Ethical Leadership Philosophy 2

An ethical leader does what is right, even when it is far from what is popular, profitable, or convenient. My goals when I am a leader will be to respect and serve others to the best of my ability. I will continually align my actions in my business and personal life with my core values. To lead effectively and ethically, I will put in place policies and programs that will enhance the importance of moral behavior, while also developing informal systems that also reflect the company values. Through this structure, I will be able to have control over the company culture. I will be able to understand the allure of multiple ethical selves and know how I can stay true to what I know is right. I will use my awareness of alternatively dangerous methods of leadership to guide me toward being the best leader. To create an ethical culture, I will use both formal and informal systems to build a framework of ethical influence. Formally, I will provide my employees with resources that encourage ethical behavior and prevent toxic behavior. The core values of my company will be integrity, fun, respect, quality, and personal responsibility. By implementing trainings, a code of conduct, company policies, and routine workshops that focus on these values, my company will know exactly how to apply them to their work. But, to realize a truly ethical culture, the formal and informal systems must be aligned[ CITATION Tre17 \l 1033 ]. To ensure the informal norms follow the formal rules and values of the company, there will be a system in place for employees to contact an ethics team with any suspicion of unethical behavior, which will then be investigated. Informally, I will always lead by example. As similarly stated by Bill Walsh, a leader must account for his or her ego and be willing to drop it[ CITATION Bil93 \l 1033 ]. This not only opens the door for honest communication, but also provides an example of how all individuals should treat others. I will also strongly encourage mentorship within the company, which will allow for those development-based informal relationships to flourish. To maintain this ethical culture long-term, it is important to keep the core values at the center of decisions every day. To keep track of how effectively we are achieving this goal, I would put in place routine cultural assessments. These would primarily analyze the informal systems, since they are a greater representation of the company’s ethics-related behavior[ CITATION Tre17 \l 1033 ]. These assessments would routinely give feedback of how well the systems in place are working, and adjustments will be made as needed. If I were to lead in a company that was already infected with unethical behavior, I would sit down with other leaders in the company and dedicate the time and resources needed to fix the problem as soon as possible. I would use their input to evaluate what formal systems were working, which were not, and which we could begin implementing. We would then discuss the opportunities to improve the informal systems and, depending on the unique situation, utilize mentorships, re-establish norms, create new rituals, and use stories to reinforce the company values. People often exhibit different norms for different environments. Children are raised to understand they can act dramatically different on the playground with their friends than they do in church with their grandparents. This disconnect can lead to developing exhibiting multiple ethical selves as adults[ CITATION Tre17 \l 1033 ]. For example, individuals who divide themselves into multiple ethical selves may behave honorable and generous at home and be loitering money or making deceptive deals at work. This is important for me to recognize as a leader because it is my job to notice when people are behaving unethically at work, even if they are virtuous person outside of the office. Although it is easy to assume the people I work with are as honorable as I view them as, leaders must anticipate and plan for the worst scenario to be consistently prepared and at their best[ CITATION Bil93 \l 1033 ]. It is also imperative to recognize the potential for multiple ethical selves in myself, so I can accurately analyze if my work behavior is consistent with my personal ethical self. If there is any discrepancy, I must immediately change my own behavior to align with my core values. Executives in companies are often put in the spotlight both professionally and personally. These individuals are defined, in terms of ethical leadership, by the way they conduct themselves and to the extent in which they influence others to behave ethically through role modeling, communicating values, and using a rewards and disciplinary system. These two dimensions make up the reputation that a leader acquires, which can be visualized by a two by two matrix regarding being a moral person and a moral manager. Ethical leaders both consistently live with a high standard of character themselves, as well as effectively spread the use of ethical behavior to those following them. Hypocritical leaders expect ethical behavior from others, but act dishonestly themselves. Organizations under this style of leadership suffer because employees will not trust what the leader says and instead, do what the leader does. Unethical leaders have traits of corruption and deceit and have a weak influence on their employees to do the right thing. Ethically neutral leaders are perceived as not providing input on ethical behavior. They focus on profits and are silent when it comes to how business goals are met, causing employees to interpret that the only thing that matters is achieving those goals, creating an environment where cheating and lying can become the norm[ CITATION Tre17 \l 1033 ]. This ethical leadership reputation system is applicable to my leadership philosophy because it reminds me that I not only must act with honesty myself, but also effectively instill the same commitment to our values in those who work around me. Through this insight, I will be a better employee today and a better professional leader tomorrow. By building competent informal and formal systems to ensure ethical excellence is carried out as the foundation of my company. I will use monitory strategies to ensure the systems put in place are being effective. I will use my awareness of multiple ethical selves to defend the morality of the organization, both evaluating myself and others. I will be an ethical leader by executing ethical behavior at all times, and effectively communicating the necessity of ethical behavior in others. In conclusion, there are many useful formal tactics that encourage high standard of ethics in an organization, but it is the informal demonstration of strong values that will make a company prosper long term.