Ethical Leadership is Mostly about Leadership Integrity - Essay Example

Ethical Leadership is Mostly about Leadership Integrity Ethical leadership is very important in any organization because it determines its success aswell as the smoothness of the running of its operations. Ethical leadership is what holds an organization together because it gives the subordinates the necessary direction and focus, which they can follow to ensure the successful undertaking of their tasks, and sets an example for them when doing business on behalf of the organization. Ethical leadership is the highest standard of leadership, which every leader in every organization should aim for if they wish to promote a good picture of themselves and that of their organization. It has been determined that very ethical leaders lead the most successful organizations in the world and these leaders have steered them towards this path. Those organizations which have been seen to collapse or are on the verge of collapsing recently have been led by leaders who have turned out to be very unethical in their practices and these practices has led to the mistrust of their leadership both from within their organizations, and also from the public which the organization has to serve. The lack of confidence in an organization due to the unethical practices of its leaders leads to a mistrust from those who receive the services of such an organization and in the process, the customers of such an organization may choose to look for alternative organizations that provide the same services and have a more credible leadership. Scandals that arise due to matters of ethics within an organization are very difficult things to deal with and they not only affect the leadership of such an organization but they also affect the employees or subordinates and their families. It is therefore best for leaders within every organization in the world to ensure that they maintain the highest standard of ethical leadership that can be achieved within the organization (Sama and Shoaf, 2008, 39 - 46). It is a fact that the integrity of the leadership within an organization is what determines its following of ethics (Perles, 2002, 59 – 66). If the leadership is corrupt, then the practices of the organization will more likely than not be corrupt because the leaders will not be working for the organization’s best interests but for their own interests. When the leadership of an organization ceases to implement the original goals of an organization and instead concentrates only at making a profit at any cost, then this leadership has ceased to be ethical and steps should be take to have such leadership removed. In order to be effective, the leadership of an organization has to have integrity and this means that they have to stick by what they regard to be ethically necessary or worthwhile. It is therefore necessary for an organization’s leadership to have certain coherence in matters of ethics, either between ethical values over time or between values and behaviour. Leaders should ensure that their goals or objectives are harmonious with those of the organizations that they lead so that matters concerning ethics do not arise in the day-to-day running of the organization (Dunn, 2009, 102 - 125). Without leadership integrity in an organization, there can be no ethical leadership and this is because integrity and ethics are things, which are inseparable especially when one is considering the running of an organization whose reputation depends on how its leadership is running it. Leadership integrity is the incorporation of our commendable characteristics and abilities into a functioning value system and these admirable traits and abilities become a matter of habit, perfected through practice (Palmer, 2009, 525 – 536). It is this leadership integrity which over time leads to ethical leadership because the leader will have learnt how to deal with all ethical issues through long term practice and this will enable such a leader to create an ethical environment of the workplace. It is a well-known fact that many employees within an organization tend to follow the example set by that organization’s leadership. Therefore, the duty of the leadership to ensure that they work in such a manner that stimulates changes in the attitudes and values in their subordinates for the better (Mayer, Kuenzi, and Greenbaum, 2010, 7 – 16). The change in attitudes and values in subordinates in an organization to match that of their employer enables them to do their duties effectively towards achieving the goals set for them without any or very little conflict of interest because all the people within the organization will be working towards its success. Leadership integrity within an organization helps to determine how its employees behave in matters concerning ethics because employees tend to follow the example of their employer (Zhu, May and Avolio, 2004, 16 – 26). If the employer is very strict in matters of ethics, then this will be completely integrated into the working behaviour of his employees and therefore, the organization will behave ethically in all matters that concern it. However, if the leadership of an organization lacks integrity, then its employees will behave unethically when conducting any business concerning the organization and this may lead to mistrust from the customers. Leadership integrity is therefore important if an organization is to have any kind of ethical leadership. Leadership integrity is very important in an organization because it enables the development of the ethical leadership necessary for fostering of the internalization of the leader’s vision among the employees through the utilization of the strategies of management. This ensures that the employees within an organization know exactly what their leader wants and exactly how that leader wants it done and these employees are able to focus completely on the achievement of their leader’s vision. A leader that shows integrity in his work and in his vision will definitely inspire his subordinates to follow his example in their own work and this will ensure that a high level of ethics are practiced within an organization because of the ethical leadership inspired by the integrity of the organization’s leader (Hood, 2003, 263 - 273). There is the requirement of good judgment both in the choice of an activity as well as the execution of such an activity it a leader is to show integrity. This is a major necessity if there is to be an establishment of ethical leadership within an organization and this should be exercised tactfully in spite of the difficult social contexts, which the organization might face. The display of leadership integrity in difficult social contexts enables the organization to thrive in many different situations and this guarantees that it has the confidence of all its stakeholders and that its ethical stance is not brought into question in any way. The ability of an organization to function ethically within very difficult environments can be credited to the leadership integrity displayed by the leader of such an organization. This ability relies heavily on the leader’s ability to relate to his or her subordinates and his being an exemplary person to them, because a leader of integrity has to lead by example (Neubert, et al 2009, 157 - 170). Leadership integrity concerns those core values which a leader believes is the most important aspect of whom or what he is and how he or she treats those who are his subordinates. Moreover, leaders’ core beliefs and the way they treat people in workplaces has an impact on how such a leader will manage the organization. Although the leadership styles of various leaders may be different, so long as their core values (integrity) is solid, then all of these styles will remain effective and effective leaders should understand that that their subordinates need ethical leadership from them if they are to perform at their best. Leaders should not go around making declarations of their integrity and their following of ethics when in reality they do not do anything constructive within their organizations. Instead, they should do less talking or boasting and take a more active role within the organization to justify exactly what they are talking about by their actions. Leadership integrity is all about a leader working behind the scenes to ensure that a strong foundation is established within the organization to foster a strong ethical working environment (Low and Davenport, 2009, 97 - 108). The beginning of integrity in leadership is when a leader attempts to have a good understanding of his core values so that he can be better able to lead the organization because without an understanding of his core values, then the organization will suffer from extremely low leadership ability. Leadership integrity is all about the leader’s ability to display those ethics, which create an environment of stability within the organization. Those employees who see their employer or superior as being honest and being committed to doing the right thing are often assured that they are working in a stable environment. In this environment, these employees are confident that their leader’s integrity will not be in doubt when the time comes for tough decisions to be made and that he will support them in all their undertakings on behalf of the organization. A leader of integrity will ensure that all his or her subordinates are treated fairly and will be willing to share all the information that his subordinates will find crucial in their endeavour to do their work (Caldwell, et al 2008, 153 - 164). A leader who is not frank with the people who work for him and instead keep important information from them for the purposes of self preservation create an environment in which his employees live in fear and uncertainty and an atmosphere of everyone protecting their own interests instead of cooperating in the interests of the organization. Thus, this sort of leaders who tend to favour some employees over others and due to the unequal treatment of employees, there comes up unnecessary rivalries within the organization, which tend to destruct the employees’ performance and productivity in the workplace. Leaders who have a strong sense of integrity are able to make their employees feel safe in the work environment, these employees tend to do their best work in such an environment, and they have a strong sense of empowerment (Avey, Palanski, and Walumbwa, 2011, 573 – 582). Such leadership provides the ethical leadership that enables people to have the freedom necessary to be open and honest with their employers about a variety of issues that affect the organization. These employees are able to realize that there will be no negative consequences if they openly express their ideas and opinions so long as these opinions are expressed respectively and at the appropriate moment. It is a fact that those employees who feel safe in their work environment will perform better than those who do not feel safe and this is the environment, which encourages innovation among the employees, who might be greatly beneficial to the organization. Pursuing ethical leadership provides a safe environment for innovation and with innovation come the transformation of the organization into something greater than it already is (Toor and Ofori, 2009, 533 - 547). In conclusion, we have discussed the various aspects of leadership integrity and the way they are related to ethical leadership. We have seen how ethical leadership cannot be possible without the existence of leadership integrity and how these two are inseparable from each other. We therefore conclude that it is indeed true that ethical leadership is mostly about leadership integrity. References Avey, J.B., Palanski, M.E. & Walumbwa, F.O. (2011). "When Leadership Goes Unnoticed: The Moderating Role of Follower Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Follower Behavior", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 98, no. 4, pp. 573-582. Caldwell, et al. (2008). "Ethical Stewardship - Implications for Leadership and Trust", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 78, no. 1-2, pp. 153-164. Dunn, C.P. (2009). Integrity Matters. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(2), p.102 – 125. Perles, G. (2002). "The ethical dimension of leadership in the programmes of total quality management", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 59-66. Hood, J.N. (2003). "The relationship of leadership style and CEO values to ethical practices in organizations", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 263-273. Low, W. & Davenport, E. (2009). "Organizational Leadership, Ethics and the Challenges of Marketing Fair and Ethical Trade”, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 86, pp. 97-108. Mayer, D.M., Kuenzi, M. & Greenbaum, R.L. (2010). "Examining the Link Between Ethical Leadership and Employee Misconduct: The Mediating Role of Ethical Climate", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 95, pp. 7-16. Neubert, et al. (2009). "The Virtuous Influence of Ethical Leadership Behavior: Evidence from the Field", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 90, no. 2, pp. 157-170. Palmer, D.E. (2009). "Business Leadership: Three Levels of Ethical Analysis", Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 525-536. 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