Moral implications of leadership behavior

Ethical Leadership is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are. It must be with the nature of leaders’ behaviour, and with their virtuousness (Northouse, 2019). The leader is responsible to set the tone of the organization (Building capacity, 2013).  One is influential or famous doesn’t mean he is or isn’t ethical. So, leadership always had challenges in steering these ethical platforms of moral judgment and analyzing the issues. Leaders set the moral tone for the entire organization (Van Buren, 2013). An individual’s conduct towards a desired outcome, or goal is directly influenced by the moral and ethical aspects a leader develops in his leadership role. Authentic leadership and its development encompass an inherent ethical/moral component (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). Great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Malala Yousufzai and many others are remembered as great leaders who inculcated moral and ethical leadership to accomplish their goal. Thus, one can say that, to be an authentic and great leader one must understand the moral implications that their leadership behaviour will have on individuals and the organization.

The way to grow and flourish the organisation

Organizations signal their behavior through several ways – ethical standards, how you hire, how you promote, fairness and respect of your staff. This is where we set the culture for us to start the process of flourishing (BuildingCapacity, 2013). There are several areas that an organization should have its focus as per Van Buren (2013. Firstly, by being a visible role model for staff members who observes appropriate behaviour of the leader. Communicating the ethical prospects to the staff as per the organizational code of ethics where it would state the values and ethical rules and even if there aren’t any set ethical code for the organisation, effective communication can help develop ethical conduct. Moreover, the leaders must encourage effective financial management by using the resources cost-effectively without affecting the organization in the long-term. Encourage active participation in ethical training seminars and workshops that elucidate suitable practice that includes the organization’s code of ethics. In addition, focusing on the means and ends against the organization’s code by institutionalization of an ethical culture through measuring performance of ethics. Finally, the organization must provide protective mechanisms which can happen through a whistleblower policy, ethical counselors, and a proper grievance procedure.

Well, the readings look easy and organised, but how many of us as leaders could focus on all these aspects to flourish and grow the organisation as explained by the scholars. Is it followed or will be followed?

Resources:

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

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice, Eighth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.