A team is only as good as its leader. Being an effective leader and having an effective leader is very important for an organization. It is important in order for an organization to maintain a good reputation and in order for it to be successful. Being a good ethical leader who sets a good example for the employees is also an effective leader. If a leader leads by a good example he or she will obtain/gain employees trust which is very important, because it’s the employees who help an organization stay in business.
Leaders lead people, and leaders should always do the right things. Most employees tend to look for ethical guidance from others, and a leader within a workplace should therefore be the essential source of such guidance. According to Economy (2013) communication, support and facilitate employees, as well as having integrity are some qualities that make a good leader. Leaders with integrity would make good ethical leaders. According to Gulla (2010) “When acting with integrity, we do what is right – even when no one is watching. People of integrity are guided by a set of core principles that empowers them to behave consistently to high standards. The core principles of integrity are virtues, such as: compassion, dependability, generosity, honesty, kindness, loyalty, maturity, objectivity, respect, trust and wisdom.” (p.19) By having a leader like this you can expect them to keep high standards which could benefit an organization as well as the employees. Leaders can be counted on to do the right things and to demonstrate high standard of ethical and moral conduct. Sometimes being ethical is being effective and sometimes being effective is being ethical. In other words, ethics is effectiveness in some cases. If a le...
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...ou and those involved, or at least you can end up feel good about yourself for doing the right things. People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
Works Cited
Ciulla J.B. (2003) Ciulla, J. B. “Ethics and leadership effectiveness.” Retrieved on 04.02.2014 from, http://www.ila-net.org/Members/Directory/DownloadS/Antonakis-Ciulla-13.pdf
Economy, Peter. (2013) “7 traits of highly effective leaders” retrieved on 04.01.2014 from, http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/7-traits-highly-effective-leaders.html
Gulla, Ashok (2010) “Creating Values in Life: Personal, Moral, Spiritual, Family and Social Values” retrieved on 04. 01. 2014
Lienert, P. & Thompson, M. (2014) “GM didn't fix deadly ignition switch because it would have cost $1 per car” retrieved on 04.02.2014 from, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/02/gm-ignition-switch-dollar-per-car_n_5075680.html
Ethical leadership is hard to define according to research cited by Yukl, (2013). Ethics depends on time, culture, and laws. We can attempt to define ethical leadership by looking at the leader’s behavior, values and how he or she influences followers (Yukl, 2013). Every organization has ethical and moral guidelines stipulated through their policies, rules and regulations. A leader who is honest and trustworthy can be said as an ethical leader. But it depends on how the behavior is reflected in the organization and the employees. Ethical leadership can also be defined as to whether the behaviors violate cultural customs and laws of the society. Personal morals and ethics may be in conflict with managing the organization
Leaders who treat their employees with fairness, honesty, and provide frequent, accurate information are seen as more effective. According to Robbins and Judge (2014), “trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership and followers who trust a leader are confident their rights and interest will not be abused” (p.193). The old General Motor Corporation had eleven different CEO’s from 1923 until 2009 each with their own unique leadership style, which directed employees toward the organization goals. Unfortunately, many of the top level managers under the CEO’s had the tendency of filtering out information that did not match up with their pre-conceived notions about a particular issue and they lacked upward communication. One consumer goal of General Motors was to build trust in the company so people would be repeat customers, but building trust between employees and establishing an ethical culture was not a top priority of the organization. Goal directed leadership alone is important, but differs from a structure of leadership based on ethics. It is important to note, that effective leadership may not be the same as leadership founded on ethical principles. Business competence must exist, along with personal leadership accountability in ethical decisions. Within the General Motors organization, ethics and leadership did not interconnect; there were misalignment between the
Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership casting light or shadow is authored by Craig E. Johnson. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to leadership and ethics. The first part of this book looks at the topic of the shadow side of leadership. This explores the abuse of power and privilege, mismanagement, and inconsistency in her leadership. Part two, looking inward examines the role of character development and the nature of evil, forgiveness, and spirituality. Part three looks at the ethical decision-making processes and provides theories and tactics. Part four looks at ways leaders can disseminate information in a variety of situations. The book teaches new terminology, key principles, decision-making formats, and important elements of ethical contexts.
Looking at the first word in ethical leadership we see, as stated in the Webster-Merriam dictionary, ethical is defined as “following accepted rules of behavior: morally right and good”. When we think of someone who is ethical we, first, think of someone who ‘follows the rules’. By following the rules I mean someone who in the eyes of the majority is morally sound. Having strong morals is what I believe the key is to an ethical person. On the other side of the definition of ethical is defining it as having inside oneself the desire to do what’s right over what is wrong. When we speak about someone who is ethical this desire is one that is not dependent on external forces i.e. no one can sway an ethical person’s mindset.
German Philosopher, Immanuel Kant once said, “In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so” (1800). The word ethics refers to “character” and “conduct” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). It is deeply “concerned with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives” and “the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society finds desirable or appropriate” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). Thus, “in regards to leadership, ethics is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). Ethics in leadership allows leaders to make decisions regarding what is virtuous or not in a situation. All throughout the history of American government, difficult decisions have been made and the fight for ethics has always been “implicitly or explicitly involved” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330).
A leader who is ethical and empowering can be very beneficial to an employee. It is as if you are getting the best of both worlds. A leader should not just be anybody, but a person who serves a purpose and loves the job that they are doing. A leading should always be on top of the job that they are doing, “Ethical and empowering leadership have been suggested as important predictors of leader effectiveness. Empirical research has confirmed that ethical and empowering leader behaviors are each positively related to leader effectiveness(Hassan, S., Mahsud, R., Yukl, G., & Prussia, G. E. (2013).” When you have a leader that is going in the right direction, then you have no choice but to follow them. The thing about a lead...
There are many characteristics of an effective team. As the saying goes “A group’s efforts will be more than the sum of its parts”.
Palmer, D. 2009. Business leadership: three levels of ethical analysis, Journal of Business Ethics. 88(3): 525-536.
The five principles of ethical leadership are respects others, serves others, shows justice, manifests honesty, builds community. These five principles reflect characteristics of a good leader. A leader should have these principles in order to well-rounded and work with any type of person.
Currently, leadership is generally understood as a person with insight and wisdom of guidance, which expected to be efficient in management responsibilities like planning organizing, and monitoring performance (Kandola, 2004, p. 144). In addition, making ethical decision is important to individuals who value and take seriously institutional...
The area of team leadership attracts a lot of attention in the modern world because of the need to assemble and deploy diverse teams for the completion of projects. The future of many corporations relies more and more on the kind of team leadership they have for their projects. This paper explores a number of facets that constitute effective team leadership.
Ethical leadership organizational ethics and socially responsibility are inseparable (Johnson). Leadership is not a inherited gift or family heritage; it is not a degree from an ivy league graduate school. Becoming a leader is an intentional process of growth that must be lived out experientially (Mullane). Ethical leaders demonstrate three distinctive characteristics, knowledge, action and character. Leaders have to have the ability to say “yes” or even “no” to a never ending series of challenges. A leader needs to be able to define their values, character and leadership style. When accepting the role of leadership you become encumbered by ethical issues and concerns. .
Good, strong, ethical people can have an immeasurable impact on a company as well. “Ethical leadership creates an ethical culture. Top managers provide a blueprint for a firm’s corporate culture. If these leaders fail to express desired ethical behaviors and goals, a corporate culture evolves on its own to reflect the values and norms of the company” (Ferrell, 2015). “Leadership has a significant impact on ethical decision making because leaders have the power to motivate others and enforce the organization’s norms, policies, and viewpoints” (Ferrell, 2015). Often employees will look to management and top leadership for clues as to what is acceptable and what is not. It is not only important to have good role models in those top positions, but to have a culture where they can fully express their ethical
The components of a good team should be considered. First, a high-performance team must have strong core values to guide attitudes and behavior consistent with the team's purpose. The members should know why the team is created and why he or she is on the team. Secondly, a team should have specific performance objectives. Members should know exactly what they are trying to accomplish. This also includes having standards for measuring results and ways of obtaining performance feedback. A good team will make members realize the importance of collective efforts. Third, a high-performance team has the right mix of skills. These involve technical, interpersonal, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. No one needs to know how to do it all, but each member should be able to contribute to the group....
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