Vocabulary — Tools & Repair
Words are tools. This page holds every key word for this part of the school, drawn from the lessons themselves: how to spell each word, what it means in plain language, and one sentence to remember it by.
See every vocabulary page in this school
Accountability
Spells: A-c-c-o-u-n-t-a-b-i-l-i-t-y
What it means: responsibility made visible: acknowledging error, keeping commitments, enforcing law proportionately, and accepting oversight.
A sentence to remember it by: The system's accountability, at your level.
Compliance
Spells: C-o-m-p-l-i-a-n-c-e
What it means: Following laws, regulations, and policy — necessary, but a floor, not the whole of ethics.
A sentence to remember it by: Ethics Is Not the Same as Compliance Compliance means following rules: laws, regulations, and company policy.
Conflict of interest
Spells: Conflict of interest
What it means: A situation where a private interest could pull against your duty to others at work.
A sentence to remember it by: Having a conflict is not itself wrongdoing; almost everyone has them sometimes.
Disclosure
Spells: D-i-s-c-l-o-s-u-r-e
What it means: Telling the relevant person about a conflict or concern, openly and early.
A sentence to remember it by: Disclosure — Telling the relevant person about a conflict or concern, openly and early.
Diversion
Spells: D-i-v-e-r-s-i-o-n
What it means: directing a person, where law and policy allow, toward a constructive solution instead of a formal charge.
A sentence to remember it by: Diversion — directing a person, where law and policy allow, toward a constructive solution instead of a formal charge.
Ethics
Spells: E-t-h-i-c-s
What it means: Shared values about right and wrong that guide decisions, especially where no rule gives the answer.
A sentence to remember it by: An ethics-based culture closes that gap.
Ethics conversation
Spells: Ethics conversation
What it means: A structured, safe discussion of a real dilemma, used to practice ethical judgement as a team.
A sentence to remember it by: An ethics-based culture closes that gap.
Follow
Spells: F-o-l-l-o-w
What it means: through — completing the callbacks, referrals, and checks an encounter promised; the mechanical heart of trust.
A sentence to remember it by: Your report is the bridge between tonight's good judgment and next month's follow-through.
Legitimacy
Spells: L-e-g-i-t-i-m-a-c-y
What it means: the public's judgment that authority is exercised fairly and honestly, which produces voluntary cooperation.
A sentence to remember it by: Decisions explained become legitimacy; decisions announced become rumors.
Mediation
Spells: M-e-d-i-a-t-i-o-n
What it means: a facilitated conversation between parties in dispute, used only when both genuinely agree and safety allows.
A sentence to remember it by: Mediation — a facilitated conversation between parties in dispute, used only when both genuinely agree and safety allows.
Negotiation
Spells: N-e-g-o-t-i-a-t-i-o-n
What it means: a structured conversation that finds the interests under stated positions and builds an outcome people can accept without force.
A sentence to remember it by: The shove is real conduct to address — negotiation never begins by erasing it.
Position vs. interest
Spells: Position vs. interest
What it means: a position is the demand a person states; an interest is the need, fear, or value the demand protects.
A sentence to remember it by: A position is what a person demands (“I'm not moving my car,” “Arrest him or leave”).
Procedural fairness
Spells: Procedural fairness
What it means: being treated with respect, given a voice, and dealt with neutrally and transparently — the strongest driver of legitimacy.
A sentence to remember it by: Respect as a procedure, not a mood Respect in this school is not friendliness, and it is not surrendering authority.
Rationalisation
Spells: Rationalisation
What it means: A small story people tell themselves to make a questionable choice feel acceptable.
A sentence to remember it by: Then come the rationalisations — the small stories people tell themselves.
Recusal
Spells: R-e-c-u-s-a-l
What it means: Stepping out of a decision you are personally tangled in, so it can be made cleanly.
A sentence to remember it by: Recusal — Stepping out of a decision you are personally tangled in, so it can be made cleanly.
Restitution
Spells: R-e-s-t-i-t-u-t-i-o-n
What it means: making a victim's loss right, such as repayment for damage, arranged through proper legal channels.
A sentence to remember it by: Restitution — making a victim's loss right, such as repayment for damage, arranged through proper legal channels.
Retaliation
Spells: R-e-t-a-l-i-a-t-i-o-n
What it means: Punishing someone for raising a good-faith concern — the behavior that silences a workplace.
A sentence to remember it by: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — EEOC (eeoc.gov) — Retaliation guidance.
Speaking up
Spells: S-p-e-a-k-i-n-g-u-p
What it means: Raising a concern through a channel, with facts, before harm grows.
A sentence to remember it by: Speaking up — Raising a concern through a channel, with facts, before harm grows.
Tone at the top
Spells: T-o-n-e-a-t-t-h-e-t-o-p
What it means: The real standard set by leaders' behavior, which others copy more than their words.
A sentence to remember it by: Tone at the top — The real standard set by leaders' behavior, which others copy more than their words.
Trust
Spells: T-r-u-s-t
What it means: a community's practical prediction that seeking police help will help more than it hurts, built from repeated encounters.
A sentence to remember it by: Trust is rarely lost in one dramatic event alone.