July 5th, 2026 by Mike Manazir – (4-5 minutes)
Leadership requires both judgment and courage.
It was March 2009. I was Captain of USS Nimitz. We were conducting workups in the Pacific after a lengthy maintenance period, preparing the ship and crew for deployment. It was about two o’clock in the morning. The carrier was steaming through a dark, quiet night with no flight operations underway.
I quietly walked onto the bridge.
The Officer of the Deck, or OOD, is the senior watchstander responsible for the safe navigation of the ship. It is a critical position. Nearly 5,000 sailors depend on that officer’s vigilance. Falling asleep on watch is a serious offense in the military. Career-ending serious.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I spotted the OOD leaning against the air-conditioning unit behind my Captain’s chair. I knew him well. He was one of my better officers – an experienced professional carrying a heavy workload and preparing for multiple engineering inspections.
I walked over and stood beside him.
He didn’t notice.
I leaned in and whispered, “Are you asleep?”
Nothing.
A little louder, I asked, “OOD, are you asleep?”
He jumped.
When he realized who was standing beside him, he was petrified. I could feel the fear radiating off him in the dark. He stammered quietly, “Sir… I’m… I’m sorry.”
I’ll never forget that moment. Neither will he.
He knew exactly what had happened. He also knew exactly what I could do about it. The rule book was clear: sleeping on watch was a serious offense. I could have brought charges against him. His recent promotion could have been revoked. His career might have ended that night.
Many leaders would argue that was the correct decision. Others would argue that context mattered.
This officer had a long history of excellent performance. He was carrying significant responsibility. He was exhausted. And judging from the look on his face, he fully understood the gravity of his mistake. The lesson had already been delivered.
It was not a time to break down. It was a time to build up.
To this day, I believe it was the right call.
My Ethical Decision Tool
Over the years, I’ve found it helpful to work through a set of questions when facing a decision like that:
1. What is the actual offense?
2. What circumstances contributed to it?
3. What are the consequences of each possible course of action?
4. What does justice require?
5. What does the mission require?
6. What does mercy allow?
The challenge of ethical dilemmas is not choosing between right and wrong. It is choosing between two reasonable courses of action.
Justice or mercy.
Discipline or grace.
The letter of the law or the spirit of the law.
The tool above cannot make the decision for you, but it can help illuminate the path you feel called to take.
What Leaders Must Remember
Ethical dilemmas rarely come with perfect answers. Reasonable people can disagree. Both sides may have legitimate arguments.
What matters is that leaders act with integrity, consistency, and a sincere desire to do what is right for everyone involved.
But, you can fall into what some may call a “leniency trap”. Your decisions matter to your team.
If they believe you are playing favorites or you are applying command principles of behavior erratically, and maybe in favor of some, against others, you will lose their confidence. So, every leader must match the ethical dilemma decision against the standards you have sworn to uphold for your team.
As an aside, if a member of the bridge crew had summoned me to report that the OOD was asleep, the conditions for my decision would have been different.
Lead to Win Principle
Ethical leadership is not about choosing the easiest answer. It is about choosing the answer you can defend with integrity when nobody else can make the decision for you.
The Question
When was the last time you had to choose between justice and mercy—and how did you decide?
Next Week: How leaders avoid conflicts of interest before they damage trust.
Want more powerful leadership lessons from Mike?
- Begin leading from the heart: Order Learn How to Lead to Win | The Manazir Maxims | Leadership Study Guide for Manazir Maxims
- Book Mike to Speak or for 1:1 Executive Coaching
P.S. Know someone trying to build up their people and lead with heart? Forward this to them. It might be the encouragement they need to keep going.
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Let’s lead to win together,
Mike Manazir
Retired Navy Rear Admiral | Bestselling Author | Keynote Speaker | Executive Coach