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This is still showing up—and that's okay, it's one of the harder habits to shift. You're building the ethical reasoning beautifully, but there's a gap between the principle and the human moment...

The thinking is there. Now trust yourself enough to zoom in on the actual conversation—one specific sentence, one honest emotion, one real thing you'd say—and watch how much more convincing and human your response becomes.

You showed empathy from the start — acknowledging your teammate's situation before jumping to a solution is exactly the right instinct.

Expand the middle section: name one or two reasons why your chosen action is the fairest, not just the most convenient.

You showed genuine empathy and covered multiple perspectives — your instinct to validate before acting is exactly what evaluators look for.

Step 2 reasoning stops one level short — you named the action but didn't tie it to a principle. Why is this the fairest approach to everyone involved?

Add one sentence naming the underlying principle — fairness, integrity, or collaboration — and explain why it applies here.

"I'd start by speaking privately with my teammate to understand what happened and whether there were pressures I wasn't aware of. From there, I'd be honest with the group — not to assign blame, but because they deserve to make an informed decision about how we move forward. Transparency here feels non-negotiable; it's what I'd want if the roles were reversed."