Category: Unit 7

Any intentional study of leadership will lead to the study of leader values and ethics. Embedded in authentic, transformational, servant leadership is the concept that personal values and ethical standards cannot be separated from the other performance indicators in leaders who practice these styles.

Previously we have read that Avolio proposed that transformational leadership is fundamentally morally uplifting (as cited in Northouse, 2016) and leadership has a moral dimension (Northouse, 2016). A review of the current research confirms the hypothesis of Bass that transformational leadership tends to be a robust predictor of performance outcomes across situations (as cited in Wang, Oh, Courtright, & Colbert, 2011), and this study showed it is particularly relevant in contextual performance and team performance. There is also evidence that transformational leadership tends to have a greater effect on employee motivation and attitudes than on performance (Wang et al, 2011). The implication is that leaders have the ability to improve performance and change organizational behaviours and cultures through leadership styles that demonstrate strong ethical principles. One practical application of this research would encourage employers to focus training for upper level managers in the area of transformational leadership in work environments that require team collaboration (Wang et al., 2011). Another practical application is to recruit and select new leaders with the traits of extraversion and emotional stability as these individuals tend to lean towards transformational leadership (Wang et al., 2011).

Five ethical principles have been proposed as the foundation for sound ethical leadership: respect, service, justice, honesty, and community (Northouse, 2016). These are defined and discussed below.

• Respects others – leaders must believe that others have unconditional worth. If this is the case, then individual differences are valued, and they are permitted to be creative and be themselves. Leaders will defer to followers at times, will listen to them and show empathy, and make opportunities to confirm individuals as having worth.
• Serves others – leaders will attend to others and be of service to them and make decisions that are beneficial to others. Attending to the needs of others is the primary building block of moral leadership. Leaders have a personal vision that is larger than themselves, and they understand and act on social responsibility.
• Shows justice – leaders create a culture of fairness and people understand this. When there is a need for different treatment reasons why are clear. Decisions are made that promote the common interest of all. Rules of fairness are used and they are applied in a way that makes sense.
• Manifests honesty – if leaders are not honest it fosters distrust; leaders are perceived as undependable and unreliable, respect for the leader is diminished, and the relationship becomes strained. However, responsibilities often require leaders to strike a balance between being open and candid and determining what to disclose because there must be a sensitivity to the attitudes and feelings of followers. Manifesting honesty requires a wide set of behaviours.
• Builds Community – there is a focus on the common good and concern for others. Ethical leaders do not impose their will on others. They are attentive to the interests of the community and culture, embody civic virtue, and have wider moral purposes.

Obviously all of these principles are important but if I were to rank them I would say that the first would be respect for others. If a leader believes that every other person has inherent worth, the other principles will follow. I would rank manifests honesty as second. Honesty is critical in any manager/employee relationship so maintaining the relational connection is important, and this can only be achieved through honesty.

I am looking forward to reading the other blogs and finding out what others thought were the top two, and why.

References

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. (7th ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

Wang, G., Oh, I. S., Courtright, S. H., Colbert, A. E. (2011) Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: a meta-analytic review of 25 years of research.  Group and Organization Management 36(2), 223 – 270.

I am finding this week’s study topic particularly relevant to my current experience in Kenya. We have spent the last 2 weeks interviewing high school students for potential entrance into the Sew Love program, and a topic that comes up over and over is the concern that the students have with corruption in their country. Interestingly a search for the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International reveals conflicting results with Kenya ranking either as the 3rd most corrupt country in Africa or the 21st (fadamana, n.d.; Bada, 2018) However, the information on Kenya that is consistent indicates that bribes are expected, the vast majority of the public believes the police corrupt, and politicians grossly mismanage public funds without repercussion. Although the example is negative, it does demonstrate the moral implications of ethics in leadership. Ethics has been defined as the principles, values, and beliefs that define what is right and wrong behaviour (Van Buren, 2013). At every level there is an acceptance in Kenya that bribes are OK, that inflating the price for someone who isn’t a native resident is OK, charging the buyer extra and keeping the extra for yourself and not giving it to your employer is OK, altering accounting logs to cover up personal gain is OK. To the Canadians visiting here, this is not considered OK because the standards set by our government, the justice system, and the community state that this is unethical behaviour. Leaders in Western countries are held to an ethical standard by the voting public, and the expectation is that any leader would be punished if they engaged in the behaviour that is accepted in countries that are ranked the highest on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

In workplaces we know that the ethical leadership has moral implications because people care about organizational justice and they will respond to the moral cues of the leader. Because this response is inevitable an ethical culture can be created regardless of the style of leadership (BuildingCapacity). We see examples of this in organizations and corporations around the world. The immediate example that comes to mind, and that has been referenced numerous times is this course is the culture that has been developed and maintained at Southwest Airlines. The leaders there have created an ethical culture in which treating people with mutual respect is right and expected, and anything less is wrong. Peers and colleagues hold each other to that ethical standard. As a result, their company is flourishing.

With this example and others available, it is clear that ethical leadership can assist an organization to grow and flourish. In my own leadership context, I first need to recognize that I am the role model and as a leader I set the moral tone, and no matter what my style of leadership is, and that I create an ethical culture by ensuring that employees understand that the means are as important as the ends (BuildingCapacity). I can communicate my ethical expectations in interactions with employees ensuring that they understand that mutual respect is right; disrespect is wrong. I can accept responsibility for my mistakes, and demonstrate by my actions that I will make things right when I wrong anyone. I can promote ethical financial management of public funds by minimizing personal costs (for example, it is less costly to use the region-owned vehicle for business even though I am permitted as an out of scope employee to use my own vehicle and charge mileage, so I choose to use the region vehicle when able). I can be the example and report unethical behaviour if it arises, support any employee who reports on unethical behaviour, and promote open conversation if anyone challenges my decisions or actions as being unethical. I can also enable my organization to grow and flourish by utilizing an authentic leadership style by being true to myself as I choose to act in integrity, being an “original” by leading from my own personal point of view, and by being motivated by, and acting on my own personal convictions and values (Avolio & Gardner, 2005).

My initial example of the moral implications of ethical leadership is one in which we can learn how not to lead. I think we have all been in situations where there are concerns with the ethical behaviour of others. Which have been the most impactful in teaching you how to behave in the opposite way? I look forward to the discussion.

References

Avolio, B. & Gardner, W. (2005). Authentic leadership development: getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 315-338.

Bada, Gbenga. (2018, Feb 23). These are the 21 most corrupt countries in Africa. Pulse. Retrieved from
http://www.pulse.ng/bi/politics/these-are-the-21-most-corrupt-countries-in-africa-id8021690.html

fadmana. Africa’s top 10 most corrupt countries (n.d.). ActionAfrica. Retrieved from https://answersafrica.com/africas-top-10-most-corrupt-countries.html

Van Buren, J.A. (2013, Mar 12). What is ethical leadership? [PowerPoint presentation] BuildingCapacity. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ks2QGoIq5nA