AN ETHICAL CORPORATE LEADER
One
typical response to the “ethics crisis” in business is a clarion call for more
“ethical leadership,” yet there are few explanations of what exactly is meant
by the term. Many executives and business thinkers believe that ethical
leadership is simply a matter of leaders having good character. By having “the
right values” or being a person of “strong character,” the ethical leader can
set the example for others and withstand any temptations that may occur along
the way. Without denying the importance of good character and the right values,
the reality of ethical leadership is far more complex and the stakes are much
higher.
Leaders
see their constituents as not just followers, but rather as stakeholders
striving to achieve that same common purpose, vision, and values. These
follower and stakeholder constituents have their own individuality and autonomy
which must be respected to maintain a moral community.
Ethical
leaders embody the purpose, vision, and values of the organization and of the
constituents, within an understanding of ethical ideals. They connect the goals
of the organization with that of the internal employees and external
stakeholders.
Leaders
work to create an open, two-way conversation, thereby maintaining a charitable
understanding of different views, values, and constituents’ opinions. They are
open to others’ opinions and ideas because they know those ideas make the
organization they are leading better.
As
a corporate leader, you need to find the best people and develop them in order
to achieve the main visions and mission of your organization in whole. This
task is fairly standard in different models of leadership. Ethical leaders pay
special attention to finding and developing the best people only because they
see it as a moral imperative helping them to lead better lives that create more
value for themselves and for others. Finding the best people involves taking
ethics and character into account in the selection process.
Create
a living conversation about ethics, values and the creation of value for
stakeholders. Too often business executives think that having a laminated
“values card” in their wallet or having a purely compliance approach to ethics
has solved the “ethics problem.” Suffice it to say that Enron and other
troubled companies had these systems in place. What they didn’t have was a
conversation across all levels of the business where the basics of value
creation, stakeholder principles and societal expectations were routinely
discussed and debated. There is a fallacy that values and ethics are the “soft,
squishy” part of management. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are
some concrete steps about how best to develop ethical leaders within the
framework that most global businesses find themselves. The first step is to
bring life to a conversation about how the organization benefits its
stakeholders and about understanding the organization’s values.
So
being an ethical corporate leader demands one to find best people and develop
them together with creating a living conversation about ethics, values and
creation of values with the stakeholders.
BY JAMES CATHERINE
BAPRM 42566
BY JAMES CATHERINE
BAPRM 42566
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