Ethical leadership is a necessary element in any organizations. According to Johnson (2015), ethical leadership enhances organizational trust levels, fostering perceptions that the organization is competent, open, concerned for employees, and reliable. Such trust leads to improved organizational performance and greater profitability. Moreover, ethical leadership grows an ethical organization climate that can increase job satisfaction and commitment to the organization (p. xxi).
Ethics is a personal trait, and it represents the behavior of a person. The behavior accumulates with a long time practice. Seidman believes that human has innate nature to think that we can figure out the difference between right and wrong (Thompson 2007). In other words, every individual has his or her ethical value to judge right and wrong.
Although it is hard to teach people ethics, however, it is possible to influence people’s behavior by effective leadership style. An appropriate leadership style could foster ethical climates in the organizations. Transformational leadership, servant leadership, and responsible leadership are useful approaches to improve the ethical behavior. According to Johnson (2015), transformational leaders engage in higher level moral reasoning, demonstrate greater integrity, are more successful at leading ethical organizational turnarounds, encourage the development of positive ethical climates, institutionalize ethical practices, and foster corporate social responsibility (p. 230).
A great leader is not just telling the follower what to do, but building up their confidence and encouraging independent decision-making. As a leader should not only guide followers about how to work but also should demonstrate to followers how to become a leader. The leader can share power with followers, and give them the freedom to deal with difficult situations and to lead to self-actualization. That is the best way to improve employee engagement, and build a sustainable development for a brighter future.
Learning Activity 1
- Watch the video What is Ethical Leadership?
- Read Avolio and Gardner’s (2005) article Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership
- Create a new post on your blog and answer the following questions:
- What are the moral implications of leadership behaviour?
- In light of the video and article, how can you enable your organization to grow and flourish?
Categories for this post:
- ldrs500
- Unit 7
Learning Activity 2
In this activity our goal is to synthesize, reflect and integrate leadership thinking related to values-based leadership and transformational servant leadership.
- In the article Transformational Leadership and Performance Across Criteria and Levels, what are the main implications for managers in the article? How can you use this information to become a better leader?
- Define and describe the principles of ethical leadership.
- Which 2 of the 5 covered in Northouse Chapter 13 do you think are the most important? Why?
Write your responses in your blog.
Categories for this post:
- ldrs500
- Unit 7
References
Avolio, B. & Gardner, W. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 315-338.
Huizenga, H.J. (2016) MILP Leadership values and ethics.
Johnson, C. E. (2015). Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Thompson, K. R. (2007). A corporate training view of ethics education: An interview with Dov L. Seidman, CEO of LRN. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 13(3), 79-91.
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 & Organization Management, 36(2), 223-270.