PRDV231: Elements of Ethical Leadership

Put the Good of the Organization and the General Good Before Your Own Interests and Ego

One of the true tests of ethical leadership is making the decision that is best for the organization even when it is not in the leader's self-interest to do so. (An organization's director might cut her own salary in lean times, for instance, or, less drastically, expand others' decision-making power at the expense of her own.)

It can sometimes be hard to distinguish the good of the organization from the good of the leader. A director taking on a new task might seem important for the organization, but might be counter-productive if it leaves him without enough time to carry out other necessary tasks, or leads to burn-out. Leaders, especially in small, community-based organizations, sometimes have to be careful not to sacrifice themselves beyond the point of usefulness.

In some ways, putting the greater good before your own can be thought of as the definition of ethical leadership, since it underlies so many of the other components. Leaders who sacrifice themselves for a cause or for others are often seen as heroic, but you do not have to die in battle or go to prison – or fast as Gandhi and Cesar Chavez did – to qualify as an ethical leader. You simply have to be willing to put your ego and self-interest aside, and do what is best for the organization or those for whom you are responsible.

 

Encourage the Discussion of Ethics in General and of the Ethical Choices Involved in Specific Situations and Decisions as an Ongoing Feature of the Organizational Culture

Everyone in the organization should be accustomed to analyzing the ethical implications of a given decision or action, and deciding whether and how those implications should influence their approach.

 

Institutionalize Ways for People to Question Your Authority

Unless the goal of your organization is pure profit, warfare, or world conquest – and perhaps even then – the chances are that autocratic leadership will be bad for you (you will not get the feedback and information you need to become more effective and make good decisions), bad for those you lead (many will be unhappy and resentful, and may intentionally or unintentionally become less effective as a result), and bad for the organization (much of the input and creativity of staff other than you will be lost, and lack of ownership of decisions and philosophy on their part could lead to a less successful organization and lots of turnover). All should have some share in decision-making – at least in areas that affect them directly – and should have at least enough power to do their jobs well without interference.

A word – actually more than a word – here about power and its uses:

Erich Fromm, in Escape from Freedom (New York: Henry Holt [Holt Rhinehart and Winston], 1941, 1969) distinguishes between power over and power to. Power over is the ability to control other human beings, and to use them to achieve one's own ends. Power to is the capacity to accomplish one's goals without needing power over others. (That does not necessarily mean without needing help, but it does mean that that help is not forced.)

Power over involves some degree of force and/or intimidation, whether physical, psychological, economic, social, political, or a combination thereof. In an organization or a community, the exercise of such power can lead to enormous negative consequences – the need to continue indefinitely the application of force or intimidation at the cost of other goals (and often at the cost of the leader's humanity), and, among followers, resentment and rebellion, turf- and self-protection, lack of concern for others or for the work, a power vacuum when the leader is absent, etc.. (Fromm describes the human taste for this kind of power as psychological cannibalism.)

Power to implies none of this. In the context of ethical leadership, it can be seen as both the personal power – i.e. the internal resources of knowledge and self-knowledge, learned skills, talent, determination, work ethic, empathy, interpersonal skills, etc. – and the ability to marshal other resources – i.e., assistance from others, adequate time, funding, etc. – that enable you to get things done. Gaining and exercising this kind of power takes working at personal development (interpersonal skills, self-knowledge and understanding, empathy, an ever-expanding world view, unselfishness, objectivity) and being willing to share power.

Ethical leaders are concerned with power to: in fact, that is the only kind of power they see. Any authority is only legitimate insofar as it makes it possible to accomplish goals. Power is not, or should not be, a means of gaining status or of advancing your self-interest, or – worst of all – of proving you are stronger or better than others. It is a means to accomplish positive goals that are meant to benefit a large number of people, not only the leader herself.

As a result, ethical leaders encourage and mentor others to lead, and share power when it is appropriate, on the assumption that such sharing will speed the development of new leadership and increase the possibility of success. Power is a positive force in their philosophy, to be used for the accomplishment of goals that lead to healthier communities and better quality of life, rather than to more power for themselves, self-aggrandizement, or the advancement of their own self-interest. Using power properly and well – sharing it and never abusing it – is a basic feature of ethical leadership.

 

Do Not Take Yourself Too Seriously

In addition to the serious business of understanding and making ethical choices, ethical leadership encompasses maintaining your perspective and a sense of humor. Leaders are human, and need to remain so. Once you start protecting your leadership turf too vigorously, your effectiveness – as well as your claim to ethical behavior – is likely to diminish.

 

Consider the Consequences to Others of Your Decisions, and Look for Ways to Minimize Harm

Rushworth Kidder, author of How Good People Make Tough Choices New York: William Morrow, 1995, describes a moral dilemma as the choice, not between right and wrong, but between two rights. Trying to decide what is more important in a situation where something is gained at a loss to something else that may seem equally worthy is a real challenge for ethical leadership.

Two rights may sometimes also seem to be two wrongs. Laying off a staff member in order to maintain services in another area can be viewed as benefiting some participants by cutting back personnel in other areas or as harming the staff member and other participants. The same applies if you make the opposite decision, and cut back services – some people seem to benefit, some are harmed. Decisions like this require the application of your ethical framework, as well as a dose of human sensitivity. There is no good solution here, short of finding more funding, but there may be one that is less bad than the alternatives.

 

Treat Everyone with Fairness, Honesty, and Respect All the Time

This seems almost too obvious to include here, but it is one of the most important pieces of ethical leadership. The way you are viewed – and who you actually are – can be judged by how you treat others, regardless of how society views them. "All men are created equal" does not mean that everyone is the same, or has equal potential and talents, but it does mean that everyone's of equal worth, and deserves to be treated so.

Treat Other Organizations the Same Way You Treat Other People – with Fairness, Honesty, and Respect

That means being open in all your dealings, informing other groups of what you are doing that may affect them, being a good and reliable collaborator, etc. If you are known as someone who is always honest and fair, that reputation will attach itself to your organization as well, and other organizations will want to work with you.

 

Collaborate Inside and Outside the Organization

Collaboration brings more possibilities and more ideas into whatever you do, builds bonds among organizations and among people within an organization, spreads power and responsibility so that more voices are heard and stress is reduced, and increases opportunities for funding and creative programming. Collaboration also establishes you as someone who is willing to share power and resources, and who is more concerned with doing a good job and providing the best services possible than with protecting turf and authority.

While collaboration is often desirable, we do not mean to imply that you have an obligation to collaborate in every situation – especially when it would bring no benefit to your group or organization, or would involve other entities with which you would prefer not to work. When collaboration can be mutually beneficial, when it can lead to better outcomes for the people you work with, or a more powerful alliance for your cause, or when it can afford gains to all the collaborating groups, it is generally the way to go. Refusing to collaborate simply because of turf issues or reluctance to admit that another organization might be able to do a good job is not generally the stance of an ethical leader.

 

Communicate

Set up and maintain communication channels with and among all those you work with. If everyone knows that you will let them know what you are considering, as well as any important information you have that they do not, it will increase their trust in you, and make rumor, innuendo, suspicion, and resentment far less likely.

 

Work to Become Increasingly Interpersonally Competent

Depending upon where you are starting from and what is necessary, this might include:

• Improving your understanding of nonverbal communication – body language, facial expression, tone and pitch of voice, etc.
• Using nonverbal communication to indicate attention and respect (or other attitudes when appropriate).
• Maintaining or improving active listening skills.
• Striving for clarity in all communication, spoken and written, so that there are no misunderstandings.
• Learning how you are perceived by others and other groups, and using that learning to adjust your behavior if necessary.
• Increasing empathy.
• Constantly striving for a better understanding of interpersonal relationships.
• Constantly striving for a better understanding of yourself.

 

Try to Become Culturally Sensitive and Culturally Competent

Learn about and become comfortable with the diverse cultures in the community, and get to know individuals from those cultures. Other efforts here might include:

• Learning, or improving your grasp of, the language of the population with which you work.
• Learning about the traditions, behavioral and communication norms, and history of the cultural groups in the community.
• Joining in ethnic and other celebrations and rituals.
• Making an effort to hire people from various cultures.
• Learning how to deal with cultural traditions that are at odds with the majority culture, and the dislocation that can mean for some immigrant groups.
• Identifying and establishing a working relationship with other organizations that serve the same populations you work with, for purposes of both cross-referral and consultation.

 

Work to Be Inclusive

That means working with – and being willing to hire – people from all ethnicities, races, classes, cultures, sexual orientations, etc. It also means using diversity creatively, by encouraging people to learn about and value one another's traditions and views, and to be willing to discuss them openly when there is conflict or disagreement.

 

Take Your Leadership Responsibility Seriously, and Be Accountable for Fulfilling It

One director of a community-based organization included as part of his job description "Catch the flak and pass on the praise". As a leader, you are responsible for what happens under your leadership. Just as you hold others accountable for doing their jobs and for their errors in judgment, you have to hold yourself – and allow others to hold you – accountable as well. As an ethical leader, you should build accountability into your position, whether it is formal or informal, and be prepared to deal straightforwardly with the consequences of your decisions and actions.

Taking responsibility and working to correct mistakes and improve unacceptable performance are part of a leader's job, as is making sure that the organization's dealings with everyone are ethical. Blaming others – even though others may have made the mistakes or failed to do their jobs in specific situations – does not remove the leader's overall responsibility for making sure that those things do not happen, and simply makes her look like a coward.

That is the reason that a jury convicted the Chairman and CEO of Enron, Ken Lay, and Jeffrey Skilling, regardless of their defense that they did not know about the illegal accounting that inflated the company's standing. Even if that were true, they should have known – it was their responsibility, and the jury held them accountable.

 

Constantly Strive to Increase Your Competence

People depend on leaders to be competent: it is the reason for the trust that is placed in them, the reason for their leadership in the first place. It is your responsibility as an ethical leader to maintain and increase your competence, so that you can continue to steer the organization in the right direction, and those you lead can continue to trust your leadership.

Part of that responsibility is recognizing and admitting what you are not good at, and either getting better at it, or delegating it to someone who is good at it. (Few CEOs would think of handling the financial management of their companies; that is why they hire financial officers.) Another aspect of competence is not taking on responsibilities you cannot handle, or tasks you do not have the time or resources to do.

Maintaining and increasing competence can be accomplished in many ways. Continuing education (actual courses, either at an educational institution or online), attendance at conferences and workshops, professional reading, regular meetings with others in similar positions to discuss leadership issues, keeping a journal of lessons learned on the job, acquiring knowledge and ideas from a variety of people – all these and other methods can be used to help you become a more effective leader.

 

Do Not Outstay Your Usefulness

Organizations, particularly community-based organizations, need to grow and change as they mature. Ethical leaders recognize when they have done all they can, or when the organization simply needs someone else at the helm if it is to continue to develop.

"Founder's disease" is the name given to the all-too-familiar refusal of a leader to recognize that the organization he founded needs to grow beyond his influence. Many such leaders, thinking mistakenly that the organization or initiative they started cannot function without them, believe they are nurturing their baby when, in fact, they are stifling it. Organizations and other groups, like children, need to take on more and more responsibility for themselves as they mature. Just as parents who cannot let go keep their children from growing up (or face rejection as the children struggle for independence), leaders who cannot let go damage their organizations.

 

Never Stop Reexamining Your Ethics and Your Leadership

As we have pointed out several times in this section, ethical leadership does not end – it is practiced all the time and over time. Cincinnatus, a fifth century B.C. Roman, was called from plowing his field and made dictator in order to save a Roman army in danger of defeat. Quickly defeating the enemy, he gave up his dictatorship after only 16 days and went back to his farm ... but he remained a leader regardless, simply because people saw him as one. He was so much regarded as a leader, in fact, that, according to the Roman writer Livy, he was called upon again to be dictator 20 years later, when he was over 80.

Ethical leadership does not end, and neither should your effort to continue to explore and practice ethical leadership.

 

In Summary

Leadership is a privilege and a responsibility that demands a good deal from those who practice it, whether formally or informally. High on that list of demands is the need to be ethical, both in personal life and in leadership. Because leaders are role models whether they choose to be or not, they set the tone for the ethical stance of their individual followers, of the organization or group they lead, and, to some extent, of the larger community.

Ethical leadership requires from the leader a coherent ethical framework that will guide her decisions and actions all the time, not only in specific situations. Among the most important of the characteristics that define an ethical leader are openness and honesty; the willingness to make the discussion of ethical issues and decisions a regular part of the organizational or group conversation and culture; the urge to mentor others to lead; the drive to maintain and increase competence; the capacity to accept and seriously consider feedback, both positive and negative; the ability to put aside personal interest and ego in the interest of the cause or organization; the appropriate use of power, which is never abused or turned toward the leader's own ends; and consciousness of the human beings behind the labels of opponent, ally, staff member, participant, etc.

Finally, and perhaps most important, an ethical leader never stops reexamining his own ethical assumptions and what it means to be an ethical leader. Like so many other important tasks, maintaining ethical leadership is ongoing; like only a few others, it can last a lifetime.

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Source: Phil Rabinowitz, https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/leadership/leadership-ideas/ethical-leadership/main
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