Ethical leadership is not all about preventing the followers from doing what is not good and right. It is about facilitating the people (followers) to do what the leader considers as being right, as outlined in the business code of ethics and other organization ethical programs. Ethical leaders can be identified with the values they display that include:
i. Focus on building a team that is ethical. Ethical leader’s actions are not meant to benefit them alone. In whatever they do they want the good for their organization. They aim to create a team that will follow the set goals even in their absence.
ii. Making value based decisions. Ethical leaders always consult their organizations code of conducts and other ethical programs initiative before they make a decision. They only permit and judge situations or issues that conflict with the organizations values based on what the companies considers as right (Terries, 2005).
iii. Being fair and just to all. Where ethical leadership exists no single employee is discriminated based on gender, sex, skin color, his or her place of birth and other prejudiced factors. Ethical leaders do not show any favoritism, they treat all the people in their teams equally.
iv. Being honest even in situations that their institutions are on the wrong side. The followers trust ethical leaders who are honest at all the time. Without honesty it is impossible for the followers to depend on their leaders.
v. Respecting the team members. Ethical leaders lead teams in doing what is right. As they interact with the team members they have to be compassionate. They should listen to the member’s contributions, even the opposing ones, with respect.
vi. Leading by example. Ethical leaders walk their talk. What they expect their followers to do they do the same. They do not preach about taking the water and themselves be taking wines.
vii. They do not tolerate ethical violations. Ethical leaders do not close their eyes to situations and activities that are against their organizations values. They are always keen on what goes on in their organizations (Terries, 2005). They do not fear to confront even other leaders in situations that they consider as unethical. Their integrity makes them to speak up.
viii. Having a citizenship attitude. Ethical leaders obey laws and regulations in place in areas where their organization carry out business activities. Their goal being to make the communities where they work and live much better. They initiate programs that benefit the communities around them.
Relationship between the ethical leader and the follower
In most cases the followers (employees) do shy away from speaking up on ethical issues. It is very possible for a follower to note issues that are not going well and decide to remain silent. To avoid such a situation there should be an open communication between the ethical leader and the follower. There should be a culture in the organization that rewards a follower who speaks up to promote the ethical behavior (Terries, 2005). By doing so both parties become free with each other and doing what is right and implementation of ethical programs becomes easy.
The follower expects the ethical leader to make a lot of personal sacrifices in living the ethical behavior. The leaders are expected to walk the talk in order for the followers to follow the set example. It can be said the follower looks on the leader before doing anything. If the leader is on what is right the follower will also strive to do what is right. Their relationship can be simplified as model an example I follow you.
When ethical leaders take ethical responsibility as something important in their organizations, they become open to care for their followers. They help the followers in adhering to the code of conduct by inculcating continuously the personal responsibility attitude. The relationship between the two and the organization is improved and as a result the follower’s performance is improved and is reflected in job satisfaction, dedication in implementing the ethical programs and in reporting issues that require ethical consideration.
Why ethical leader - follower relationship is important to organizations
The relationship between the ethical leader and the follower is paramount in that it helps organizations in building an ethical culture. A good relationship between the two parties means the organization will not have an uphill task in ensuring the right thing is done all the time. In a situation whereby the followers see the ethical leader as the sole person responsible for the ethics it becomes difficult for the organization to build a culture that values business ethics (Mihelic, Lipicnik, & Tekavcic, 2010).
An organization also benefits in this relationship in that if the relationship is good and the ethical programs are implemented successfully the organization will not have ethical scandals that can eat the profit. An organization with an ethical culture is in a good place to do business and succeed. It is only in a situation where all the stakeholders of an organization are not conflicting the business becomes a success and this can be reached where there is ethical culture in place.
The role of the Chief Ethics Officer in the realization of ethics related activities
The Chief Ethics Officer is the face of ethics in an organization geared towards success. He is the ethics contact person in the organization. All the stakeholders (that is, stockholders, employees, regulatory bodies, government agencies, community, suppliers and clients) with ethical issues of concern pertaining to the organization, he or she is the person responsible to answer them (Mihelic, Lipicnik, & Tekavcic, 2010). He or she is also responsible for safeguarding, instilling and ensuring ethical procedures and processes are followed throughout the organization operations. Without forgetting his continuous role of fostering an ethical culture in the organization because building an ethical culture is not a work of one day. The Chief Ethics Officer need be well-informed in emerging ethical trends in business, and keep enlightening his or her team on the same.
i. Focus on building a team that is ethical. Ethical leader’s actions are not meant to benefit them alone. In whatever they do they want the good for their organization. They aim to create a team that will follow the set goals even in their absence.
ii. Making value based decisions. Ethical leaders always consult their organizations code of conducts and other ethical programs initiative before they make a decision. They only permit and judge situations or issues that conflict with the organizations values based on what the companies considers as right (Terries, 2005).
iii. Being fair and just to all. Where ethical leadership exists no single employee is discriminated based on gender, sex, skin color, his or her place of birth and other prejudiced factors. Ethical leaders do not show any favoritism, they treat all the people in their teams equally.
iv. Being honest even in situations that their institutions are on the wrong side. The followers trust ethical leaders who are honest at all the time. Without honesty it is impossible for the followers to depend on their leaders.
v. Respecting the team members. Ethical leaders lead teams in doing what is right. As they interact with the team members they have to be compassionate. They should listen to the member’s contributions, even the opposing ones, with respect.
vi. Leading by example. Ethical leaders walk their talk. What they expect their followers to do they do the same. They do not preach about taking the water and themselves be taking wines.
vii. They do not tolerate ethical violations. Ethical leaders do not close their eyes to situations and activities that are against their organizations values. They are always keen on what goes on in their organizations (Terries, 2005). They do not fear to confront even other leaders in situations that they consider as unethical. Their integrity makes them to speak up.
viii. Having a citizenship attitude. Ethical leaders obey laws and regulations in place in areas where their organization carry out business activities. Their goal being to make the communities where they work and live much better. They initiate programs that benefit the communities around them.
Relationship between the ethical leader and the follower
In most cases the followers (employees) do shy away from speaking up on ethical issues. It is very possible for a follower to note issues that are not going well and decide to remain silent. To avoid such a situation there should be an open communication between the ethical leader and the follower. There should be a culture in the organization that rewards a follower who speaks up to promote the ethical behavior (Terries, 2005). By doing so both parties become free with each other and doing what is right and implementation of ethical programs becomes easy.
The follower expects the ethical leader to make a lot of personal sacrifices in living the ethical behavior. The leaders are expected to walk the talk in order for the followers to follow the set example. It can be said the follower looks on the leader before doing anything. If the leader is on what is right the follower will also strive to do what is right. Their relationship can be simplified as model an example I follow you.
When ethical leaders take ethical responsibility as something important in their organizations, they become open to care for their followers. They help the followers in adhering to the code of conduct by inculcating continuously the personal responsibility attitude. The relationship between the two and the organization is improved and as a result the follower’s performance is improved and is reflected in job satisfaction, dedication in implementing the ethical programs and in reporting issues that require ethical consideration.
Why ethical leader - follower relationship is important to organizations
The relationship between the ethical leader and the follower is paramount in that it helps organizations in building an ethical culture. A good relationship between the two parties means the organization will not have an uphill task in ensuring the right thing is done all the time. In a situation whereby the followers see the ethical leader as the sole person responsible for the ethics it becomes difficult for the organization to build a culture that values business ethics (Mihelic, Lipicnik, & Tekavcic, 2010).
An organization also benefits in this relationship in that if the relationship is good and the ethical programs are implemented successfully the organization will not have ethical scandals that can eat the profit. An organization with an ethical culture is in a good place to do business and succeed. It is only in a situation where all the stakeholders of an organization are not conflicting the business becomes a success and this can be reached where there is ethical culture in place.
The role of the Chief Ethics Officer in the realization of ethics related activities
The Chief Ethics Officer is the face of ethics in an organization geared towards success. He is the ethics contact person in the organization. All the stakeholders (that is, stockholders, employees, regulatory bodies, government agencies, community, suppliers and clients) with ethical issues of concern pertaining to the organization, he or she is the person responsible to answer them (Mihelic, Lipicnik, & Tekavcic, 2010). He or she is also responsible for safeguarding, instilling and ensuring ethical procedures and processes are followed throughout the organization operations. Without forgetting his continuous role of fostering an ethical culture in the organization because building an ethical culture is not a work of one day. The Chief Ethics Officer need be well-informed in emerging ethical trends in business, and keep enlightening his or her team on the same.
