BEST PRACTICE
Are you an ETHICAL LEADER? asks Olivia May, Programme Director, William J Clinton Leadership Institute
thical leadership is a term that can be hard to define. We can be hazy about
Eexactly what it means. But if someone was to ask you – are you an ethical leader?
I’ m sure all of us would reply yes. But are we? Can we be sure we are? It’ s a bit like that statistic that says that, when asked, 90 per cent of us consider ourselves to be“ above average” drivers, a result that is statistically impossible.
It’ s probably easier to recognise unethical leadership – and there’ s certainly been no shortage of examples in recent years: Enron, bankers during the credit crunch, closer to home some misdemeanours of local politicians and property developers.
What do these examples of egregious actions by leaders have in common?
Well a starting point is that they were focused on selfinterest, and on the short term. So that begins to show us that when we are demonstrating ethical leadership our focus is on others rather than ourselves, and we prioritise longterm benefits in the future over shortterm gains.
Ethical leadership also implies certain personality traits. Ethical leaders have a strong“ moral compass” – they have a clear set of values and their behaviours and actions are consistent with those values.
They are honest, tell the truth however uncomfortable that may be, and their actions are always in lockstep with their words.
Ethical leaders do not make statements designed to attract maximum publicity and commotion and then disavow these statements once they are in a position of accountability and responsibility – sound familiar?
Leaders do not work in isolation. The best organisations recognise that leaders face daily ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas are never black and white – they involve leaders making complex decisions and tradeoffs, often trying to work out the least evil of two bad options.
Writers on management call these“ wicked” problems: there is no one right answer and either course chosen may have unintended consequences down the line.
This is why organisations need clearly articulated values and they need to be more than just a slogan on a mouse mat.
They have real benefit when they provide guiding principles for people as they make daily decisions.
It is no accident that the most respected professions have codes of ethics going back, in the case of medicine’ s Hippocratic oath, 25 centuries. Similarly, civil servants follow the“ Nolan principles”( no, not Stephen) which clarify the responsibilities of those in public office.
Private companies need to provide similar guidance to their leaders and, more importantly, be consistent in demonstrating the values in action.
In ethical decisions, actions always speak louder than words and we take our cue from what our leaders do, not what they say. Businesses need to support those who raise concerns and should have clear policies and procedures for whistleblowers.
So how can we make sure that we are demonstrating ethical leadership?
Leadership starts from within: so the first thing is to be clear on our own values – what is most important to us? When we are clearly define and prioritise our most important values, making decisions is easier – they provide an internal“ road map” for us.
They help us get back on track when we are
lost. Leadership is about interacting and engaging with others, so another question to ask yourself is how consistent is your behaviour with these values?
Could your colleagues and subordinates guess what your values are from the way you behave with them?
When we are being an ethical leader, we are not just acting ethically ourselves – we are actively promoting and supporting our people as they tussle with dilemmas, providing guidance on how to interpret values or codes of conduct.
This includes creating the climate and mechanisms for people to question and push back against our authority.
We need to encourage and listen to dissenting voices, to views that our different to our own, and different to the prevailing wisdom.
Finally, ethical leadership is about being accountable and taking action. This means speaking up and speaking out when we see or experience unethical behaviour.
As ethical leaders we do something about it, however difficult that may be and however we personally may suffer by doing so. We swim against the current.
So back to the first question: are you an ethical leader?
As with the question about our driving skills, we tend to rate ourselves as more ethical than the rest of the population.
The ethical leader recognises this fundamental human fallibility and might reply to this question that we are asking the wrong person – ethical leadership is best judged through the eyes of those being led.
22 www. businessfirstonline. co. uk