Sarah effectively articulated the Confucius’ principles related to his primary message “what you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others” (Watson, 1951: p. 196). This is taken from the Golden Rule of Christianity: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. I liked how Sarah related these simple principles to the importance of establishing trust with followers because trust is what allows a leader to have influence. Followers have to trust their leader’s character in order to have their thoughts, beliefs, and actions influenced by an individual. As Sarah pointed out, integrity makes a leader worthy of trust.
I believe this dovetails into authentic leadership. In a society where authenticity is rare, it has become more valuable than ever. People are starving to follow authentic influencers that take off the masks of social norms and share their true struggles and hardships. Social media has made authenticity especially valuable. We live in a world where everyone showcases the highlight reel of their lives, creating a cycle of envy and inadequacy. Authentic leadership is a philosophy that advocates for genuine and “real” leadership especially with the public’s increasing demand for trustworthy leaders in the wake of corporate scandals and “fake news” (Northouse, 2017: p. 197).
Authentic leadership requires an intrapersonal perspective that consists of true “self-knowledge, self –regulation, and self-concept” as to not unknowingly or mistakenly treat others poorly (Northouse, 2017: p. 198). Authentic leaders have strong codes of ethics by understanding their own values, where they behave in ways that are congruent to their own personal constitution (Northouse, 2017: p. 200). When they experience hardships or tough decisions, they do not compromise their ethics because the values have been predetermined before for high-stake situations arise. Ultimately, this instils trust amongst followers as they see their leader acting ethically in difficult situations. Evidently, leaders set the moral tone for the organization because both ethical and non-ethical behaviour trickles down through the organization (BuildingCapacity, 2013). Confucius’ principles relates not only to an individual’s personal life but also to the ethical corporate sphere.
Thank you Sarah for your thought-provoking post! I really liked how it fit in nicely with this week’s topic. Looking forward to reading more!
Christina
References
BuildingCapacity [Poster]. (2013, March 29). What is ethical leadership? Retrieved November 2018, from You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QGoIq5nA
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: theory and practice (Eighth ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.