Category: Unit 7

“People will not follow a leader with moral incongruities for long. Everytime you compromise your character, you compromise your leadership. The foundation of firm leadership is character.” (Bill Hybels)

Leaders have many important responsibilities and great moral implications. Being ethical and moral is an integral part of leadership, and it should never be compromised. Jane Van Buren in the video “What is Ethical Leadership” (March 29, 2013) defined ethics as principles, values, beliefs that define what is right, and what is the wrong behavior. Leaders set the moral tone for the entire organization. Leaders are the ones who uphold the shared values of the organization and see the cultural tone. Jane Van Buren in the video “What is Ethical Leadership” (March 29, 2013) talked about various moral implications of an active leader, their importance, and application in the growth of an organization are enlisted below:

Being a visible role model: Leaders have to act as role models for the organization. It can start with something as small as washing your coffee mug to encourage others to do so as well (Jane Van Buren, 2013). My boss is an excellent example of this. I started working at this job just a month ago, and I’m amazed by the leadership and ethical standards. I have seen the boss do the most basic stuff like cleaning or just handling customers first hand while the rush hour and this way he is a great role model for everyone else. This enhances teamwork behavior and also makes everyone work even harder.

Communicate ethical expectations: Communicating clear ethical expectations is very important for an organization. Creating an organizational code of ethics is the first step. Talking about and conveying clear ethical values and central ideas of a company goes a long way.

Promote ethical training: Ethical training should be a part of company’s schedule. Seminar, workshops and group discussions should be encouraged. Sitting with the whole team and talking about various moral or ethical dilemmas and their answers should be encouraged. This also promotes the feeling of trust and safety among teammates.

Other methods like institutionalization of ethical culture and providing protective mechanism can also help enhance ethical values of an organization. Above all, it is important to talk about and understand the necessity of high moral standards and practicing leadership ethically as it is indeed a great responsibility.

References

Van Buren, J. (2013, March 29). What is Ethical Leadership? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QGoIq5nA

“Transformational leadership is defined as the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower”. (Northouse,2016)

In the article, ‘Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels,’ some hypotheses are stated about the various implications of managers. According to Wang, Oh, Courtright and Colbert, these are as follows:

• Transformational leaders affect followers performance at the individual level: This is achieved by any of the four behaviors exhibited by a transformational leader. A leader can show the behavior of inspirational motivation by developing and articulating a shared vision and high expectations. This motivates the followers to do better. Another option is by practicing the behavior of idealized influence by serving as a role model by acting in ways that are consistent with the clear vision. Transformational leaders can also interculturally stimulate the followers or exhibit individualized consideration by attending to the needs of every follower.
• Transformational leaders motivate followers to perform beyond expectations: This is a fantastic implication if leaders. They push the followers to do better than what they think they are capable of by constant motivation and faith in them.
• Not only individual performance but transformation leaders enhance group/team performance as well: Leaders communicate the vision to the group and motivate team members to work collectively. They encourage team cohesion and motivation.

The word ethics has its roots in the Greek word ethos, which translates to “customs”, “conduct” or “character”. In regards to leadership, ethics is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are (Northouse,2016,p.330).

Acc to Johnson (2015), ethical leadership enhances organizational trust levels, fostering the perception that the organization is competent, open, concerned for employees and reliable (Unit 7 notes). There are 5 principles of ethical leadership and they are enlisted below:

1. Respecting others
2. Serving others
3. Justice
4. Manifests honesty
5. Builds Community

All five of them are like fingers of a hand, one can not be considered more important than other. All of these principles together make an ethical leader but if I had two picks any two out of these five, they will be respect and building community. Respecting others is very important and if you don’t respect others you cannot command respect for yourself either. As you sow, so you reap fits perfectly in this situation. As Beauchamp and Bowie (1988) pointed out, ” Persons must be treated as having their own autonomously established goals and must never be treated purely as a means to another’s personal goals” (Northouse,2016,p.342). Leaders who respect others also allow them to be themselves, with creative wats and desires. They approach other people with a sense of their unconditional worth and value individual differences (Northouse,2016,p.342). By respecting others a leader is also practicing justice. The second most important principle to me is Building communities. Ethical leadership demands attention to a civic virtue. This means leaders and followers need to attend to more than their own mutually determined goals. They need to attend to the community’s goals and purpose (Northouse,2016,p.347). Greenleaf (1970) argued that building community was a primary characteristic of servant leadership. All of our individual and group goals are bound up in the common good and public interest. We need to pay attention to how the changes proposed by a leader and followers will affect the larger organization, the community, and society. An ethical leader is concerned with the common good, in the broadest sense (Northouse,2016,p.347). This principle covers other principles as well as it is about serving others and manifesting honesty.

 

The ultimate goal of a servant/transformational/ethical leader is to serve and grow others.

References

Northouse, P.G. (2016).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. 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.