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You do not need a title to be a leader. And a simple fact of having a title won’t make you a leader. Every day in one way or another you consciously or subconsciously play a leader role in life; as a mum, dad, teacher, boss, entrepreneur, or on a job you influence outcomes.
You do not need a title to be a leader. And a simple fact of having a title won’t make you a leader. Every day in one way or another you consciously or subconsciously play a leader role in life; as a mum, dad, teacher, boss, entrepreneur, or on a job you influence outcomes.
To positively influence outcomes, a leader must master ethical leadership as much as being inspirational.
“Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious, it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling.” Valdemar W. Setzer
Although the general believe is that business leader should be leading ethically, many of them are still failing to meet these standards. Why?
Mainly because of failing in their leadership style, and the lack of moral awareness.
How to master ethical leadership that will have a big impact on others cooperation
1. Successful leadership. It is not about gaining leadership skill sets or obtaining many leadership degrees. It is about true rapport, commitment, empowerment, and connection with others. In fact, there are three main experiences that all humans set as the primary, most important, have to have experiences:
Safety + Belonging+ Appreciation = Trust
The lack of these three important experiences can be attributed to others feeling alienated and disengaged. When people feel safe and belong, and can develop a unique identity and feel significant, they will cooperate. However, when this does not happen, that creates the potential for conflict. It is vital that leaders become aware of these experiences and their impact on the performance and collaboration of others.
2. Moral awareness. A leader must have moral principles including honesty, respect, compassion, fairness and justice. A moral problem arises when one that is in conflict or seemingly so with one of those principles. Therefore, leaders should deliberately and reflectively examine their actions, and understand how they affect the people involved.
- When it comes to the moral obligations of leaders in any organization, there are four key factors that are essential:
- Always put people first in decision making.
- Respect the individual’s human dignity.
- Treat everybody fairly.
- Be honest, and tell the truth.
It’s important to remember that successful leadership and moral awareness are both conscious choices. People choose to be honest. People choose to act with integrity. This is a choice and as with all choices, there are consequences, good or bad. It is the leader’s responsibility to see what others do not see, to distinguish what others may not, and to act with conviction, and moral purpose. This is excellent ethical leadership quality and it results in high loyalty, cooperation of others, and increased performance and productivity.
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Halle Yilmaz is a financial adviser and business consultant. As a business consultant, she works with business owners and leaders on their culture and performance optimization in their organizations. She uses very effective tools to help leaders and teams create deep emotional engagement and profitable business results.