Ethical Dilemmas Ethical dilemmas. There can be so many types of these dilemmas depending on the person or situation. By definition, an ethical dilemma is a complex situation that often involves an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. In other words, it is a situation where a person’s morals and principles come into play, making it hard to come up with a solution. Leaders face ethical dilemmas all the time. They need to make decisions that benefit the people below them and themselves. These dilemmas really help in showing who a person is and they also help people learn a lot about themselves that they may not have known. Ethical dilemmas can very personal, so I am going to share a story where I made a mistake. This one ethical dilemma occurred in high school, around my junior year, involving a friend, two girls and myself.