In some circles, the ethical dilemma of the day is resolved by asking "What would Gandhi do?" Or "What would Donald Trump do?" Or even "What would Britney do?"

At work, you shouldn't ask what others would do, but what you would do. Ask the person you live with 24 hours a day.

Preserving Your Values

"You take your values with you wherever you go," counsels leadership consultant Ken Majer. "You should look inside and say 'This is the person I am, and this is the way I should act.' Your values define you and are in everything you do."

Some of today's corporate scandals have occurred, he believes, because leaders lost sight of their values.

"Just look at Enron," Majer points out. "Ken Lay and Andrew Fastow didn't grow up with bad values. They got distracted and lost sight of those values for some reason. They happened to be in positions where that made a big difference. The values of the whole organization didn't go south."

Majer, who wrote the book Values-Based Management, thinks companies fail to acknowledge the power their values can have and how important it is to hire people whose values are compatible with the company.

"It's what every job interviewer is looking for," he reasons. "And it's very easy to do."

Yet, while successful companies understand this, most companies still haven't figured out the benefits they can derive by considering values in the hiring process.

A Fitting Question

He suggests that employers begin their interviews by asking prospective job candidates a simple question: What do you love to do when you're not working?

"Ask that question and very quickly you will know so much about that person and their values," Majer asserts. "Ask them why they love to do that, how it makes them feel, ask them how it affects their life to do that.

"You'll see immediately how people come alive. They will be energized, their eyes will light up, and they will start telling you information about their lives that you probably never would find out otherwise."

From that, he advises, you simply match the emerging values with the company's values to see if it's a good fit.

Southwest Airlines, which has been one of the most successful airlines over the past three decades, is a perfect example of a company that takes an individual's values into account before hiring.

"One of Southwest's core values is fun," Majer continues. "Unless you have a sense of humor that shows up in the interview, you are not going to get hired there. It's as simple as that."

Walk the Talk

Too many companies believe a published list of values is enough to guide their employees. Majer argues that even if those values are in line with the values of employees, they can easily be ignored unless companies make certain that workers are expected to behave in certain ways.

"If honesty and integrity are important around here, what does that mean for customer service?" he asks. "You can't be fluffy. You need to write down a list of specific behaviors that show how honesty and integrity apply to people working in customer service. It might be like if you find that someone has been overbilled, you have 24 hours to call them and offer to give them a credit or a check to refund the money. Then you have a guide for your employees to follow."

Individuals shouldn't leave the burden of matching corporate values to employers. Everyone has a vested interest in this compatibility.

Majer says it often can be at the root of employee discontent. "When people wind up in bad situations, there usually are clues everywhere," he contends. "You need to be aware of your feelings and listen to your gut. Don't go by what people say; observe what they do and how they act. That is your best gauge of whether you fit there."