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Good self-awareness includes knowing how invisible, powerful forces can lead to making bad, unethical choices.  Forbes.com contributor Travis Bradberry recently shared some of these outside-of-our-awareness influences and how they can affect us.

• The compensation effect. Using good deeds to justify bad ones. If people perform the acts of a good person, they might feel justified in sometimes behaving badly.  
• The power of names.  What things are called can sway opinion.  Businesses and politicians often name products, programs or bills to create false positive perceptions. 
• Tunnel vision.Setting goals and driving hard to achieve them is good. But a singular focus can lead to ethical missteps.  
• The pressure to conform.  Our need to belong can make it hard to go against a group that’s doing bad things.  
• Obedience to authority.  Some people actually feel less responsible for wrongdoing if they’re following someone else’s orders.  

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