Following instructions, respecting hierarchy and knowing when professional responsibility requires you to question
Trainees operate inside hierarchies for good reason. They are learning from people with more experience.
But professional responsibility cannot be entirely transferred upward.
A difficult situation arises when a trainee receives an instruction that they do not understand, that appears inconsistent with evidence, or that simply does not feel right.
“But my senior told me to do it” is understandable — but it cannot always be the end of professional reasoning.
A real developmental issue: Authority versus professional agency.
A young trainee may hesitate to challenge because:
The developmental goal is not to teach trainees to challenge everything.
It is to teach them when and how to use respectful professional questioning.
SAICA competency connection
SAICA gives speaking up and not being improperly influenced by a client or senior as examples of ethical behaviour when dealing with professional challenges.
Professional ethics also requires trainees not to allow bias, conflicts of interest or undue influence of others to override professional or business judgement.
This session includes:
Why a Training Officer would choose this session
This teaches something remarkably important to a junior professional:
Respect for hierarchy and independent professional judgement are not opposites.
Both can be practised at the same time.
