ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

 Ethical leadership involves both

acting and leading ethically over time
all the time
Objectives
 Integrate principles of leadership and
principles of ethics.
 Enhance the capabilities of community
leaders to recognize and act according
to their ethical beliefs.
 Provide a forum to discuss how to build
and maintain an ethical society.

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Definitions of Terms
VALUES Core beliefs or desires that guide
and motivate attitudes and
actions.

Customs and personal beliefs

MORALS of individuals about what is
right and wrong.

Standards of conduct that indicate

how one should behave based on
ETHICS
principles about right and wrong.
3
Source: Scheffert and Hamersly 1993
 What is Ethics?

Ethics is not It is about the

about the way things
way things OUGHT to
are… be.

Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics 4

Three Qualities of Ethical Leadership

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 Ethics is Character and Courage

Ethics is about character and courage

and how we meet the challenge when
doing the right thing will cost more than
we want to pay.
Michael Josephson

Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics 6

 Ethics is Values

Ethics is a code of values which

guide our choices and actions and
determine the purpose and course of
our lives.
Derived from Ayn Rand

Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics 7

Six Pillars of Character
 Trustworthiness
 Respect
 These core ethical
 Responsibility
values transcend
 Justice & Fairness cultural, religious, and
 Caring socio-economic
 Civic Virtue differences.

8
Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics, Aspen Declaration, 1992
The Commonwealth

Commonwealth

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Ethical Decision Making
 An ethical perspective is having the
ability to:
 Be sensitive to ethical issues.
 Make reasoned judgments.

 Have the motivation to act ethically.

 Follow through with action.

 Look back and learn from the situation.

Source: Scheffert and Hamersly 1993 10

 Aiming for Ethical Decisions
If you aim for the outer rim,

Spirit &
Purpose

Minimal
Compliance

You will inevitably miss the target. 11

Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics
Ethical People
“An ethical person often chooses to do
more than the law requires and less than
the law allows – there is a difference
between what you have a right to do and
what is right to do.”
Justice Potter Stewart

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Competing Values

Instead of… You might have to

choose between…
s t y Caring
Righ n e
t Ho
W r o

it y
ng

ibil
s
pon
Res
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Classic Ethical Conflicts

 Short-term vs. Long-term

 Principle vs. Expediency
 Self-interest vs. Others
 Conflicting loyalties

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Ethical Decision-Making Process
 Perceive
 Clarify
 Select
 Act
 Reassess

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Ethical Decision-Making Models

 Personal Warning System

 Bell, Book, and Candle
 M.O.R.A.L.

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 Your Personal Warning System

The GOLDEN RULE

Do unto others
as you would have
others do unto you.

Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics 17

Bell, Book, and Candle
 Listen for the bells warning you.

 Check to see if there are any

laws, regulations, or rules.

 How will your decision look in

the light?
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M. O. R. A. L. MODEL

Massage the dilemma

Outline Options
Review criteria and resolve
Affirm position and act
Look back
Patricia Crisham
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Source: Scheffert and Hamersly 1993
 Common Rationalizations
 If it’s necessary, it’s ethical!
 If it’s legal and permissible, it’s proper.
 I was just doing it for you!
 I’m just fighting fire with fire.
 It doesn’t hurt anyone.
 Everyone does it!
 It’s okay if I don’t gain personally.
 I’ve got it coming!
 I can still be objective.
Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics 20
Ethics is a Name

“Ethics is the name we give to our concern

for good behavior. We feel an obligation to
consider not only our own personal well-
being, but that of others and of society as a
whole.”
 Dr. Albert Schweitzer

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Ethics is Hope

“When people accept responsibility for their

own conduct and for the well-being of
others, ethics serves to stabilize society.
Ethical leadership is the antidote to despair
and cynicism that is crushing our spirit and
clouding our future. Ethics is our hope.”
Gary Edwards, Ethics Resource Center

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Why Worry about Ethics?
 Leadership is the investment of trust
into people who serve the common
good.
 It creates value.
 It refines and develops services that
enrich our lives.
 Leadership is naturally ethical.

Source: Scheffert and Hamersly 1993 23

Why Worry about Ethics?
 What people look for in others for
leadership:
 Honesty

 Fair-mindedness

 Caring

 We appoint, elect, and encourage

leaders, expecting them to serve the
public reliably.
Source: Kouzes & Posner, 2002 24
Why practice ethical leadership?
 Ethical leadership models ethical behavior to the
organization and the community.
 Ethical leadership builds trust.
 Ethical leadership brings credibility and respect, both for
you and for the organization.
 Ethical leadership can lead to collaboration.
 Ethical leadership creates a good climate within the
organization.
 If you have opposition, or are strongly supporting a
position, ethical leadership allows you to occupy the moral
high ground.
 Ethical leadership is simply the right way to go.
 Ethical leadership affords self-respect.
When and by whom should ethical
leadership be practiced?
Ethical leadership should be
practiced all the time by anyone in a
formal or informal leadership
position.
How do you practice ethical leadership?
General guidelines:
 Ethical leadership requires a clear and coherent
ethical framework on which the leader can draw
in making decisions and taking action.
 Your ethical framework should agree with the
ethical framework, vision, and mission of the
organization or initiative.
 Ethics should be a topic of discussion.
 Ethics should be out in the open.
 Ethical thought must be connected to action.
 Ethical leadership is a shared process.
Specific components of ethical
leadership:
 Put the good of the organization and the general good
before your own interests and ego.
 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.
 Institutionalize ways for people to question your authority.
 Don’t take yourself too seriously.
 Consider the consequences to others of your decisions,
and look for ways to minimize harm.
 Treat everyone with fairness, honesty, and respect all the
time.
 Treat other organizations in the same way you treat other
people – with fairness, honesty, and respect.
Specific components of ethical
leadership (cont.):
 Collaborate inside and outside the organization.
 Communicate.
 Work to become increasingly culturally and interpersonally
competent.
 Take cultural sensitivity and cultural competence seriously.
 Work to be inclusive.
 Take your leadership responsibility seriously, and be
accountable for fulfilling it.
 Constantly strive to increase your competence.
 Don’t outstay your usefulness.
 Never stop reexamining your ethics and your leadership.
 Final Thought

“If you want to know how to live your life,

Think about what you would like people to
say about you after you die….
Then, live backwards.”
Josephson Institute

Source: Josephson Institute of Ethics 30