Leadership principles and practices

Leadership

Ethical Leaders

Perhaps the biggest factor contributing to ethical differences between leaders is how the leaders view their own ethical behavior. The trouble with ethics is that not each person has the same ethical or moral beliefs, and what is completely ethical for one leader may appear to be completely unethical to another. Thus, both leaders believe they are acting ethically, but in fact, they may not be acting ethically or at least for the ethical good of the company and its staff. Other factors can include the company's own ethical standards that they pass on to their leaders and competition between leaders or departments that leads to unethical behavior, among a host of other considerations.

Leaders commit unethical acts because they can, and/or their company expects it, endorses it, or does not have complete and clear ethical standards for leaders to follow and uphold. If this is the case, the leaders themselves must take control of the ethics in the company, to ensure global competitiveness and success. One author notes, "Leaders must champion the processes of quality throughout the organization, benchmarking successful organizations, incorporating innovations in quality, and setting standards and measurements in every department" (Haughey, 2003). In addition, some leaders may rely on a small, select set of advisors and associates, instead of a larger, more open and accessible group. These small groups may advise according to their own best interests and motivations, instead of those that are best for the company. In these cases, the leader is simply not taking advantage of all the talent and innovation within the organization, and in the process, they may make unethical or unsound decisions because poor advice. Ethical leaders inspire others around them to create the same ethical relationships throughout the organization, and ethical leadership is paramount to organizational success in the 21st century.