Ethical leadership encompasses the manner in which one leaders that respects the rights and dignity of other individuals. According to Preston (1996) “ethics is concerned about what is right, fair, just, or good; about what we ought to do, not just what is the case or what is most acceptable or expedient” (p.16). Ethical leadership calls for ethical leaders in the organization. However, although an organization’s beliefs, valves, customs and philosophies need to start from the chief executive, the managers and employees must be dedicated to the organization’s goals for a culture be shaped (Butts Ed.). In order for a strong organizational culture to be successful, components of key valves must be in place and followed. With the …show more content…
Leaders are responsible for influencing followers to perform actions, complete tasks, and behave in certain manners. Effective leaders also influence processes, stimulate change in attitudes and values, and amplify empowerment and self-efficacy of their followers, as they foster the internalization of corporate vision. The nurturing aspect of leadership can also raise an organization’s culture and employee’s values to higher levels of ethical behavior. By demonstrating ethical leadership we promote a high level of integrity that stimulates a sense of trustworthiness, and encourages subordinates to accept and follow our vision (Mickey, 2013).
At the end of the day, the best explanation for fostering an ethical behavior is not a difficult one, but an encouraging approach by the leaders of the organization (Mullane 2009). Ethical behavior is essential and must be reflected in the leaders and shaped by those they led. Ethics-based approaches to leadership believes that the leader is not always the one with all the knowledge. Such an approach believes that the followers are just as important as the leader and that the followers should be the main focus and encouraged. Ethics-based approaches believe the leader should put aside his or her personal interests. The following pages will review some perspectives regarding ethical leadership.
The Basic Integrity Model of the Virtuous
This paper will first discuss briefly what ethics are and provide the definition for an ethical issue. An ethical leadership issue is identified and explained for this author’s practice area. We will then identify and discuss key strategies for leadership that are pertinent to the ethical issue. Next, empirical evidence which supports the strategies discussed will be analyzed. Then, the impact and importance of the strategies will be stated. The final step will be to provide a conclusion to the reader that summarizes the content and strategies.
Ethical leadership is leadership that is involved in leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. As leaders are by nature in a position of social power, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders use their social power in the decisions they make, actions they engage in and ways they influence others. Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness, which is important for followers to accept the vision of the leader.
Leaders are expected to act consistently with their vision and the values they advocate to their team. If a leader’s words or actions are contrary to the values they expect in others, they will be faced with cynicism and contempt. Followers expect their leader to act in their best interests, putting their welfare before their own. An ethical leader is honest, open and truthful to their followers. When leaders lose this trust, their followers will quickly disregard them.
Leaders make critical decisions between right, wrong, and the lesser of two evils every day. These decisions can affect the person making the decision, their employees, and goals of the organization. There are many readings that describe ethics and leadership, but ethical leadership is basically knowing your inner values and having the courage to steadfastly live by them for the purpose of the common good. Southwestern College's Master of Science in Leadership program has given me a firm understanding of how important ethical reasoning is and how it impacts, good and bad, an organization.
Leaders that demonstrate a commitment to behaving in an ethical manner are viewed as trustworthy and subordinates gravitate toward them. Ethical leaders have a foundational belief in honesty and trustworthiness and disseminating these principles throughout the organization. This paper will present ethical leadership models as tools for merging diverse cultures into the existing organizational culture. An overview of which leadership models, styles, and traits are most commonly accepted as ethical across the greatest array of social cultures will be discussed. The paper will culminate with a selection of a particular leadership model as a tool for shaping organizational culture and the rationale for selecting that model.
Ethical leadership is an important aspect that should be practiced by all individuals in leadership positions despite of whether the leadership is intentional or unintentional, or formal or informal. However, practicing ethical leadership is difficult in some cases, especially when there are tough decisions to be made while the appropriate choice is unpleasant though it's clear. Notably, ethical leadership is quite important during these times of tough, unpleasant decisions since the stakes are high. The stakes in ethical leadership tend to vary significantly based on the responsibilities and levels of the leadership in question. Since being an ethical leader is regarded as a full-time job, ethical leadership is a vital part of the definition of good leadership. Good leadership involves developing a personal model of ethical leadership that is in line with personal values and morals, evaluates ethical decision making, accomplishes relevant policies, laws, and guidelines, utilizes contemporary models of leadership, and works within the organizational environment.
Ethical leadership can be defined in different ways. And also the definitions may include internal personality of leadership, which are values, traits and behaviours. Furthermore, ethical leadership can describe the features of motives and behaviour (Yukl, 2010). Ethical leadership is the leaders who have the good behaviour and performance and the right morals. Moreover, ethical leaders manage and organize performance, morals, and points of view into the culture of companies (Freeman and Steward, 2006).
Mayer, Aquino, Greenbaum, and Kuenz (2012) stated that ethical leaders exhibit normatively appropriate conduct through their actions and interpersonal relationships with employees in work units as well as stressed the importance of two-way communication in such a way that they are concerned not only with expressing their own opinions, but also with listening to and getting along with others. Ethical leadership is important because organizations are looking at means to decrease employees’ unethical behavior and mitigate any instances of relationship conflict. Ensuring that the chief executive officer and others in organizational positions demonstrate the proper example will go a long way to serve as models for the employees to follow.
Engaging in ethical leadership is among the most important components of leadership. In order to earn respect of followers and increase the possibility of affecting their actions, the leader must, not only be authentic, but exhibit integrity. Leaders must also demonstrate personal values coupled with and ethical behavior. More
It is important for ethical leaders to have their own personal values. It can be challenging to influence others to possess values if a leader struggles with his or her own values. Ethical leaders must be ethical because they are the example for everyone else to follow. When leaders practice what they preach, they can ensure that ethical practices are enforced within an organization. Leadership happens on and off duty. It is not enough for a leader to only be ethical at work. All of their decisions must reflect a standard of ethical thinking.
Dion, M. (2012). Are ethical theories relevant for ethical leadership? Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33(1), 4-24. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01437731211193098
Plato once asked whether you would rather be "an unethical person with a good reputation or an ethical person with a reputation for injustice." Ethical leadership has long been a debate in regards to its importance and place in the universal business world.
This broader concept of ethical leadership empowers leaders to incorporate and be explicit about their own values and ethics. The following list provides a framework for developing ethical leadership. It is based on the observations of and conversations with a host of executives and students over the past 25 years, and on readings of both popular and scholarly business literature. Written from the perspective of the leader, these ten facets of ethical leaders offer a way to understand ethical leadership that is more complex and more useful than just a matter of “good character and values.”
In order to be a successful ethical leader there are many activities that can be promoted to encourage ethical behavior in one’s organization. An ethical leader will create programs that endorse integrity in business. Programs can include setting guidelines for dealing with ethical issues, open discussion on ethical issues, and establish a protocol for people to get advice (Yukl, 2010). By establishing programs an ethical leader is really changing and encouraging moral behavior which can affect an organizations work environment and improve moral. By empowering your employees to know how to handle ethical dilemmas you create a new found trust.
I will examine the importance of personal ethics in leadership and how ethics produce effective leaders in organizations today. The importance of understanding ethics, motivation to act as a role model and developing a plan of action for an organization are discussed because of their importance regarding development of good leadership. These key points suggest personal ethics positively affect leadership and when made a priority for leaders will produce ethical and effective leadership. With so many definitions of leadership, the question evolved from “what is the definition of leadership?” to “what is good leadership” (Ciulla, 2004, p. 13). To develop a system of values one must compile a list of the most important instrumental values and terminal values. These lists are unique to every individual because they are determined by personal importance. Instrumental values, such as honest, helpful, ambitious, responsible, etc. should reinforce terminal values. Once a leader’s means are consistent with desired goals, their value system is unified and they have climbed the staircase from the lobby to the first level of values. The climb from the first floor to the second floor results in a person incorporating principles into their newly developed values. Although values act as the bedrock of ethics, principles are required because alone, “values are far too vague to have much meaning in ethical analysis” (Cooper, 1998, p. 12). Morals are ideals that help us decipher between right