Ethical Leadership

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ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR
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TERM PAPER
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ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
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OMAR SAUD
1 MBA ‘V’
1420712
01/07/2104

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

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ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
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A leadership strategy without ethical clarity produces moral and economic bankruptcy.
-Bill Donahue

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The Leader has always been an essential part of a society or community or a country at all stages of evolution of the human. Leadership spans all ages, from children in school to elders at the council table. No gathering is too small or too large to call for leadership. A major chunk of people worldwide follow heard style, where large groups of people follow one single leader, which may or may not provide some psychological satisfaction, which may be because of their inability to take rapid decisions, handling people with different mind sets, being introverts and many more different reasons etc,. Some people have an innate ability to lead others, while some acquire the required weapons to lead people.The strength and quality of a society derives from its leadership, which on the contrary could also mean that the quality of society can depend upon the followers who understand what the leader is trying to say and follow the leader religiously, as such societies may flourish for some time but like the fires may quickly burn out. Bottom line is, where ever there are people, leaders are bound to come up, as because man needs an authority figure, who he can be guided by.

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The true spark of enlightened leadership is seen when it ignites our noblest passion and lights the pathway of the quest for higher purpose. Such then is what we mean to call ethical leadership. It takes the other shining qualities of vision, courage, expertise and determination and gives them the rock solid platform on which to stand. It is leadership that goes beyond the rationality of mind and the warmth of heart to the integrity of soul. It is leadership distilled from the highest moral precepts of the world's great traditions of wisdom and spirituality.
There are seven things that will destroy us:
Wealth without work;
Pleasure without conscience;
Knowledge without character;
Religion without sacrifice;
Politics without principle;
Science without humanity
Business without ethics.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

- Mahatma Gandhi.

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

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Ethics is the foundation of knowledge that describes right/wrong or better/worse. It applies to issues of harm/care and fairness/reciprocity. It is universal. It transcends culture, religion, and time. It is conditional; not to be confused with morality. Morals deal with what is good and what is bad, unlike morals, Ethics deal with knowing what is right and what is wrong.
Morals are thought to us in our homes, schools and other institutions, rather Ethics are never thought to us, it is something which is innate and come from within. Ethics is absolutely knowable but given ethical circumstances occur between two entities in time, many factors are involved in judging ethical acts.
Jonathan Haidt discovered five foundations of morality in his research:
Harm/Care
Fairness/Reciprocity
Authority/Respect
In-group/Loyalty

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Purity/Sanctity

Absolute right or wrong conditions are rare. Typically, ethical acts fall somewhere along a grey scale – the space between black & white. Right and wrong seem like relative terms when incorrectly applied to a grey world. Better or worse is sometime the best approximation to truth we can obtain. Thus, it at the sole discretion of a person to be ethical or not.

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The understanding of "ethical leadership" has not been clear enough to guide leaders through today’s complex ethical choices. We know from recent widespread ethical lapses in the business world that some leaders do not fully consider what will happen to others when they take actions that profit them and their businesses. Without a shared definition of ethical responsibility, people make decisions based on their own varying “ethics”. Biases or an attitude towards someone or something will play a pivotal role in deciding the ethical capabilities of a leader. The leader should be unbiased and unaffected by any such external or internal factors. An Ethical Leader should be, strong, generous, full-hearted, trustworthy, resolute and utterly reliable. They should not be without error or fault, but they should be honest in the admission of their fault when they have searched in their soul and seen it. They must not seek to dominate, except when they see the core principles of right action are in danger. They should encourage others to come forward when it is their turn to lead. They must seek to guide rather than to direct. Their greatest achievements are made when the people move forward on their own.

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Ethical leadership always takes the path to justice. It seeks not to distribute favours to a few, but benefits to many, justly earned by the quality of their effort. It keeps commitments and it honours loyalty, when in its judgment effort is in the direction of right action.

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ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

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Ethical Leadership, in an organisational setting has an great impact on its constituents. It may effect an organisation on three levels namely, individuals, teams, and the organisation as a whole. Firstly, in case of individuals, it is important that the individual employee comes to work every day and engages in activities that can fall anywhere along a spectrum from rewarding and fulfilling to disempowering, toxic and debilitating. Secondly, no less in need of empowering ethical relationships is the team, large or small, formal or informal, projectfocused or maintenance-oriented in every case it depends on supportive relationships among team members. Finally, the organisation as a whole with vast spans of communication and disparate areas of responsibility needs a bonding agent to make people feel they are making a unique and valuable contribution to the whole. Ethical leadership across all three levels nourishes the relationships that empower human enterprise.

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According to Stephen R. Covey, in his book “Principle Centred Leadership”, leadership should be based on principles which are different from values and ethics but are complimentary to each other. Values are like a map, which tell us what to do in a particular circumstance or a situation, and Principles are like a compass, which point out and help us in which direction we should be headed towards, and Ethics are like the path through which we can reach our destination. According to his Principle Centred Leadership Paradigm, an
Ethical Leader should keep in mind the following nine points in order to be ethically strong(one P and eight S’s)People
Self
Style of Management
Skills
Shared Visions and Principles
Structure
Systems
Strategy

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Streams

For a leader to be ethical in his way of leadership, he should adopt the following principles, which would lead to the development of ethical leadershipRespect for others- Ethical leaders treat others with dignity and respect. This means that they treat people as ends in themselves rather than as means to their own ends. This form of respect recognises that followers have goals and ambitions and confirms followers as human beings who have worth and value to the organisation. In addition, it leads to empathy, active listening, and tolerance for conflicting viewpoints.
Service to others- Ethical leaders serve others. They behave in an altruistic fashion as opposed to behaving in a way that is based on ethical egoism. These leaders put followers first—their prime reason for being is to sup- port and nurture subordinates. Service to others is exemplified through behaviours such as mentoring, building teams, and empowering. ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

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Justice for others- Ethical leaders ensure that justice and fairness are central parts of their decision making. This means treating all subordinates in very similar ways, except when there is a very clear need for differential treatment and there is transparency about why this need exists. In addition to being transparent, the logic for differential treatment should be morally sound and reasonable.
Honesty towards others- Ethical leadership requires honesty. Dishonesty destroys trust
—a critical characteristic of any leader– follower relationship. On the other hand, honesty increases trust and builds the leader–follower relationship. Honesty means to be open with others by expressing our thinking and our reality as fully as we can.
Ethical leaders build community with others. This is crucial because leadership is about influencing others to achieve a communal goal. This means that leaders develop organisational or team goals that are appropriate for the leader and his or her followers.
These goals need to excite as many people as possible, and ethical leaders achieve this by taking into account the goals of everyone in the team or organisation. Relationship between the and the followers is at the heart of ethical leadership and requires that the leader should show sensitivity to others’ needs, treat others in a just manner, and have a caring attitude toward others. Being an ethical leader will be easier if the leader entrenches the following questions into thinkingIs this the right and fair thing for the leader to do?
Is this what a good person would do?
Is the leader respectful to others?
Does the leader treat others generously?
Is the leader honest toward others?
Is the leader serving the community?
Does the leader value the establishment, functioning and importance of governance structures? Does the leader ensure that structures are properly informed of the issues facing the organisation? Does the leader actively seek honest feedback from their colleagues, and do their colleagues

feel comfortable challenging the leader on significant issues?
Does the leader respond positively to questioning and criticism from their own team? Is the leader open to suggestions and direct communication from various stakeholders?

Does the leader actively support proper control mechanisms within the organisation?

Does the leader communicate the organisation’s value clearly to all stakeholders and take appropriate action against people who breach these values?

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Does the leader lead by example, by living the values?
Has the organisation established appropriate, anonymous, feedback mechanisms?
Once the leader answers these questions to himself positively, he will be able to guide himself as well as his team more efficiently and effectively.
These days it is clearly seen that the benefits of ethical leadership can be seen most clearly where it is absent; where there is misalignment of the level of leadership and the ethics of the leader on the one hand, and the group they are leading or the wider context on the other.
Such conditions foster greed, fraud, confusion, alienation, tension and struggle. Perhaps the clearest example of this in recent years is the Enron scandal and the subsequent unraveling of
Arthur Andersen.
There is a special condition that is even worse in its reach and negative consequences. That is when the level of corruption throughout a country is so deep, so pervasive, that it not only tolerates, but actively fosters, corporate corruption. Looking at the latest corruption perception index (CPI) from Transparency International, it is clear that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for ethical leaders to operate in certain countries. Out of the 184 countries ranked in the 2011 index, only 50 score above the mid-point. It is extremely challenging for a leader to operate at Levels 5 or 6 in environments where corruption is endemic. An organisation is much more than an economic unit of value.It is an integral part of the broader societal fabric within which it operates. It should understand the role it plays in the overall advancement of humanity. Its leaders are the embodiment of the organisation and, by extension, its collective intellect, soul and conscience. This is a responsibility much greater, and with a much higher purpose, than may initially be apparent. Ethical leaders
 are those who readily grasp this concept and view their role as stewards of the organisation.
They understand that they are called upon to leave a legacy that adds to the organisation’s overall moral standing and strengthens its future as a global asset and an example to others.
Here, much is said about the importance of ethical leadership and how it can be fostered and nourished. It is not to be considered that ethical competence is a replacement for good business sense or wise political judgment. However, is that business sense, if it is to be good, and political judgment, if it is to be wise, must be anchored in ethical leadership. Without that clear moral guidance we are on a ship plowing through dangerous waters without chart or compass. The stakes are now too high for such reckless adventurism. All of us are both passengers and crew responsible for each other. We know we can do that best and achieve the gold standard in outcome when our relationships are right.

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REFERENCES
Brady, F. N. (1999). A systematic approach to teaching ethics in business. Journal of
Business Ethics, 19(3), 309–319.
Extraordinary leadership: Addressing the gaps in senior executive development. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.


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Dalla Costa, J. (1998). The ethical imperative: Why moral leadership is good business.
Yukl, G. (2012). Leadership in organisations (8th ed.).
Stephen R. Covey, Principle- Centered Leadership (1991).
Robert Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader (Minnesota: The Robert K. Greenleaf Center,
1970).
Daniel Goleman, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (New
York: Bantam Books, 2006). http://www.ddiworld.com/DDIWorld/media/articles/bestofTDLeadershipDevelopment?ext http://leadingincontext.com/2011/06/08/leadership-ethics-training-why-its-a-challenge/

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