PRDV231: Elements of Ethical Leadership

Most people would probably agree that leaders ought to be ethical (although there might be a lot of disagreement about what that means), but there are a number of good reasons why ethical leadership makes sense.

• Ethical leadership models ethical behavior to the organization and the community. Leaders are role models. If you want your organization or initiative – and those who work in it – to behave ethically, then it is up to you to model ethical behavior. A leader – and an organization – that has a reputation for ethical behavior can provide a model for other organizations and the community, as well.
  
  
• Ethical leadership builds trust. Leadership – except leadership gained and maintained through the use of force and intimidation – is based on trust. People will follow an ethical leader because they know they can trust him to do the right thing as he sees it.
  
  
• Ethical leadership brings credibility and respect, both for you and the organization. If you have established yourself as an ethical leader, individuals and groups within and outside the organization, will respect you and your organization for your integrity.
  
  
• Ethical leadership can lead to collaboration. Other organizations will be much more willing to collaborate with you if they know that you will always deal with them ethically.
  
  
• Ethical leadership creates a good climate within the organization. If everyone in the organization knows that power will be shared and not abused, that they will be dealt with respectfully and straightforwardly, that they will have the power to do their jobs, and that the organization as a whole will operate ethically in the community, they are likely to feel more secure, to work well together, and to be dedicated to the organization and its work.
  
  
• If you have opposition, or are strongly supporting a position, ethical leadership allows you to occupy the moral high ground. This is especially important if your opposition is ethical as well. You can look very small in comparison if your ethical standards are not up to theirs, discrediting your cause and alienating your allies.
  
  
• Ethical leadership is simply the right way to go. Everyone has an obligation to themselves, to their organization, to the community, and to society to develop a coherent ethical system that seeks to make the world a better place. Leaders, for the reasons already stated, and because of the responsibilities of leadership, have a particular obligation in this respect.
  
  
• Ethical leadership affords self-respect. Because you know that you consistently consider the ethics of your decisions, actions, and interactions, you can sleep at night and face yourself in the morning without questioning your own integrity.