Category: Unit 7

In the article by Wang et. al., what are the main implications for managers in the article?  The main implication of the article by Wang et. al. (2011) was that transformational leadership (TFL) is a good predictor of “desirable performance outcomes” (p. 253).  Although transactional leadership has a greater impact upon employee task performance, transformational leadership has a greater impact upon attitudes and motivation of employees at the individual, team and organizational level. Transformational leaders are able to inspire employees such that they are willing to go above and beyond their specific work tasks for the good of the group. Therefore managers in work environments where employees work collaboratively as a team would benefit from demonstrating TFL more so than managers in work environments where employees work independently and do not collaborate with one another.

How can you use this information to become a better leader? 

I can use this information to work to support my followers in two ways: (1) in order to promote work performance, act as a transactional leader yet at the same time provide the knowledge, tools and support followers need so they can do their job extremely well, (2) act as a transformational leader by motivating followers to go above and beyond their work roles. I can do this by making my followers see that their work is significant to the overall vision of the organization and instilling within them a belief that they can achieve the goals set for them (Wang et. al., 2011).

Define and describe the principles of ethical leadership.

According to Northouse (2016), the five principles of ethical leadership are: showing respect to followers by ‘treating them in ways that confirm their beliefs, attitudes, and values’ (p. 342) serving followers by working for their interests; leading in a manner that is fair and just so that all individuals are treated equitably; demonstrating honesty and truthfulness by “being
open with others and representing reality as fully and completely as possible” (p. 346); and by building a sense of community by acting for the good of the community and influencing followers to do this as well.

Which 2 of the 5 covered in Northouse Chapter 13 do you think are the most important? Why? 

Mulla and Krishnan (2011) found that transformational leaders can influence the moral sensitivity and moral motivation of followers over time. To me, this means that transformational leaders must be ethical leaders and role models of high moral standards. Thus, although all five are important, I feel that honesty and justice are the two most important principles of ethical leadership that transformational leaders must operate by.

Mulla, Z. R., Krishnan, V. R. (2011). Transformational leadership: Do the leader’s morals matter and do the follower’s morals change? Journal of Human Values, 17(2), 129-143.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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.

 

What are the moral implications of leadership behaviour?

Non-ethical behaviour from the leadership erodes staff morale and public trust in the company. Behaviour at the top trickles down and impacts all staff and sets the tone for the kind of environment that exists in the organization.

In light of the video and article, how can you enable your organization to grow and flourish?

“Strong culture has a big impact on employee behaviour” (BuildingCapacity, 2013). Creating an ethical culture is one way to ensure that an organization grows well. Creating an ethical culture involves six principles: the leader as the role model, defining ethical behaviour, promoting financial management and integrity, ethical training, and an institutionalized ethical culture (BuildingCapacity, 2013).

1. Be a visible role model – be aware of and purposeful in your behaviour as the leader because leader behaviour will define employee behaviour. This is also known as authentic leadership. Avolio & Gardner (2005) define authentic leaders as the following:

those who are deeply aware of how they think and behave and are perceived by others as being aware of their own and others’ values/moral perspectives, knowledge, and strengths; aware of the context in which they operate; and who are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, and of high moral character

Authentic leaders are open and transparent in sharing information and decision-making, considering multiple sides of an issue and multiple perspectives (Avolio & Gardner, 2005).

2. Define ethical behaviour in your company – create your code of ethics (the org’s primary values and ethical rules that employees are expected to follow) through discussion and integration of voices at all levels; how you create it (collaboratively) and how you integrate it into everyday activities will determine whether or not it gets followed

3 a). Promote effective financial management (using resources in a principled way) – focus on assessing the effectiveness of your programs and of the organization as a whole; knowing exactly what the outcomes are and the outcome measures that prove programs are effective

3 b). Promote financial integrity – Being aware of and making sure that who you take money from and who you invest with are companies that are in accordance with your values (e.g. if you are working to save the environment but investing in oil companies or taking donations from companies that strip the earth of certain resources). Thinking about how it appears to others.

4. Provide training in ethics – to create a discussion, to clarify acceptable practices, to create a code of ethics (networking is valuable here to learn about how other organizations accomplish this)

5. Institutionalize an ethical culture – measure performance against the code of ethics; incorporate ethical values and transparency into all areas: resource allocation, strategic planning, compensation, personnel—how you hire employees, performance evaluations, auditing, communications, public relations; a decision-making process that is transparent, responsive to everyone’s interests and allows all voices to be heard, even those you don’t agree with; when you are in a situation where you don’t know what to do, be upfront about it and be transparent throughout the process; be willing to ask uncomfortable questions. For example, instead of asking ‘is this legal’? you should be asking ‘is this fair’? honest? (equitable?… You want diversity on your board so that you have a diversity of views and opinions to check your decisions against, not just people who think like you

6. Provide protective mechanisms – need a whistle-blower protection clause in your personnel policies so that employees who are faced with an ethical dilemma or who see unethical behaviour can report it without fear of negative repercussions.

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

[BuildingCapacity]. (2013, March 29). What is ethical leadership? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QGoIq5nA