I would like to discuss how ethics affect us as leader in this dynamic ever-changing world. “The word ethics has its roots in the Greek word ethos, which translates to “customs,” “conduct,” or “character.” Ethics is concerned with the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society finds desirable or appropriate. Furthermore, ethics is concerned with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives” (Northouse, 2016).
It is in my experience as a leader that having strong morals, values and ethics is what makes a leader truly great. Having a strong moral compass is essential to making good decisions based on analysis, and judgment. “In any decision-making situation, ethical issues are either implicitly or explicitly involved. The choices leaders make and how they respond in a given circumstance are informed and directed by their ethics”(Northouse, 2016). This moral compass is what guides a leader to make the right choice. This sort of decision-making process cannot be taught. It can be strengthened over time through experience but the core of this thought process must come from a part deep within the leader.
Ronald Heifetz was a psychiatrist that had formulated a unique perspective on ethical leadership based on his observations and analysis of great world leaders. He observed leaders such as Lyndon Johnson and Mohandas Gandhi and many others. “His approach emphasizes how leaders help followers to confront conflict and to address conflict by effecting changes. Heifetz’s perspective is related to ethical leadership because it deals with values: the values of workers and the values of the organizations and communities in which they work”(Northouse, 2016).
As a leader I find this perspective to be quite true. Following this path of moral choices is what perseveres throughout any difficult or trying time. As a leader I must empower my followers to make good decisions and affect change through making moral choices. I must show them the way and invite them to participate in hard to decipher problems that may arise. “In a supportive context, followers can feel safe to confront hard problems. Specifically, leaders use authority to get people to pay attention to the issues, to act as a reality test regarding information, to manage and frame issues, to orchestrate conflicting perspectives, and to facilitate decision making. The leader’s duties are to assist the follower in struggling with change and personal growth”(Heifetz, 1994 cited in Northouse, 2016).
When we are the leaders we must carry the responsibility to maintain strong ethics throughout our professional exchanges. I also know that it is a great honor to support, cultivate and help my followers make better choices when they face moral obstacles or dilemmas. I pride myself on sharing my shortcomings and invite my followers to walk through the moral issues we face often. I always involve them in these situations so that tomorrow they may be prepared for the same ethical dilemma and am able to master it with ease and confidence. It is skill building with real life examples and it is vital for their growth as leaders within my organization.
Strong ethics are the catalyst for everlasting success as a leader. As leaders we must understand the value of our moral compasses and teach our followers how to confront the hard and complicated moral dilemmas we may face. This is both a great responsibility and great honor.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership Ethics: Chapter 13. In M. Stanley, A. Rickard, L. Larson, & M. Masson (Eds.), Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed., pp. 1-18). Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483317540/cfi/6/10[;vnd.vst.idref=s9781483398013.i24]
David Lincoln Joseph says
It sounds to me like you have had numerous personal challenges that caused you to recognize and appreciate the value of being ethical when leading others. You seem to have developed an arsenal of strong referencing tools that emerged from your trying experiences that parallels in many ways the ethical principles Peter G. Northouse (2016) discusses in his book, Leadership: Theory and practice, that you continually utilize when making ethical decisions. Early in your personal examples you state, “…having strong morals, values and ethics is what makes a leader truly great.” I completely agree. Having this conviction establishes a guiding force to measure and ground your decision-making into a stable and growing skill, of sorts, that becomes stronger with every new challenge you overcome. D. Knights and M. Oleary (2006) in their article, Leadership, Ethics and Responsibility to the Other, describe an interconnectivity that they delineate where a sort of symbiotic relationship forms between leaders and followers that binds them into an understanding of a unique individual reasoning that members of a group develop out of the shared encounters of collaborating through dilemmas. They posit that leaders hold the ultimate power of being responsible to foster the kinds of ethical cultural that the group will utilize. Northouse (2016) alludes to a similar kind of binding within groups when he describes the Centrality of Ethics to Leadership. Here he tells of the demands placed on leaders to actively drive the integrity culture of an organization. He says, “Ethics is central to leadership, and leaders help to establish and reinforce organizational values. Every leader has a distinct philosophy and point of view. All leaders have an agenda, a series of beliefs, proposals, values, ideas, and issues that they wish to put on the table” (p. 336). I see where you infer that you have adopted a similar understanding and take seriously the commitment that this responsibility demands.
Around the middle of your discussion you stated, “As a leader I must empower my followers to make good decisions and affect change through making moral choices. I must show them the way and invite them to participate in hard to decipher problems that may arise… to get people to pay attention to the issues.” It seems clear that you have established values, which Northouse (2016) describe as long-held beliefs that give rise to a specific mode of conduct to reason ethical decisions, and that you are not moved by ulterior motives that are rooted in deception and trickery. This and other statements you made suggest a high level of ethical maturity, like when you reference a clear striving for transparency when discussing how you are inclusive of subordinates in decisions where you said, “I always involve them in these situations so that tomorrow they may be prepared for the same ethical dilemma… .” Here I gained an appreciation of your personality and see that you have crossed both the preconvention and conventional morality Northouse (2016) discusses of L. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development. You are beyond the preconventional level, which Northouse (2016) details as when an individual tends to make moral judgment based on ramifications of direct consequences to obedience and punishment, and self-interest exchanges for personal gain. When you evaluate and freely give of your understanding to subordinates to help further their ethical fulfilment and growth, you clearly demonstrate that you have exceeded this level of reasoning. The second level, conventional morality which Northouse (2016) describe as judgment of morality by a leader against society’s views and expectations to maintain order and conform to social standards, you also seem to reason beyond, as by your rationale for conforming to being ethical you display clear convictions that you are not motivated simply to please others, but rather for the elevation of a culture in the group you lead. I believe that you definitely belong to the highest level of postconventional morality that Northouse (2016) explains to be when an individual develops their own set of ethics and morals that they use to guide their ethical decision-making based on a personal conviction of a sort of unwritten obligation. Your attempts to foster a pervasive growth of ethicality tells of this compliance in that you seem to be guided by principles to bolster equitability, rights for all, and opportunity for everyone you lead. Simultaneously, I feel that the actions you tell of that motivate your ethics, which Northouse (2016) calls morals, is of the altruism category, described by Northouse (2016) as coming out of a purpose to promote the best interest of others, as you speak of attempts to educate your subordinates even when it is not imperative. This illustrates that you think beyond simply concern for self-interest and instead direct your efforts to uplift everyone.
I am convinced that you are truly a conscientious facilitator when it comes to ethics. If you haven’t seen the fruits of your labors yet, I am sure the bounty of your generosity will blossom soon and yield much devotion and efforts to further your agendas, by most of your subordinates. According to Northouse (2016) this sort of modeling will stimulate emulating by subordinates to strive to be similar. If only this sort of standard were more pervasive, there would be less business scandals and greater achievement of improved efficiency.
References
Kinghts, D., & O’Leary, M. (2006). Leadership, Ethics and Responsibility to the Other. Journal of Business Ethics (Vol. 67, pp. 125-137).
Northouse, P. G. (Ed.). (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Kimberly Ann Tolley says
I enjoyed your post and couldn’t agree with you more. According to the Center for Ethical Leadership, “Ethical leadership is knowing your core values and having the courage to live them in all parts of your life is service of the common good.” As a leader you are often faced with situations that could be handled easier but lacking moral standards. You have to always put your ethics in the center of decisions you are asked to make. “Ethics is central to leadership because of the nature of process of influence, the need to engage followers in accomplishing mutual goals, and the impact leaders have on the organization’s values.” (Northouse, 2016, p. 337)
As a leader you set the example for the organization. You can’t expect your followers to exhibit ethical leadership when you as the leader do not. “Ethical leaders are concerned about issues of fairness and justice.” (Northouse, 2016, p. 344) Abusive behavior or bullying in the workplace, misusing company time, and employee theft are all situations that leaders may have to address. If items like this aren’t brought forward and dealt with, your followers will lose respect and trust with you.
One of the areas that I’ve had to deal with the most has been former leaders that haven’t been truthful. “When we relate to others, dishonesty also has a negative impact. It puts a strain on how people are connected to each other. When we lie to others, we are in essence saying that we are willing to manipulate the relationship on our own terms. We are saying that we do not trust the other person in the relationship to be able to deal with information we have.” (Northouse, 2016, p. 346)
The difficult thing is when your superior is dishonest and you’re associated with that leadership team. One of my former VP’s would sit in our meetings and ask our management team what our “story” would be to tell our President. Some of us would speak up and let him know what was going on and what we were doing to change or improve the problem. We would always find out that he would still choose to make up his own “story” to tell. “But being honest is not just about telling the truth. It has to do with being open with others and representing reality as fully and completely as possible.” (Northouse, 2016, p. 346)
References:
http://www.theworkplacecoach.com/the-importance-of-ethical-leadership/
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice, 7th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.