Introduction
Ethical leadership involves how an organization is led in a manner that respects the right and dignity of other whom may include other employees, customers, shareholders, the community, and any other stakeholder. The concept of ethical leadership is at times in direct conflict with most traditional models of leadership. In the past, the main role of leadership was that of economic responsibilities followed by legal ones and didn’t care much about the ethics as long as the firm was maximizing on profits (Demirtas, & Akdogan, 2015). Ethical leadership ensures that standards of moral and ethical conduct are followed in an organization. Ethical leadership requires ethical leaders because they will ensure moral practices will be carried out throughout the organization. These leaders use their power and authority to serve the greater good instead of serving their interest.
Characteristics of Ethical Leadership
A leader who is ethical always does the right thing even during difficult times. He or she will make the right decision that is moral even if it is unprofitable, unpopular, or inconvenient (Hoch et al, 2018). Below are some of the most important characteristics of an ethical leader.
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Justice
An ethical leader has no favorites and treats everyone equally thus he or she is always fair and just. This leader treats everyone with the same energy without discrimination; therefore, employees under such leaders do not fear that they will be treated differently on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, nationality, or any other factor that may differentiate them from others. An ethical leader will ensure that even the junior leaders follow justice when executing their duties, and treat everyone without favoring some.
Respect Others
An ethical leader shows a lot of respect for the team that he or she is leading or the employees under him or her. He or she respects their culture, religion, and personal values and promotes these values if they are ethically viable. He or she listens attentively to comments of his or her team toward different matter valuing their contribution on how they can improve the status of the firm. An ethical leader is also compassionate and generous while considering opposing viewpoints, especially from his or her juniors.
Honesty
A leader who is driven by moral values is loyal and honest to all the stakeholders of an organization. He or she promotes transparency of the firm no matter how unpopular it may be. By being honest, followers of such a leader will always depend on their leader because they know he or she will not hide the truth from them. For example, during a retrenchment, an ethical leader will communicate with the affected party long before the process, which will prepare them in advance and give them a chance to look for other jobs in time.
Humane
An ethical leader is always supposed to be humane to those people that he or she interacts with. He or she should always be kind and act in a manner that will be beneficial to the team, and this will improve the relationship between the leader and the members of the team that he is leading. The team will become more compatible and will result in higher productivity.
Focus on Teambuilding
An ethical leader will strive to achieve goals that involve everyone thus fostering a sense of community and team spirit within the organization. He or she is more concentrated with goals that will benefit the organization and all its stakeholders rather than how these goals will benefit him or her. Such a leader will promote team building among the workers of the firm which also unite them with decision makers of the organization toward achieving a common goal or mission.
Value Driven Decision-Making
A leader who is driven by ethical values will first check all decisions to ensure that they are in accordance with the overall organizational values before implementing them. He or she will only allow implementation of only those that meet the criteria. An ethical leader will also offer advice to decision makers on the methods they should use when concluding on a certain decision. He or she shows them how to integrate moral values before they arrive at a certain conclusion.
Encourage Initiative
Employees thrive and flourish under ethical leadership because they know their ideas will be appreciated by those at the top of the organization. Ethical leaders reward employees for coming up with innovative ideas and also encourage them to do what it takes to improve the ways in which things are done in the firm. Ethical leadership also praise employees for taking the first step rather than waiting for someone else to do it, and this raises the morale of these employees as they perform their duties.
Leadership by Example
An ethical leader is not the type of those who give out orders without doing anything. He or she integrates with the employees and shows them how to do certain assignments. He or she also express high ethical values which guide the team on how to practice moral values within and outside the organization. An ethical leader acts as a mirror to all stakeholders to eager.
Value Awareness
An ethical leader is supposed to regularly discuss with other employees and the organization on the values and expectation that are expected of them. By creating this awareness regularly ensures that there is a consistent understanding of these values across the organization which in turn improve the credibility of the firm.
No Tolerance for Ethical Violation
The last primary characteristic of an ethical leader is to ensure that all employees do the right things all the time. He or she expects the employees to maintain high moral values wherever they are, and not just because they are forced to, but from their inner selves. An ethical leader is supposed to punish anyone who violates ethical codes to set a good example for the rest.
Importance of Ethics
Although many leaders may argue that ethics has no importance to an organization, ethics contribute a lot toward the future of a firm, especially in this era. Primarily, ethics benefits the individual, the employee, the customer, and the human social unit of the society, who in turn contribute to the progress of the firm (Lin, Ma, & Johnson, 2016). Some of the importance of ethics are as follows:
Satisfying Basic Human Needs
Ethics promote honesty, fairness, and morality which some of the basic human needs. It is the desire of every employee to work for an organization that practice ethical practice and this will lead to more productivity of the firm.
Creating Credibility
A firm that is driven by moral values earn a lot of respect from the society even by those people who may not know how the organization works. This credibility is important to a firm because it promotes its acceptability by the society, and also may be useful when it is seeking capital for its operation. A reputable firm is likely to get capital loans faster than others.
Uniting People and Leadership
An organization that practice ethical leadership improve the relationship between the leaders and employees. They form a thread that brings the employees and the top management on a common platform which aligns behaviors within the organization toward achievement of one common goal. It promotes more productivity of a firm because the leaders and the employees understand each other perfectly.
Improve Decision Making
An organization that is driven by values is in a better position in making the right decisions than the one that is not. Such a firm will make wise decisions even when faced with difficulties such as fierce competition. A normal firm may find ways of wiping out its competitor even it means going against the law, but a company driven by morals will find a solution that will ensure its survival without moving out of the ethical lines.
Long-Term Gains
Even if in the short run it may seem as if it losing money, an organization that is driven by ethics will be profitable in the long run. Such an organization will be able to convince the society about its goodwill, which in the long run will turn a lot of people to be its customers. For example, the Tata group was on the verge of failure at the beginning of the 1990s because it concentrated more on being ethical rather than maximizing on profits. Today it is one of the largest business conglomerates in India, and its presence is felt worldwide.
Conclusion
Ethical leadership is important for any organization that wants to survive in the 21 st century. Currently, people are more attracted to firms that are of higher moral values rather than profitability. An organization that is unethical may cash in a lot of profits within a very short time, but it is doomed to fail because it will lack the support of the society. A firm that is driven by moral values will be able to survive through harsh times and will always attract all kinds of stakeholders who will support it at all times. Ethical leaders also promote the improvement of moral values among employees which increase the productivity and the reputation of an organization.
References
Chen, A. S. Y., & Hou, Y. H. (2016). The effects of ethical leadership, voice behavior and climates for innovation on creativity: A moderated mediation examination. The Leadership Quarterly , 27 (1), 1-13.
Demirtas, O., & Akdogan, A. A. (2015). The effect of ethical leadership behavior on ethical climate, turnover intention, and affective commitment. Journal of Business Ethics , 130 (1), 59-67.
Hoch, J. E., Bommer, W. H., Dulebohn, J. H., & Wu, D. (2018). Do ethical, authentic, and servant leadership explain variance above and beyond transformational leadership? A meta-analysis. Journal of Management , 44 (2), 501-529.
Lin, S. H. J., Ma, J., & Johnson, R. E. (2016). When ethical leader behavior breaks bad: How ethical leader behavior can turn abusive via ego depletion and moral licensing. Journal of Applied Psychology , 101 (6), 815.
Ng, T. W., & Feldman, D. C. (2015). Ethical leadership: Meta-analytic evidence of criterion-related and incremental validity. Journal of Applied Psychology , 100 (3), 948.
