Ethics and leadership go hand in hand in organizations. According to Northouse (2013), ethics is essential to leadership and leaders help to establish and reinforce organizational values. Our lesson on ethics in leadership states that ethics “is concerned with the kinds of morals and values an individual or society finds desirable or appropriate and with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives” (L. 14, p. 3). Therefore, it is important that we understand how ethics is involved in our roles as leaders and how our behavior affects the organization.

            It is what we as leaders do in regard to ethics that is important to be aware of in our daily lives. Our organization ethical decision-making affects not only ourselves, but also affects the organization and our followers. It is my contention that we as leaders are under a microscope at all times and have to be aware of how our actions are viewed by others. If we are found to be operating in unethical ways, it can be interpreted by others that the organization that we represent deems our behavior appropriate/acceptable. As leaders, we influence followers and if we act in unethical manner, they may think that the behavior is acceptable for them as well. We need to ensure that our morals and values are consistent with those held by the organization. We have to establish the ethical climate in the organization and be sensitive to the values of the organization (Northouse, 2013).

At my place of employment, we have core values that are supposed to guide us in our daily organizational lives and the one core value that sticks out to me is “integrity.” While these core values apply to everyone, it is imperative that leaders follow/demonstrate those core values, as we are the role models in the organization.  Unfortunately, when I first started out in management in a supervisor role, I was surprised to learn that some of our supervisors and managers were not conducting themselves in a manner that was consistent with our core values, and their integrity was in question. I came to this conclusion after hearing these leaders talk amongst themselves. However, I soon learned that the conduct was evident to our associate base as well. A few associates reported to me that we had management personnel telling lewd jokes, flirting with subordinates, going to parties where associates were at and indulging themselves in alcohol and acting inappropriate. The morals and values of these “leaders” were questionable and their behavior was not consistent with the values set by the organization. This caused issues when these leaders were giving direction to subordinates. The leaders had no credibility and had lost the respect of many of their followers. Word travels quickly in the organization and although not all associates had witnessed the behavior, it became common knowledge of what these individuals had been doing and how they conducted themselves. Additionally, this behavior caused issues because some associates felt as if these leaders had favorites and treated them special because they were friends outside of work. Morale was affected and productivity suffered in the departments that these leaders managed. The leaders’ behaviors were also showing through at work and they were not conducting themselves appropriately. I had notified HR and after several complaints and reports from people, the situation was handled and the organization took steps to prevent further instances of unethical leadership.

It is important that leaders recognize they are “the face” of the organization and set the example for their followers. I follow these rules in my daily organizational life: comply with law and policy, treat people with respect, guard words and actions, be consistent and professional, follow objective criteria, avoid assumptions and treat situations consistently. These are a sample of the “rules” I set for myself to help ensure I maintain the ethics expected of me as a leader in my organization. Based on feedback from my followers, it seems to be working out well for all of us.

Reference

Northouse, P.G. (2013).  Leadership: Theory and Practice.  Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 428, 448

The Pennsylvania State University World Campus. PSYCH485: Leadership in Work Settings.  Lesson 14: Ethics and Leadership.

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