Fire Service Ethics Chapter 7 Ethics and Leadership

127 Chapter 7 Ethics and leadership 1. Firefighters sense of obligation to something other than themselves has a significant impact on the occurrence of ethical violations in an organization. 2. Importance of a fire officer, ability to shape attitudes and instill virtues cannot be overstated. 3. Organizations ethics is directly related to its institutional values and its approach to delivering service. 4. Ethics is a cultural condition, anything that affects cultural affects ethics. 5. Most important, ethical leadership likely has the greatest impact on FD’s culture than any other influence. 6. Leadership may be one of the most frequently discussed topics in the Fire Service. 128 129 130 7. ETHICAL LEADERSHIP: (act of leading individuals using ethical methods and seeking ethical outcomes) former refers to the ethical quality of leadership provided by fire officers. 8. LEADERSHIP IN ETHICS: (leadership methods intended to raise the ethical standards of followers) focuses on those behaviors that instill ethics and others. What are the most common criticisms of disillusioned firefighters is the perceived absence of competent leadership.  In groups where there is an absence of leadership, almost invariably an unofficial leader role emerges  Whether by acclamation or self-proclamation, a leader who possesses qualities perceived as worthy by leader, will find followers  Fire Service has a culture that places high value on paramilitary structure, competency, teamwork, and personal virtues - Create a high expectation of leadership performance  Leadership classes typically stress, the need for vision, competency, charisma, and experience.  Employees, identify integrity, vision, skills, wisdom, charisma, enable equals leadership.  Most desired qualities of a leader are honesty and integrity - Both are strongly connected to ethics Is ethical leadership important to a department? 1. Research indicates people who believe their leaders are ethical have higher degree of job satisfaction, and less likely to leave. There is also evidence that employees are more likely to emulate role models who demonstrate high at ethical standards. 2. There are strong indications at organizations, populated by ethical leaders have less incidents of employee misconduct  Appears to rise from a social learning theory called: - MODELING:(behavior cues from trusted individuals influence levels of ethical behavior within organizations) take behavior cues from trusted figures and authority positions - Leaders, modeling, ethical behavior, have a strong positive influence on the behavior of followers 3. There is credible evidence that within any workplace, behavior expectations of leadership can have a strong influence on work behavior, and depending on the individual, greatly affect how that person applies his or her personal beliefs to work behavior. 4. In organizations where leadership is not trusted, a siege mentality can form  Employees are more likely to act in their own self-interest out of a perceived necessity for selfpreservation, or out of an attempt to achieve some form of social justice  Negative work cultures can clearly motivate unethical behavior as such are usually dysfunctional and accomplishing necessary task  Likely to induce cascading negative effects in productivity, initiative, and morale Specific benefits of ethical leadership: 1. Influences both individuals and the organizational cultural pervasively. Several important benefits, the Fire Department derives from ethical leadership: 1. Instill trust: elements essential for trust include ethical behavior, rooted, and virtue, and attempt to just outcomes, and consistent respect for duty and obligation 2. Bring credibility: follower must believe that a leader believes in the values and priorities that they espouse. “You have to be able to walk the walk.” Lack of ethics, reflects, poor character, and hence the lack of credibility. 3. Promotes collaboration: one common principle of inspired leadership is making those around you stronger and more productive. Collaboration is more effective than the use of coercive power. Collaborations is difficult if not impossible between individuals who lack respect or trust for each other. 4. Promotes morale: followers that believe their leaders have integrity and an interest in others. Welfare typically feels “safe “. Safety is a fundamental requirement for good morale and personal growth. 5. Allows for the occupation of the moral high ground: leaders who are ethically challenged, cannot reasonably insist on high levels of behavior from subordinates. Unethical leaders cannot expect to be followed in situations where personal integrity is important. As I say, and not as I do, “never has been an effective motivational method. 6. Afford self-respect: leadership can require tough decisions and unpopular choices. Confidence in your ethical orientation and values is necessary when the inevitable second-guessing arises. Leadership is an exercise and confidence, it cannot be a accomplished effectively if you lack selfrespect. Self-respect is nearly impossible for an ethical person, those people possess, exercising selfdeceit. 130 131 7. Create a climate of personal growth: employees, who are confident in the integrity and honesty of their leaders, are more likely to attempt new task and explore new challenges. Confidence in leadership fairness allows an organization to more easily create a culture of learning. Joining ethics and leadership:  Typically, discussions on leadership focus on how to motivate people to do things.  Absent are in depth, considerations of the ethical implications of intended outcome or methodology.  Future leaders learn the fundamentals of leading with integrity and honesty from leaders they can emulate and model behavior that they observe. Example watching professional golf does not necessarily enable you to perform the task of golf. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI): (Ability to understand and manage emotional aspects of Human interaction) 1. EI is necessary to become a successful ethical leader. 2. Must include self-awareness and an empathetic understanding of others emotions 3. Goleman: developed the popular understanding of EI. (Goleman) 5 main elements necessary for emotional intelligence to manifest into ethical leadership: 1. SELF-AWARENESS (awareness of your personality or individuality)  understanding your preferences, prejudices, and emotional predispositions is important in facilitating, fair and honest interaction with followers.  Very useful in avoiding moral disengagement  self-understanding is fundamental to an ethical being.  Aware of your strengths, weaknesses, wants and needs 2. SELF-CONTROL (restrain exercised over your impulses, emotions, or desires)  Making decisions based on emotions, or preconceptions, often lead to unethical actions.  Allows for the creation of open and honest relationships with followers through responses, routed in fact and appropriate to circumstance 3. MOTIVATION (act or process such as a need or desire that causes a person to act)  Understand his or her personal motivations finds it much easier to avoid self-serving actions  Leader who evaluates their motivations are more likely to act in the interest of their followers  Leaders who are motivated by an internal LOCUS OF CONTROL (extent to which people believe they have power over the events in their lives) are more likely to accept personal responsibility 4. EMPATHY (action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts and experiences of others)  Outwardly focused are aware of others needs and wants  Requires understanding  Empathetic individuals are much less likely to act in a self-serving fashion  Egotistical or self-centered individuals are more likely to act in ways that are destructive to others, even if they have no ill will towards them  Failure of none at the goal leaders are often rooted in ignorance of others needs  Ethical leaders must possess outward focus 5. SOCIAL SKILLS (to enable people to communicate, learn, ask for help, and get needs met inappropriate ways)  It is not enough to be well-intentioned, properly motivated, or outer focus if the leader is not able to effectively interact with followers  Effectively communicate, mediate, and facilitate must be incorporated into effective leadership, ethical or otherwise. 132 1. Tactic in becoming an ethical leader is to integrate facets of ethical conduct into daily behavior:  Behavior becomes habit and so is integrated into leadership style 2. Several habits recognized is essential to developing ethical leadership:  Actively resolved ethical problems, and take responsibility for making ethical decisions  Incorporate ethics in day-to-day duties  Cultivate a respectful environment, trust in demand open communication  Do not confuse with ethics, legal does not necessarily mean right  Expect ethical behavior from everyone  Embrace ethics as an ongoing learning journey  Ethics is not something a person has or does not have; it is something a person cultivates 3. Methods are not only justifiable within the principles of ethics, but also justifiable for their contribution to successful organizational management  Express that one of the primary benefits of ethical leadership is that it invokes, ethical behavior and subordinates  Does not support the development of behavioral standards  133 Developing ethics in an organization requires effort that is both deliberate and sustained To influence Ethical behavior and others, leader should: 1. Articulate a clear version of good.  Defining expected behaviors, the first essential step and encouraging those behaviors  Mistake to assume that defining expectations lie only with administrative officers 2. Invest time and effort  Diligence can be taxing; it is easier to correct attitudes than bad habits  Understand that the reinforcement of behavior standards require consistency  If an officer is ethical 90% of the time, they likely will have a reputation as being unethical  Fire officer that requires appropriate standards of behavior from their firefighters 90% of the time confuses his or her subordinates’ expectations nearly 100% of the time  The power of positive reinforcement for behavior 3. Should hold sales personally accountable for the behavior of their subordinates  Articulate behavioral standards and the reinforcement of values “the buck stops here” Approaches to ethical leadership: Elements of ethical leadership in the Fire Service are transformation, leadership, servant, leadership, and Fire Service culture. 1. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP: Burns 1978(Stresses employee, empowerment and development) enhances, motivation, morale, and performance  Shapes both individual attitudes and the general work culture  Seeks to align individual employee needs with desired organizational outcomes  Empowerment and development are motivational techniques and as an ethically justifiable priority - Empowerment: instill a sense of potential accomplishment  Reinforces the firefighters sense of identity with a team, which is accomplished by positive reinforcement, the provision of growth, opportunities, and empathy  Through a commitment to leaders, welfare, impart to followers, a feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself  Role model for followers, and inspires them by challenging them to take greater ownership of their work, understanding their strength, and aligning their personal values with those of the department to optimize performance  Built on 4 elements: (referred to as the four ‘s) - Individualized focus: needs of the follower. Act as coaches in mentors and genuinely interested in the development and growth of their support. - Intellectual growth: seek teachable moments and consider it their responsibility to advance the careers of their followers. Mentoring and succession planning. - Inspiration: articulates a vision of success and optimism, constantly strives for excellence. Pervasive feelings of optimism and belief in the worth of effort is infectious. - Idealized influence: role model of high ethical behavior. Instill pride and demand and freely give respect and trust. Said high standards of integrity for themselves and their followers.  Based more on leaders’ attitude and methods  Feels a sense of responsibility for the quality of the workplace as well for the quality of the work being done.  Personal investment and employee’s well-being, and in the growth and development of their employees as a humanistic level 2. SERVANT LEADERSHIP: Greenleaf 1970 (oriented to putting the well-being of human and communities first as a management priority) putting the well-being of people and communities first  Focuses on collaboration, communications, trust, and ethical use of power  Long history, 600 BC influential Chinese philosopher Tzu, “The greatest leader forget himself intends to the development of others “credited with establishing Taoism.  Also embedded in Christian ethics. Mark 10:43–44 “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be Maid#! Servant to all. “  Focus is almost entirely rooted in ethics and morality  Only legitimate use of authority is for the betterment of those being served  Asserts that only legitimate exercise of authority by an institution is in the provision of service  Models at the school behavior and encourages integrity and moral reasoning  Founding principles of servant leadership include: - Serve people: place of people and their welfare ahead of short-term goals  Similar to care, ethics, and theory of social contract ethics  However, servant, leadership differs in that these principles are applied to motivation and organizational accomplishment rather than personal interaction. Facilitate personal development: an expression of respect for each person’s potential and recognition of the importance of personal growth and self-actualization.  MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS (theory that suggest, as humans, we have needs that can be categorized as psychological, safety, social, esteem, and selfactualization) - Exercise foresight: vision and sense of purpose. Understanding of current future needs  Places, a ethical responsibility and protecting the interest of the organization and its followers, this requires a degree of vigilance - Ethically interact with stakeholders: mandates, ethical dealings with supervisors, customers, firefighters, contractors, vendors, and any other individual or company dealing with the department.  Our departments typically have liberal employee wellness programs, insurance, pension, and leave policies. Those traditions are highly consistent with the attitude of servant leadership.  Fire Service culture 3. Both transformational and servant leadership:  An expression of orientation as opposed to methodology  Humanistic in application  Focuses on the demand of epics as well as the unique challenges of managing firefighters. Ethical leadership and influences: 1. Absence of ethics at the top of an organization can have a negative cascading effect on the organization 2. Chief officers, influence culture, it can be argued that company officers have the greatest impact on building and reinforcing a department culture, especially as it relates to ethics.  Culture is shaped on apparatus floors, day, rooms, and training grounds  Culture is reinforced every day 3. POSITIONAL AUTHORITY (Authority distill as a condition of rank): administrative officers 4. REFERENT AUTHORITY (according related to respect and trust): company officers.  Role of the company, Officer and departmental ethics cannot be overstated - Ethical influence is proportional to proximity - Standards of behavior and policy compliance are subject to the company officers willingness to enforce them Leader ships obligation to Fire Service ethics: 1. The imperative of ethical leadership is magnified by local Fire Department reliance on public image. 2. President, Harry Truman: “the buck stops here” 3. Success of the department is dependent on the fire officer’s ability to motivate, educate, and mentor. The department needs its officers to lead. 4. Company officers have the greatest influence on the quality of the departments culture particularly in ethics. It is also true that maintaining the departments culture is essential to the department’s welfare, then it would make sense that fire officers have a responsibility to care for that culture. List of the fire officers’ general responsibilities: Company officers are interested with an obligation, not only to manage firefighters time, but also to do all the preparatory and auxiliary tasks (leadership) needed to effectively fulfill the departments mission. - 137 138 139 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. Delivery of emergency services:  Not only depends on the FF’s ability to perform a task, but also on the commitment to doing it well 2. Firefighter safety and well-being:  FF safety depends first on the officers competency.  Ethical obligation rooted in the acceptance of responsibility and in humanistic concern for the welfare of others 3. Firefighter prosperity:  Company officer has a significant effect on the future career trajectory of firefighters.  Officer must accept responsibility for future success 4. Reputation management:  Depends on members behavior  Fire officers, ability and willingness to enforce policy is only a first step  At the leadership shapes attitudes and behavior habits and our element in obtaining high standards of behavior Hallmarks of effective at the goal leadership: 2 Distinct goals: 1. Effectiveness  is an expression of accomplishment.  Measured quantitively.  Commitment of responsibilities Ethics  can be thought of as measured qualitatively.  Ethics is not a measurement  Ethics is a reflection of values.  Not mutually exclusive they are mutually supportive How do you become both effective and ethical in your leadership style?  Recognizing except responsibilities that go beyond basic management  Commit to accept a responsibility for the welfare needs of others  Understand the principles of ethical leadership  Orientation of transformational and servant leadership that require an internalization of their precepts  Ethical leader must understand and buy into these concepts Practice. Aristotle suggest more than 2000 years ethical behavior must be habituated. Hallmarks of ethical leadership:  Commitment to excellence: perform and grow the capabilities of subordinates  Modesty: leader understands their limitations. hubris is counterintuitive to ethics as it promotes self interest  Mentorship: responsibility to teach, create competency and enrich the capabilities of firefighters  Generosity: give time, attention and knowledge freely. Committed to the betterment of others.  Compassion: individuals most prone failure are those who are willing to risk failure to achieve. Growth comes from addressing shortcomings with the intent to teach not punish.  Integrity: effective because people trust him or her. Possessions, moral authority because they model moral behavior.  Optimism: expression of confidence and hope. Do not emotionally invest in the leader if they do not believe that their efforts will bear fruit. Vision of a better state. Pessimism is an expression of fear.  Heightened sense of responsibility: responsibility and obligations are hallmark of integrity, commitment, and service