[MysterE]

Hi all,

Recently our team has been working on revamping our leadership structure from the bottom up. Besides developing a more team centered structure, we also have begun to look at what is important as leaders and develop documents that will continue to grow our ability to lead. We would love for you to take a look at our newest creation, our Code of Ethics, developed based on a lot of notes and discussions at our meetings. Feel free to make comments or suggestions.

Panthrobotics Leadership Team: Code of Ethics

As a member of the Leadership Team of Panthrobotics, my first duty is to the students and adults that I have been appointed or elected to serve. My responsibility is to create opportunities for our team to become successful in accomplishing its core values as well as its mission. I will carry out the following commitments for all members regardless of age, race, religion, belief systems, or other personal obligations.

The Leadership Team declare these three principles as the foundation for ethical leadership:

Demonstrating RESPECT to all of those that we serve in leadership and that are in leadership above us. Respect means:

• Listening to and valuing each others opinions. We listen by showing an interest and a willingness to act on ideas that will enhance the team even if the person is of a different age, gender, or experience level than myself.
• Speaking to one another in a way that demonstrates that everyone is valued and worth our attention. We do not yell or demean one another and we respect each other’s positions within our team showing our care for them by valuing their authority.
• Protecting each others place in the Panthrobotics family. We do this by avoiding gossip, exclusionary attitudes, and feuds between members. We work to create an environment of forgiveness and a place where everyone is included.

Demonstrating INTEGRITY in our actions and duties both as leaders and members of the team. Integrity means:

• Taking responsibility for the tasks that have been assigned to us and to those tasks that we have committed to undertake. If we are struggling, we will ask for help but recognize that in the end, we are in control of completing our goals and will not pass the responsibility on to someone else.
• Being honest with ourselves and with those around us. We will not take on more than we can handle and most importantly will admit mistakes readily. We will be ethical in our financial, academic, and social obligations; creating opportunities for honesty whenever we can.
• Acting as a role model for everyone around us both in and outside of school. We recognize that leadership extends beyond Panthrobotics and that the way we act will reflect upon our team. We commit to uphold those things that make us responsible citizens in all areas of our lives.

Demonstrating COMPETENCE in our responsibilities as leaders and members of the team. Competence means:

• Seeking knowledge to become better at the tasks and responsibilities that we have been assigned. This includes using books, online resources, presentations, and other materials to help us grow as leaders and as members of a technically focused team. We believe in becoming the best we can at what we do.
• Mentoring others to inspire them to become more involved members in our team. We will not keep knowledge to ourselves but look for opportunities to teach others how to be the best they can in all that they do.
• Expanding our roles through intellectual growth. We look for opportunities to learn new concepts and become well rounded role-models for our team. We do not settle for the concepts that we already know but look to learn new things

[Jacob Bendicksen]

This is fantastic...seems like a strong set of guidelines for team leadership to follow.

Yet another strong effort from 3337! I love your work, and congrats again on Chairman's - it was well deserved.

[Vale]

This made me smile as I read it. The Code of Ethics sounds absolutely wonderful, and if leadership follows it, they will, without a doubt, enrich the team.

3337 sounds like a wonderful team. I can't wait to hear more from you in the future.

[Fusion_Clint]

Consider this borrowed, we are writing our own "Operations Manual" as we speak.

[Derek Rouse]

Excellent job! I can tell a huge amount of time and effort was put into this, and it shows. I also couldn't agree more about the whole being a role model for your peers tidbit. You really hit the nail on the head.

[jajabinx124]

Originally Posted by Derek Rouse

You really hit the nail on the head.

Yep, this set of guidelines really nailed it. Good set of rules to create a healthy environment in your team. It covers so many important aspects of team environment, attitude, structure, and much more!

Thanks for sharing this with the CD community!

[MysterE]

Thank you all for the kind comments. For those who are curious as to how we actually developed this, we used a method called Sticky Note Brainstorming. Basically, we wrote five things on my white-board:

What should members expect of students
What should students expect of leaders
What should mentors expect of leaders
What should leaders expect of students
What should leaders expect of each other

Then our Leadership Team brainstormed and stuck sticky-notes under each. The goal was to slap as many pieces of tiny yellow paper up there as possible. Once this was done, they worked to organize all of the notes into similar categories. Some fell under "respect" or "responsibility" and the like. Once they were done and we talked about all of them, I typed up the first draft of our Ethics document and had both them and our mentors read over them and suggest edits.

I got the Sticky Notes idea from a book called Creativity Inc.