Ethical_Leadership

Ethical Leadership Introduction Before getting into the details of what values are required to make a person an ethical leader, let’s first get an understanding of what ethical leadership actually is. Leadership is the power to motivate people by words, actions and deeds using vision, belief and truthfulness. Ethical leadership means “ethically motivating others in ethical directions” consisting of both “procedural” and “substantive” (character-based) aspects (Chumir, 1992). The procedural dimension of ethical leadership includes problem-solving and decision-making techniques within the circle of ethics. For example, ethical leadership demands that the leaders, before putting their decisions into action, inform and discuss them with the parties which are going to be affected by their decisions. This means that the concerned parties are being given due respect and importance. The substantive aspect of ethical leadership includes knowledge, strong standards and courage to follow ethical directions despite strong opposition. Values that make a Person an Ethical Leader Dr. Bill Grace (2007), the founder of the Center of Ethical Leadership, has put forth a “4-V Model of Ethical Leadership” that correlates the substantive (inner values, principles and standards) with the procedural (words, actions and deeds) dimensions of ethical leadership so that effective decision-making can be done. This model illustrates clearly what virtues are needed to make a person an ethical leader. Let’s describe it in detail. Substantive Virtues Values. The values that we inherit or learn later in lives play a very important role in constructing our inner selves and in developing ethics. By understanding and polishing our basic values, we develop a sense of moral obligation of enhancing the betterment of ourselves and of the society. And this is what is chiefly needed to make a person an ethical leader. Voice. This is another important virtue needed by ethical leadership. This includes the process of getting people know our inner beliefs, ideas and standards so that they get motivated to do something good. The ethical leadership must be able to raise his voice to face opposition that comes in the way of ethical decisions. Vision. Vision means the knowledge or approach of one’s mind towards an issue and concerns how an action is to be taken, in what direction must the action go and what will be the consequences of that action. An ethical leader must have a strong vision so that he is able to go in the depth of the problem and relate its solution with ethical values. Virtue. It is the goodness of the inner self of the leader that leads him to do good decisions. The virtuous practices are needed for the progressiveness of a society and an ethical leader contributes in this by making use of virtue that is a part of his personality. Apart from the 4-V Model of Ethical Leadership that is described above, there are other substantive aspects too which include: Courage. Courage is required by an ethical leader so that he may be able to give voice to his vision in front of opposing parties. He must be courageous enough to make people understand his ethical directions and principles. Less Personal Ego. Freeman and Stewart (2006) assert that an ethical leader must be able to “focus on organizational success rather than on personal ego”. He must know that what is important is the success of people working in the organization and not the success of one individual. A little ego is okay but the leader must not get swept away by his personal ego and should prefer the benefit of the whole organization to his personal benefit. Understanding others’ values. The ethical leader must be able to understand that others can make their choices and decisions based on their values, but simultaneously should know how not to give away his own ethical standards. He should have a strong grip on what he is supposed to do in a controversial situation, giving due respect to others’ opinions too. Procedural Virtues Procedural virtues are as important for an ethical leader as inner virtues are. These may include the following: Framing actions according to ethics. An ethical leader must be able to frame his actions in such a way that they go just in accordance to his inner beliefs, values, morals and standards. He must know that the leadership is “a fully ethical task” (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). Task scheduling. An ethical leader must ask himself if his time schedule and work plans go in accordance with his ethics or not. He must know the importance of time. Problem-solving. Ethical leadership requires the sorting out of problems, analyzing them and searching for solutions that lie within the boundaries of ethics. Ethical problem-solving is one of the most important virtues required of an ethical leader. Decision-making. An ethical leader is required to make decisions that not only depict his own morals but also give space to the other party’s opinions, decisions and virtues. Ethical Leadership and the Success of an Organization Now, let’s discuss how ethical leadership plays its role in an organization’s effectiveness and sustainability. If the ethical leadership is successful, proficient and brilliant, then the results are more fruitful than expected. The success of an organization depends largely on value-based actions and deeds. For example, if a leader works according to his values and encounters a manufacturing fault in his product, then he will surely tell the client about the flaw without hiding the reality. He will discuss the issue with the workforce and the customer to let them know that he sincerely wishes to correct the problem without deceiving the customer. He will tell the customer that he will be delivered perfect product after the problem has been solved. This promotes trust between the organization and the customer which attracts more clientele. If the issue of morals and values are put aside, then the leader may want to sell off the product without informing the customer about the error, and this behavior repels the clientele. Moreover, ethical leadership will take care of the workforce so as to maintain a healthy environment within the organization. An ethical leader will keep track of having the salaries paid in time with no delay, will consider paying rewards and bonuses to the employers, will listen to the workers’ problems and will try to eliminate them. This will keep them working at high efficiency rates. The ethical leader will make pacts with business partners keeping in view what they want and respecting their decisions. This trust between the partners makes the organization flourish and ensures its sustainability. Ethics promotes equality between the workers. An ethical leader will make sure that all workers are treated fairly, that there are no separate canteens for administrators and for spot boys, and there are no separate parking places for executives and for clerks. An ethical leader will know how to schedule his projects keeping in mind the time frame and instructs the team to manage their work schedules accordingly. An ethical leader knows that he has to abide by the rules and regulations he has agreed upon while signing a contract and will never back off. All this adds to the progress of the organization. Conclusion In short, ethical leadership is the key to the sustainability of an organization. If an ethical leader knows how to make use of his virtues, then he can prove to be a leader whom people would love to listen and follow thus enhancing the common goodness of the society. References Chumir, S. (1992). What is ethical leadership' Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership. Retrieved February 06, 2010, from Sheldon Chumir Foundation Website: http://www.chumirethicsfoundation.ca/main/page.php'page_id=20 Freeman, R., & Stewart, L. (2006). What is ethical leadership' Developing Ethical Leadership. Retrieved February 06, 2010 from http://www.darden.virginia.edu/corporate-ethics/pdf/ethical_leadership.pdf Grace, B. (2007). Ethical leadership. Center for Ethical Leadership. Retrieved February 06, 2010 from http://www.ethicalleadership.org/philosophies/ethical-leadership