Act with transparency and integrity

This standard is about acting with transparency, integrity and ethical judgement in your role as a manager and leader. You make decisions and communicate in ways that are open, responsible and aligned with organisational values. You evaluate how your behaviour, assumptions and decisions influence colleagues, stakeholders and organisational outcomes. You use curiosity, feedback and reflective practice to strengthen your professional conduct. You take responsibility for modelling the standards expected of others and for contributing to a culture of trust, fairness and accountability. 

This standard applies to managers and leaders at all levels across all sectors.

1. Evaluate how organisational values and ethical principles apply to your work to guide your behaviour and decisions.
2. Communicate transparently about your decisions and actions to support clarity, trust and accountability with colleagues and stakeholders.
3. Act in ways that consistently align with organisational values and standards of practice to support ethical and credible leadership.
4. Take responsibility for your actions to support ethical, accountable and responsible behaviour.
5. Assess the impact of your behaviour on colleagues, stakeholders and organisational outcomes to support positive working relationships.
6. Ask purposeful questions to clarify information, challenge assumptions and strengthen ethical decision-making.
7. Use accurate and relevant information to support ethical, evidence-based decisions.
8. Evaluate how your personal values influence your decisions and behaviour, and take action to ensure ethical consistency.
9. Anticipate potential unintended consequences of your decisions and take timely action to mitigate them.
10. Seek to understand diverse perspectives to support informed, fair and inclusive decision-making.
11. Use reflective practice and feedback to understand how your behaviour and decisions influence outcomes.
12. Apply insights from reflection and feedback to strengthen your behaviour, decision-making and professional practice.
13. Challenge behaviour that does not meet organisational standards of practice in line with organisational procedures to uphold organisational values and maintain professional standards.
14. Escalate ethical concerns or dilemmas in line with organisational procedures to support safe and responsible practice.
15. Role model transparency, integrity and ethical behaviour to support a culture of trust, fairness and accountability.

1. The meaning and importance of transparency and integrity in leadership.
2. How organisational values and ethical principles influence behaviour and decisions.
3. How your behaviour affects colleagues, stakeholders and organisational culture.
4. The importance of transparency in communication and decision-making.
5. How to recognise and manage ethical dilemmas in line with organisational expectations.
6. How to gather accurate and relevant information to support ethical decision-making.
7. The importance of curiosity in understanding different perspectives and challenging assumptions.
8. How to ask questions that support clarity, challenge assumptions, and inform ethical decisions.
9. How personal values influence behaviour and decision-making.
10. The purpose and methods of reflective practice, and how to use reflection to identify opportunities for improvement.
11. How to gather, interpret and use feedback to improve your behaviour and decision-making.
12. The importance of accountability in ethical leadership.
13. How to identify potential unintended consequences of decisions and take appropriate action.
14. The organisational standards of practice and procedures for seeking advice on ethical issues.
15. Relevant theories and models that inform ethical leadership, integrity and decision-making.
16. How transparency, integrity and ethical judgement apply when using data, digital systems and AI-enabled tools.

The following values underpin this standard. They are integrated throughout the performance criteria and knowledge and understanding requirements and inform how individuals approach their work, make decisions and interact with others.

• Integrity - acting honestly and consistently with organisational values and ethical principles.
• Openness - being transparent in your communication and receptive to feedback.
• Curiosity - seeking to understand different perspectives and experiences.
• Responsibility - taking ownership of your actions, decisions and development.
• Respect - valuing the dignity, rights and contributions of colleagues and stakeholders.
• Reflection - learning from experience to improve your behaviour and performance.

The following behaviours underpin this standard. They are integrated throughout the performance criteria and knowledge and understanding requirements and inform how individuals approach their work, make decisions and interact with others.

• Act with integrity, aligning your behaviour with ethical principles.
• Communicate openly, sharing information transparently.
• Show curiosity, seeking to understand different perspectives and experiences.
• Take accountability for owning your decisions and learning from your actions.
• Reflect regularly, using insight to improve your behaviour and performance.
• Respond with respect, valuing the dignity and contributions of others.
• Practise self-care, maintaining habits that support ethical, balanced and sustainable leadership.