Managing Change in an Agency Using a Transformational Leader

Creating and Implementing an Agency Policy on Ethics: Plan for a Code of Ethical Conduct

Introduction

Creating and implementing a Code of Ethics is an important step for any agency. This paper will provide policy steps for how to achieve this step. It begins with an explanation of how to establish the Code. This includes a description of what stakeholders to involve in the drafting of the Code and which references to source for its drafting. Next is the important step of how the Code will be communicated. Ensuring compliance and maintaining seriousness are the two big factors here.

How the Ethical Policy Will be Established

Developing a Code of Ethics is not an easy task, but it is one that can be accomplished relatively reasonably. What it requires is input from stakeholders, which can be obtained both informally and formally, through Q&A sessions, focus groups, interviews, and surveys. The point is to collect data from stakeholders so that the drafters of the Code can have a sense of the values that are important to the stakeholders of the agency. If there is no alignment between the Code of Ethics and the values of the stakeholders of the agency, the Code will have minimal effect (Mason & Simmons, 2014).

Stakeholders Involved in Drafting the Document

Who should draft the document? The Code of Ethics should be drafted by the Human Resources Department, with support from representatives of the various stakeholders in the agency. Just as the Declaration of Independence was signed off on by various members of the states but written by one man, the Code of Ethics of the agency should be signed off on by the various representatives of the different stakeholder groups within the agency so that it is a Code that all can agree upon. There may be some instances of negotiation and compromise, but that is the reality of work in any organization where there are multiple parts working together to achieve a common and cohesive vision.

References to Draw Upon

There is no shortage of examples of Codes of Ethics to draw upon in the criminal justice and law enforcement fields. These can serve as standard templates are starting places for the agency—but the HR and the various stakeholders should not feel as though they are obliged to adhere to these examples fully. They can be used as starting places because they typically cover the general areas where organizations required an ethical perspective, such as how to address conflicts of interest, disciplinary measures, culture, employee conduct, confidentiality, assets belonging to the agency, and any other situations that might be particularly relevant to the agency. This is where stakeholder input can be so important. Stakeholders themselves should be the primary reference to draw upon as they know what the areas of behavior are that require some ethical guidelines (Wheeler & Sillanpa, 1998).

How It Will be Communicated

Assuring awareness of adoption requires more than just sending out of a memo, email or mass text to all the members of the agency. This is a major change that is being implemented in the agency. Whenever there is a change, change management is required. Change management is best directed by a transformational leader—a leader who can communicate a vision and motivate the members of the organization to embrace the vision. In this case, the vision is the Code of Ethics. The transformational leader has to not only communicate that vision but also rationalize it, justify it, and explain in logical terms why it has been developed and why it is being implemented in the organization (Alqatawenh, 2018).

To communicate the Code of Ethics effectively also requires a change management strategy that the leader can use. Kotter’s 8-step model for managing change is a great strategy for communicating a vision, making it stick, and getting everyone to buy into the change that is to be implemented. In this case, the change is getting agency members to embrace the new Code of Ethics. Kotter’s 8-step model is a perfect way to facilitate that process. This model will help the leader to inspect to ensure compliance and it will help the leader to reinforce it so that members of the agency understand its seriousness.

How to Inspect to Ensure Compliance

The first step towards ensuring compliance is getting everyone to buy into the vision and to embrace the culture that is to be cultivated. The Code of Ethics represents the new culture, so it is a matter of making sure stakeholders are aligned with it. Punitive measures could be taken to discipline members who do not conform to the new Code, but compliance is best when it is self-motivated. This means the leader needs to tap into the forces of intrinsic motivation (Prendergast, 2008).

To intrinsically motive members of the agency, it is essential that one manage the implementation correctly by first and foremost creating a sense of urgency among the members, in accordance with Kotter’s model. The Kotter model stipulates that no change will be accepted unless the members feel that it is absolutely essential. Thus, if the leader does his job correctly in communicating and justifying the vision regarding the Code of Ethics, there will be buy-in among the agency members because they will all see it as vital and essential that they embrace the Code and comply with it. Creating a sense of urgency will naturally lead to compliance because the urgency is what fosters intrinsic motivation. The leader will not need to rely on punitive measures or disciplinary actions to ensure compliance: the agency’s members will be compliant because they have bought in, and they will have bought in because the leader communicated and justified the Code in a way that made all want to use it.

How to Reinforce so That Members of the Agency Understand Its Seriousness

However, there are 7 more steps in Kotter’s model and each one is important in facilitating compliance as well as reinforcing the seriousness of the Code. The 2nd step in the model is what will reinforce the seriousness of the Code among the members. The 2nd step is for the leader to build a guiding coalition among the members. This coalition will help to promote and implement the Code. The coalition can be made up of the same representatives of the various groups of stakeholders in the agency, or it can be made up of different ones. The important thing is that the coalition be established. These individuals will be on the front lines, among the members, living by the Code, showing by their own example how to feel about it and how to follow it. They are the ones who will represent the leader’s vision to the other agency members.

The third step is an extension of the first step and it focuses on establishing the strategic initiatives that will help make the vision a reality. For the Code to be thought of as real, there has to be a game plan that will bring it to the attention of everyone. This can be something as simple as an all-hands-on-deck agency meeting. It can be virtual or in-person. What matters is that everyone is there and is present for the announcement and roll-out of the Code. The same way Tim Cook will have a big presentation for Apple’s latest products release, the agency should have a big presentation to introduce the Code of Ethics.

To further reinforce the seriousness of the Code, the leader must also enlist a volunteer army that facilitates and supports the work of the coalition. These are individuals who operate in the trenches of the agency; they are not known as coalition members, so they have the advantage of acting as secret guerillas whose mission is to support the work of the change—the adoption of the Code among the members—on the down-low. They do this by reminding their peers of the urgency and importance of implementing and abiding by the Code in their daily actions within and without the agency.

Resistance can still crop up, however, so it is imperative that the leader identify and address barriers to change. This is the fifth step in Kotter’s model, and it underlines the importance of leadership engagement with agency members. It is not enough for the leader to communicate the vision and then back off. He needs to be actively engaging with agency members and stakeholders throughout by encouraging feedback and responding to feedback when it is obtained.

Generating short-term wins is the sixth step in the model, and this step is taken so as to reinforce the seriousness of the Code as well. When members of the agency begin demonstrating decision-making in accordance with the principles of the Code, the leader has cause to celebrate such as a short-term win: it means the members are taking it seriously and basing their actions on the Code. When this begins to happen, it should be celebrated throughout the agency so that everyone knows that this Code is not a mere one-off presentation but a new reality that has to be respected.