I think a lot about the concept of moral licensing. Malcolm Gladwell explained it clearly, and introduced it to me, in the first episode of his podcast Revisionist History.
In brief:
Past good deeds can liberate individuals to engage in behaviors that are immoral, unethical, or otherwise problematic–behaviors they would otherwise avoid for fear of feeling or appearing immoral.
From Revisionist History, Season 1, Ep. 1: The Lady Vanishes
You can also watch Gladwell talk about it here, during a talk at the 92nd Street Y.
Since learning about it, I try to be vigilant about avoiding moral licensing type behaviors. Once I’ve come to a moral conclusion, I try my best to keep that conclusion intact. (That’s why I’m not visiting my parents, despite having been quite safe and isolated for the last month+. It would be moral licensing to let our families visit now, when I know that my good behavior isn’t the same as my mitigating all risk of exposure to COVID-19.)
There’s lots of situations where moral licensing might be fine – letting ourselves skip a day of exercise after a busy weekend of hard work, or taking a day off of practicing after a big concert.
But understanding that our brain innately relies on the logic of moral licensing helps me to know what to look for, and disrupt the mental figuring before I make a decision based on moral licensing rather than true values and sound logic.
As a leader, I can also start to know when to look for moral licensing behavior in the people I lead, and gently help them consider its implications.