The Ethics of Leadership

Leadership is the set of managerial skills that an individual has to influence the way of being or acting of people or in a specific workgroup, making this teamwork with enthusiasm towards the achievement of their goals and objectives. Similarly, it is also understood as the ability to delegate, take the initiative, manage, convene, promote, encourage, motivate and evaluate a project, efficiently and effectively, be it personal, managerial or institutional.

It should be noted that leadership does not entail an unequal distribution of power, since the members of the group do not lack power, but rather they shape the group’s activities in different ways. Although, as a rule, the leader will have the last word.

Now, there is an irrefutable fact about leadership: an organization and most of the people who work in it will rarely be more ethical than the leadership of the organization.

Ethics when leading

It is necessary for a leader to have a great ethic and a good example of it. Since the moment the key leaders in an organization demonstrate less than ethical behavior, permission is given for the entire organization to behave in the same way.

There is no doubt that truly ethical leaders know that ethics is not a part-time thing. They do not talk about business ethics or personal ethics, they simply speak and demonstrate ethics at all times. They know that you are ethical all the time or you are not ethical. There is no middle ground.

Leaders who have great ethics are a great example and model to follow. Since they excite their organization to do the right thing, being that ethical leaders always do the right thing. There may be some dispute about what exactly is “right” but they do what they think is right. They do it regardless of the consequences. They do not seek popularity, they practice ethics.

Coupled with this, ethical leaders show respect for their people. They listen to them; they really listen without prejudging what they can say. They value different points of view and when they must cancel or choose an opposite point of view, they do so with respect and compassion. They understand that their people will do what the leader does much faster than the leader says. They establish an ethical example in everything they do and have high expectations that everyone in their organization does the same, therefore, they are true leaders and are supported.

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Source: Steve Keating | LeadToday