Leadership & Ethics CS

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Leadership and Ethics Summary1

Background on Leadership

Leadership has been defined in various ways (Fleishman and others, 1991). One common

definition regards leadership as a process whereby an individual influences a group of

individuals to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2016, p. 16). The following components are

central to this definition: (a) leadership is a process, (b) leadership involves influence, (c)

leadership occurs in groups, and (d) leadership involves common goals.

For present purposes, leadership refers to the individuals exerting influence as 'leaders', and to

those being influenced as 'followers'. While the distinction between leaders and followers is

helpful for illustrative purposes, it should be noted that one can simultaneously be a leader in one

context and a follower in another context. It should also be noted that leadership can be formal,

such as in the case of an elected prime minister or a company's CEO. But there are also cases of

informal leadership, when the influence does not derive from a formal authority conferred

through rules and procedures. Finally, it is useful to highlight that leaders can be associated with

the world of business, politics, popular culture, and other areas of life.

Therefore three questions to examine are:

1. What is ethical leadership?

2. Why is ethical leadership important?

3. How can ethical leadership be promoted?

1. Ethical Leadership

Eisenbeiss (2012) argues that this concept involves setting and pursuing ethical goals and

influencing others in an ethical manner. Similarly, De Hoogh and Den Hartog (2009) define

ethical leadership as the process of influencing the activities of a group toward goal achievement

in a socially responsible way. They focus both on the means through which leaders attempt to

achieve goals as well as on the ends themselves.

The study of ethics generally consists of examining questions about right and wrong, virtue,

duty, justice, fairness, and responsibility towards others. From an ethical perspective, according

to Ciulla (2014, p. 16), the ultimate point of studying leadership is to answer the question: What

is good leadership? The word "good" has two meanings in this context: technically good (or

1 Adapted from: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

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effective) and morally good. This focus on the concept of 'morally good' demonstrates that ethics

lies at the heart of leadership studies.

2. Importance of Ethical Leadership

Ethical leadership is important for two main reasons. First, leaders have ethical responsibilities

because they have a special position in which they have a greater opportunity to influence others

and, therefore, outcomes in significant ways. Most people would agree that all of us have a

responsibility to behave ethically, but it is clear that leaders are held to higher ethical standards

than followers.

The values of leaders influence the culture of an organization or society, and whether it behaves

ethically or not. Leaders set the tone, develop the vision, and their values and behaviours shape

the behaviour those involved in the organization or society. Therefore, leaders have a significant

impact on people and societies. Examples of formal and informal leaders from around the world

include Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai, Peng Liyuan (First Lady of

China), Sheikh Hasina Wajed (Prime Minister of Bangladesh), Yvon Chouinard (the founder of

Patagonia), Melinda Gates and Angelina Jolie. However, the impact of a leader is not always

positive, as illustrated by Hitler's leadership of Nazi Germany. The impact of his leadership was

disastrous for millions of individuals and the world in general.

On a smaller scale, even team leaders can have profound effects on their team members and the

organization. All leaders, no matter how many followers they have, exert power. To exert power

over other people carries an ethical responsibility. Power is the ability of one person (or

department) in an organization to influence other people to bring about desired outcomes. The

greater the power, the more responsibility a leader has. Therefore, leaders at all levels carry a

responsibility for setting the ethical tone and for acting as role models for others.

Contemporary practice and literature is shifting the focus away from traditional leadership styles,

such as charismatic and transactional leadership, and is increasingly focusing on leadership

styles that emphasize an ethical dimension, such as transformative, servant, value-based or

authentic leadership. In other words, what is regarded today as a 'good leader' is someone who

effectively leads towards ethical results and not someone who is simply good at leading (as many

ill meaning demagogues can be). It has been argued that this development emphasizes the strong

links between ethics and effective leadership (Ng and Feldman, 2015).

Two models can be used to explain the relationship between ethical leadership and effective

leadership - the 'interpersonal trust' model and the 'social power' model. The former is attributed

to Schindler and Thomas (1993), who argue that interpersonal trust is based on five components:

integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty, and openness. Integrity refers to honesty and

truthfulness; competence is associated with technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills;

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consistency is defined as reliability, predictability, and good judgment; loyalty refers to

willingness to protect and save face for a person; and openness is the willingness to share ideas

and information freely. This model reflects the idea that followers who trust a leader are willing

to be vulnerable to the leader's actions because they are confident that their rights and interests

will not be abused.

The 'social power' model was developed by French and Raven (1959), who identified five

common and important bases of power: legitimate, coercive, reward, expert, and referent.

Legitimate power refers to a person's right to influence another person coupled with the latter's

obligation to accept this influence; coercive power derives from having the capacity to penalize

or punish others; reward power is about having the capacity to provide rewards to others; expert

power is based on the followers' perceptions of the leader's competence; and referent power

derives from the followers' identification with and liking of the leader. Each of these bases of

power increases a leader's capacity to influence the attitudes, values, or behaviours of others.

There are three ways in which a follower may react to these forms of power, according to French

and Raven (1959). First, when leaders successfully use legitimate or coercive or reward power

(collectively referred to as position power) they will generate compliance. Compliance means

that people follow the directions of the person with power, whether or not they agree with those

directions. The second way in which followers may react to the use of power, especially the use

of coercion that exceeds a level people consider legitimate, is to resist the leader's attempt to

influence.

Resistance means that employees will deliberately try to avoid carrying out instructions or they

will attempt to disobey orders. The third type of reaction to power is commitment, which is the

response most often generated by expert or referent power (collectively referred to as personal

power). Commitment means that followers adopt the leader's viewpoint and enthusiastically

carry out instructions. Although compliance alone may be enough for routine matters,

commitment is particularly important when the leader is promoting change (Daft, 2008, p. 365).

In general, people tend to identify with an ethical leader. Ethical leadership is not the sole source

of referent power, but it is an important one, particularly in an increasingly changing,

globalizing, and transparent world.

3. Ethical dimensions of leadership

The evaluation of leadership from an ethical point of view is influenced by ethical theories and

principles of ethical leadership, as well as by practical questions. Ethical theories provide a

system of rules or principles that guide us in making decisions about what is right or wrong and

good or bad in a particular situation (Northouse, 2016). There are various theoretical approaches

to ethical decision-making. Three of the major Western theories were discussed in Module 1:

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utilitarianism (morality depends on whether the action maximizes the overall social 'utility' or

happiness), deontology (morality depends on conformity to moral principles or duties

irrespective of the consequences) and virtue ethics (morality depends on perfecting one's

character). Practical guidelines for exercising ethical leadership have been created by various

scholars. For example, Eisenbeiss (2012) highlights four principles of ethical leadership: humane

orientation, justice orientation, responsibility and sustainability orientation, and moderation

orientation. Another approach is that of Northouse (2016), who suggests five principles of ethical

leadership: respect, service, justice, honesty, and community.

While theories and principles of ethical leadership are pertinent, practical questions are also

important for ethical dilemmas, especially since it is not always feasible to apply a detailed

theoretical analysis before making a decision. In this regard, it is helpful to use a checklist to

guide decision-making. This is sometimes referred to as "ethics quick tests" or ethical decision-

making models, both of which have made their appearance in various guises such as codes of

conduct of large corporations.

The following example of an ethical decision-making model:

Another example is the ethics quick test that is provided by The Ethics Center, an Australian-

based non-profit organization. The Ethics Center suggests that we ask the following six questions

before we make a decision:

1. Would I be happy for this decision to be headlining the news tomorrow?

2. Is there a universal rule that applies here?

3. Will the proposed course of action bring about a good result?

4. What would happen if everybody did this?

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5. What will this proposed action do to my character or the character of my organization?

6. Is the proposed course of action consistent with my values and principles?

Effective leaders are often confronted with impossible dilemmas, where no ideal resolution

exists. In such situation leaders need to make difficult decisions that involve sacrificing some

goods for the sake of promoting others. A classic example is the decision to go to war, knowing

that many people, including civilians, will die. Sometimes this dilemma is known as the dirty

hands problem.

Becoming an ethical leader

The issue of ethical leadership is an ancient one. For example, Aristotle argued that the ethical

person in a position of leadership embodies the virtues of courage, temperance, generosity, self-

control, honesty, sociability, modesty, fairness, and justice. To Confucius, wisdom, benevolence

and courage are the core virtues. Applying ethics to leadership and management, Velasquez

(1992) has suggested that managers develop virtues such as perseverance, public-spiritedness,

integrity, truthfulness, fidelity, benevolence, and humility. Ethical leadership is also associated

with the African concept of the sage. Henry Odera Oruka (1944-1995), from Kenya, researched

sage traditions of Sub-Saharan Africa and provided an account of wisdom that is distinctly

African. The contemporary South African author Reul Khoza provided accounts of ethical

leadership from the perspective of Ubuntu which, among other things, feature a communitarian

account of virtue originating in Africa.

The philosopher Al-Farabi (872-950) provides us insights into ethical leadership from an Islamic

perspective. He was born somewhere in modern day Central Asia, and moved throughout the

great cities of the Islamic world, such as Baghdad and Damascus. His philosophy was wide

ranging, but his insights on leadership can be found in his writings on ethics and politics. In

those works, including his famous book The Virtuous City, Al-Farabi argued that leaders should

also be philosophers, an idea he drew from the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato. For Al-Farabi,

this meant that a leader must not just be a person of action and power, but one who reflects upon

what is best for the community which he or she governs. Unlike Plato, he argued that the best

city was not a monocultural one, but one which embraced diversity, and the wisest leaders found

ways in which peoples of different races and beliefs could live together. Other thinkers have

emphasized other sets of virtues, but the differences are not as big as one might think. In fact,

people from various cultures may have quite similar views on essential virtues.

Regarding the development of virtues, according to the Aristotelian way, when virtues are

practiced over time, from youth to adulthood, good values become habitual, and part of the

people themselves. By telling the truth, people become truthful; by giving to the poor, people

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become benevolent; by being fair to others, people become just. The Confucian way of

cultivating oneself begins with obtaining a deep knowledge of how the world works, moves

through taking certain actions and ends with one's most ambitious goal - to illustrate virtue

throughout the world. This is strongly connected to the idea that 'knowing', 'doing' and 'being' are

three interrelated components of an ethical person. In The Great Learning, written around 500

B.C., and the first of four books selected by Zhu Xi during the Song Dynasty as a foundational

introduction to Confucianism, Confucius described the process as follows:

The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom first ordered well

their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to

regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they

first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their

thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their

knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.

Treviño, Hartman and Brown (2000) argue that ethical leadership comprises two aspects: the

"ethical person" and the "ethical manager". One must first be an ethical person in order to

become an ethical manager. The managerial aspect refers to a leader's intentional efforts to

influence others and guide the ethical behaviour of followers - such as communicating ethical

standards and disciplining employees who behave unethically.

Ethical leadership relies on a leader's ability to focus the organization's attention on ethics and

values and to infuse the organization with principles that will guide the actions of all employees.

Treviño and others also identify three measures that effective ethical managers usually take.

First, they serve as a role model for ethical conduct in a way that is visible to employees. Second,

they communicate regularly and persuasively with employees about ethical standards, principles

and values. Third, they use the reward system consistently to hold all employees accountable to

ethical standards.

The context in which leaders operate should not be ignored. Even an ethical person with ethical

intentions can behave unethically due to behavioural dimensions and or systemic pressures.

These issues are explored in depth in Modules 6, 7 and 8. Moreover, ethical leadership may vary

in different cultures, including in terms of style and values as well as the manners in which the

leader influences followers.

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References

Ciulla, Joanne B. (2014). Ethics, the Heart of Leadership. 3 rd ed. Santa Barbara, California:

Praeger.

Daft, Richard L. (2008). The Leadership Experience. 4 th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage.

de Hoogh, Annebel H.D., and Deanne N. den Hartog (2009). Ethical leadership: the positive and

responsible use of power. In Power and Interdependence in Organizations, Dean Tjosvold

and Barbara Wisse, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Eisenbeiss, Silke Astrid (2012). Re-thinking ethical leadership: an interdisciplinary integrative

approach. The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 23, No. 5, pp. 791-808.

Fleishman, Edwin A. and others (1991). Taxonomic efforts in the description of leader behavior:

a synthesis and functional interpretation. The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 245-

287.

French, John R. P., Jr. and Bertram Raven (1959). The bases of social power. In Studies in social

power, ed. Dorwin Cartwright. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.

Hodges, Christopher and Ruth Steinholtz (2018). Ethical Business Practice and Regulation: A

Behavioural and Values-Based Approach to Compliance and Enforcement. Oxford: Hart

Publishing.

Ng, Thomas W. H., and Daniel C. Feldman (2015). Ethical leadership: meta-analytic evidence of

criterion-related and incremental validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 100, No. 3,

pp. 948-965.

Northouse, Peter G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. 7th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Schindler, Paul L., and Cher C. Thomas (1993). The structure of interpersonal trust in the

workplace. Psychological Reports, vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 563-573.

Treviño, Linda Klebe, Laura Pincus Hartman and Michael E. Brown (2000). Moral person and

moral manager: how executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California

Management Review, vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 128-142.

Velasquez, Manuel G. (1992). Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases. 3 rd ed. Englewood Cliffs,

NJ: Prentice Hall.