Ethics in Leadership: An Essential Business Power Tool
By Linda Finkle
The choices that a leader makes do not simply affect that leader. A leader's choices impact others and impact the business he or she is leading. That's why the ethics of leadership are essential to successful business-building. When I say ''ethics,'' what do I mean? Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ethikos, the adjective form of ethos, meaning "custom, habit"), a key aspect of philosophy, is the examination of the morals, values, and behavior of a person or group. Since ethics are action-guiding, not only must the definition cover the study of issues like right and wrong and/or good and evil, but to my mind, it must encompass the functional aspect of dealing with these issues in an everyday business setting.
Act Now! Activate a FREE three days trial to ManagerCrossing.com, because you know how important it is to know about all the jobs.
Linda Finkle, CEO of Incedo Group, works closely with leaders and management to create sustainable productivity and organizational strength.
I believe that having ethics in leadership means to set values and standards and to live by them, to provide genuine and honest communication and feedback to those you work with at any level, and to mentor succession candidates in their own ethical behavior — in short, not a task for the faint of heart.
Ethics is perhaps the hardest thing to teach others. Since the concept of ethical behavior rests on an intrinsic set of morals and values for each individual, by my definition, you either have the ability to lead ethically or you don’t. Ethical behavior is not a like a tap that can be turned on and off at will. A “sometimes” style of ethics simply doesn’t cut it. Either you lead ethically — or you don’t. You can’t cheat or use your vendors badly while treating your customers well and consider yourself ethical. You can’t claim to be honest with your staff and cut special deals with certain individual salespeople. You can’t tell your employees that actions speak louder than words, and then change your mind every time the situation suits you and still be acting ethically.
Ethical behavior simply isn’t a “sometimes” thing. This is exactly why ethics is such a sticky subject and why ethical behavior is so difficult to model and teach. You have to walk the talk and be willing to do and say the tough things. Many people can’t though, from the C-suite on through to the front lines. It’s easy enough to act ethically when the choices are no-brainers; it’s more difficult when the decisions get tough. If, as an example, you have the opportunity to cheat a customer (or vendor) and the likelihood of them ever knowing that it happened is very low, do you choose to do it? When you consider that it could save you thousands or possibly tens of thousands of dollars, the choice becomes more difficult. And if you do decide to let your ethics slip this time, will your staff think you are smart and business-savvy, or simply unethical? Of course, it depends on the perspective of each party involved.
So how do you, as a leader, transfer ethics to your people? The following four steps will get you on your way:
Have an “ethics message.” The first, and most impactful, way to ensure that your staff gets the “ethics message” is to have one. If you are not communicating the parameters of ethical behavior to your employees — the expectations you have of them, what actions are out of bounds, and what the ethical standards for the company are — they won’t know.
State your message loud and clear. It’s true that actions speak louder than words, but you can’t expect your people to intuitively understand your actions and the reasons for those actions, and to blindly do the same. It’s essential that you tell them — loud and clear — exactly what is acceptable and what will not be tolerated.
Make accountability important. If you become aware of an ethical violation, you have to call people on it. And this is not the time to “pussyfoot” around. Tell the person or people involved specifically what action you considered a violation, what you want them to do to correct the violation now, what you want done differently in the future, and the consequences of future violations. Should violations continue to occur and force you to take action, don’t keep it a secret. Let others know what caused the action. This will reinforce your words and let them know you mean business.
Stand by your ethics. When an ethical question is brought to you by someone, stand firm. Don’t take the “easy out.” Don’t waiver because business is down, it’s less problematic to do so, or for any other reason you could give yourself to “bend the rules.” Your people are watching you, and if you aren’t standing by your ethics, you can’t expect them to know what the rules are and when they apply. If you bend the rules, you can’t expect others not to.
It doesn’t take ethics to create a successful company, but it does take ethics to grow a successful business culture. The business world is full of stories of unethical businesspeople who became rich and made it to the top, but for each of these stories, there is another story about the demise of these businesspeople — and, most often, the companies they led, as well.
I know of what I speak. Many years ago I worked for a manufacturing company as the head of quality control. The president of the company was brilliant and built a very successful organization. However, he was truly an unethical person. He compromised his personal ethics at every turn. He provided to his clients whatever he needed to in order to get business (prostitutes, drugs, gambling trips, etc.). He requested credit from vendors on product where there was nothing wrong. He was married and indulging in an affair with his secretary. He practiced sexist business methods. He hit a personal, all-time low on the occasion when he actually requested that I sleep with one of their distributors who was upset about spoiled product. Was he unethical? You bet. And yet he built a very successful company. Everyone talked about his antics (and we all assumed that there were many we knew nothing about), but no one cared because he didn’t hold anyone else to an ethical standard either. Many people in the company thought it was simply a business standard and likely went on to use those same standards in other businesses. This story should make it clear that if you don’t have ethics, don’t expect others to.
Each individual leader knows what he or she values, and recognizes the importance of visibly ethical behavior. The very best leaders demonstrate both through their actions. Simply put, they live their ethics and values in each aspect of their everyday lives. For you, as a leader, it is an essential business decision to choose the values and the ethics that you deeply believe in and are most important to you and your company. The ones you choose will define your character and your leadership style. It only remains for you to genuinely live them every day at work. Your best opportunity for leading your people and influencing an ethical work culture in your business is to live by your own ethical message. Don’t waste it.
About the Author
Linda Finkle, CEO of Incedo Group, works closely with leaders and management to create sustainable productivity and organizational strength. She holds a Master Certified Coach designation through the International Coaching Federation. For more information on Linda and Incedo Group, please go to http://www.MakeSomeDamnMistakes.com.
ManagerCrossing Fact #217: We do not advertise, and we do not spend money publicizing our site because all of our effort and money goes into finding jobs for you.
Bethany , Salem, OR
The amount of jobs on EmploymentCrossing is amazing. The site has the highest number of
jobs in the world.
Bryan , Saint Paul, MI
EmploymentCrossing always helped me stay updated with the jobs available in the
market. The daily news on the site was also very informative. I like to read the different archives and the life
style column on EmploymentCrossing.
Derek , Philadelphia, PA
I got a job, thanks to EmploymentCrossing. It is the best service in the world.
Andrew , Columbus, GA
The best part about EmploymentCrossing is the simplicity of the site. It is a very user friendly website.
Jamie , Pueblo West, CO
EmploymentCrossing is a very user friendly website and has a fantastic search engine. I always got quick responses to my search criteria.
To compare ManagerCrossing with other job sites
Bring Order and Structure to Your Management Job Search
You have perseverance and can accomplish anything you put your mind to and finding the ideal management job is no exception. We have a tradition of helping our members accomplish anything they set their mind to. With complete information about every management job in the market at your fingertips you are going to go far.
You have very high standards for the sort of employer you are working for and also for yourself. You are not afraid to work hard to fulfill your duties because you value security and peaceful living. We give you the tools to pursue your dreams for you and your family.
Become part of a tradition of research excellence that has elevated the careers of countless management professionals just like you.
Complete the sign up process today and become part of our site today.
Tell us where to send your access instructions:
Total Jobs on ManagerCrossing
356,260
New Manager Jobs This Week
91,064
Jobs on EmploymentCrossing Network Available to Our Members
Regional Head of Global Markets Compass Corporate and Commer United States-TX-Dallas
Manage Global Markets Compass Corporate and Commercial Sales department in Dallas. Responsibilities include selling derivative solutions to Corpor...
Manager employment refers to different types of managerial level jobs or positions. Virtually all businesses and establishments have a person or persons having jobs with duties and responsibilities which amount to management, and they don’t necessarily have to be designated as managers.
See Every Manager Job We Can Find on the Internet!
Unlike other sites, ManagerCrossing works for you and does not charge employers to post jobs and actually goes out and researches jobs for you. The jobs you see are the jobs we find for you and not the ones employers are paying us to post.
Reason 14: Our mail merge feature lets you send out as many resumes as you wish, all included in your membership fee. Mass mailings can cost thousands.
Bring Order and Structure to Your Management Job Search
Start doing things the way they should be done.
Make objective career decisions with unbiased research, facts and information about management jobs. Your perseverance, follow through and dependability will all pay off when you have access to:
Management jobs from every company employer career webpage we can find.
Management jobs from every management job source we can find.
Management jobs from every job board we can find.
Management jobs from every newspaper classified ad we can find.
Management jobs from every specialized management publication we can find.
Management jobs from every federal, state and local government career page we can find.
Management jobs from every public interest, nonprofit and other career page we can find.
Tell us where to send your access instructions:
Today at ManagerCrossing
22,947 - Jobs found in last 24 Hours91,064 - Jobs found in last 7 Days356,260 - Total Jobs Found
Your privacy is guaranteed. We will never give out, lease, or sell your personal information.
ManagerCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
ManagerCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists and not charge employers to post jobs on its site.
ManagerCrossing uses sophisticated technology and manual work to comb employer websites and other job boards for jobs and bring them all to its site.
