Principles of Ethical Leadership & the Implications for Managers – Unit 7-2

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Ethical leadership very simply put revolves around “what leaders do and who leaders are” (Northouse, 2019, p. 336).  The ‘do’, that Northouse (2019) references relates to the choices and actions that leaders make and the ‘are’ refers to the leader’s values and morals.  A leader’s values and morals have a direct impact on the actions and the decisions they make.  According to Northouse (2019), who references Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development,  a  leader with the highest levels of postconventional morality makes decisions based on doing what is best for the whole of humanity and out of an “internalized and universal principle of justice” (Northouse, 2019. p. 337).  Northouse (2019) also quotes Velasquez (1992) when he discusses the virtues of an ethical person stating that Aristotle referred to a moral person as having “courage, temperance, generosity, self-control, honesty, sociability, modesty, fairness, and justice” (p.341).

The 5 principles of ethical leadership as outlined by Northouse (2019, p.346 – 352) are:

1. Having respect for others
   • Showing respect means that a leader actively listens, is empathetic to their followers and is willing to have an open mind to many different view points and perspectives.
2. Serving others
   • Ethical leaders make decisions that are for the benefit of everyone and ensure that no harm is caused either directly or indirectly from the decisions made.
   • Serving others means focusing on the needs of the followers instead of the leader
3. Being just and fair
   • Ethical leaders treat all individuals by adhering to the golden rule of “Do onto others as you would have them do unto you” (p.349).
4. Being honest
   • Ethical leaders are transparent in their dealings, while maintaining confidentiality of others.  Dalla Costa (1998) as quoted by Northouse (2019), they “do not promise what they can’t deliver, or misrepresent, or hide behind spin-doctored evasions, suppress obligations, evade accountability…” (p.351).
5. Building community
   • Ethical leaders build community by having a shared vision, which leads to a common goal that is beneficial for everyone.

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I found it extremely difficult to narrow the 5 principles down to just 2 that are the most important as I feel like they are all essential. Being just and fair is my first choice because of the golden rule of “do onto others as you would have them do unto you” (Northouse, 2019, p.349). If a leader treats others this way, then they are also not only demonstrating respect to their followers but they are also ensuring that they are serving others. My second choice was being honest. Honesty is integral to building respect and building community. People trust those who are consistently honest and will be more motivated to work towards a common goal because they have confidence knowing that the leader is transparent, fair and just and they will have confidence in their leader’s ability to handle difficult situations as they arise.

In Wang’s, Oh, Courtright and Colbert’s article (2011) they refer to how transformational leaders and managers can impact an organization’s productivity, community development, and follower’s self-development through “affecting individual-level and team-level processes and performance but also through affecting organizational cultures, systems, and strategies” (p.252).  The managerial implications of these findings are that organizations should seek to hire individuals who possess transformational leadership traits as “they are likely to derive the most value” for the organization as a whole (Wang, Oh, Courtright, Colbert, 2011, p.253).

According to Wang, Oh, Courtright and Colbert (2011, p. 230, p.232 -233) a person can become a better transformational leader by:

• Developing and sharing both a vision and high expectations
• Acting as a role model for the shared vision and expectations in that, “followers desire to emulate, thereby eliciting higher team commitment, cooperation and performance” (p.251).
• Soliciting suggestions and ideas from  team members
• Attending to the needs of others which builds trust. “Transformational leaders care about their followers and appeal to them on an emotional level” (p.251).
• Linking the roles of team members to the vision so that members view the work as being more meaningful which creates team cohesion and social identification.
• Acting as a coach and mentor to provide support and tools
• Enabling team members to develop self efficacy so that they believe in themselves and see the goal as being realistically attainable.
• Encouraging innovation and problem solving will help improve creativity by creating and building a team community where there is no fear of failure and people can learn from their mistakes.

When leaders successfully do the above, it leads to higher productivity, enhanced team cohesion, creativity and an environment where team members routinely exceed expectations due to intrinsic motivational factors  developed as a result of transformational leadership.

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I immediately thought of Nelson Mandela as being a good role model and example of an ethical leader. He meets the criteria of the 5 principles as outlined by Northouse (2019) in that he had respect for others, he was fair and just, he was honest, and he built community by serving others first and foremost.  Who do you think (past or present) is a good example and role model of ethical leadership?

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2019).  Leadership: Theory and Practice.  (8^th 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-analytical review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36 (2), 223-270.