In the working environment, it is necessary to maintain ethical practices when dealing with others. It is, however, not as easy as people struggle in maintaining ethical practices at the places of work. Psychology scholars have developed five principles of ethical intelligence. The five includes do no harm to others, be fair, respect others, make things better and be loving. The diversity in working place population affects the ability to maintain the five principles. Disagreements, conflicts, and cultural differences may result in violating some of the principles.
Recently, I worked as an intern in a large manufacturing firm whose working population was made up of people from different backgrounds. Ethical codes and standards were well-defined, and people were expected to practice all the moral principles. I was made the leader of the interns, and I had the responsibility to represent them at all levels. It meant I was obligated to understand my fellow interns and raise their issues to the firm’s management. I tried to maintain the necessary ethical standards, but I had difficulties implementing all the principles of ethical intelligence. I had an issue with respecting other interns and representing their issues that did not agree with mine. I wished to respect all people, but I did not recognize some of the beliefs that people held some that were culturally rooted.
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As a leader, one is supposed to be respectful of others besides respecting all the available legal rights. One of the golden rules leaders should always follow is “Treating others the same way they wish to be treated.” The rule tells leaders that they must tell others the truth and keep the secrets of others as a way of showing respect. The company required all the interns to show up for work at all times without unnecessary excuses. One time, three of my team members who were Muslims approached me and told me that they were going to attending a religious holiday the following week for two days. They needed me to go and notify the supervisors that they would not be attending work for those two days. As a Christian, I felt that it was not necessary because we had been assigned a lot of work during that week because the firm was undergoing an audit. I never went to report to the supervisor that three members will not be attending work for two days. After the three missed work the blame was on me that I did not respect their culture.
It was hard to respect all the members of my team because their beliefs were not like mine. I also felt like I had an obligation to help the organization achieve its goals and failed to show respect to three team members. Cultural differences made me disrespect the wish of the three team members.
I am a leader of a multi-cultural team based in Southeast Asia. The group is made of members from various religious backgrounds that include Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Protestant Shinto, and Catholic as a leader faith plays a significant part in how I lead. To be able to lead the team I would implement the five principles of ethical intelligence to help me lead the group.
I would ensure that I do not harm any of the members of the team. Sometimes harm is inevitable in place of work, and as a team leader, I am obligated to reduce the amount of harm that is done to an individual, team or the company. ‘Do no harm’ principle is influenced by the oath taken by health care professionals. As a team leader, I am obligated to ensure that I do not hurt the team members physically and psychologically.
As a leader, I have the responsibility of making things better. The corporate believe that improving one’s personal life is key to improving the lives of others is tied to the principle. As a leader, I have the responsibility of making the life of the team members. It means that always be ready to make, teach, train and direct without discrimination.
As a leader, I am obligated to respect others and their beliefs. The concept of respect is reciprocal. Others will respect you if you show due diligence to them and they will respect me in return. Respecting others shows that a leader treats the team as I would want to be treated.
I have an obligation to being fair to each of the members of my team. The act of being fair involves three key prongs: rectifying injustice, disciplining the team proportionally and equitably sharing scarce resources. Correcting injustice that may occur in the process of carrying out operations is one of the vital roles. As a leader, the responsibility includes ensuring that each team members obtain due justice. Disciplining the team proportionally means when a mistake happens the individuals responsible should be held accountable.
As a leader, I have to be compassionate toward team members. It is the ability to love the members for who they are. The idea of compassion makes things flow better. It is the most important of the five principles. The ability to show love to all the employees means that one can be able to implement all the other four principles.
As a religious individual who values faith, I think I have the responsibility of loving the whole team and consequently respecting their religious backgrounds. That way I will observe the ethical standards necessary to lead the team. Despite the differences in the group, the ability to implement these five principles can lead to successfully leading the group.
