This document provides an outline on the topic of ethical leadership. It defines ethics and discusses why ethical leadership is important now due to various social and environmental crises. It describes the attributes and behaviors of ethical leaders, such as consideration for others and modeling ethical behavior. The document also examines dilemmas in assessing ethical leadership, determinants that influence it, and consequences of both ethical and unethical leadership. Several theories of ethical leadership are outlined, including transformational, servant, and authentic leadership. The document concludes with guidelines for practicing ethical leadership.

1. Ajit Kunwar
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
CHAPTER 13

2.  Definition of ethics
 Ethical leadership
 Dilemmas in assessing ethical leadership
 Determinants of ethical leadership
 Consequences of ethical and unethical leadership
 Theories of ethical leadership
 Evaluation of ethical leadership
 Guidelines for ethical leadership
Outline

3. ETHICS: doing right things for greater goods
Unethical does not mean illegal
Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have to do and what is
right to do.
Why Now?
 Environmental crisis
 Social crisis
 Economic crisis
Interest in ethical aspects of leadership has been growing as public confidence
in political and corporate leaders continue to decline

4. Leading in the manner that consistently respects the rights and dignity of all
stakeholders.
 Attributes and behavior of ethical leadership
 Consideration and respect for others
 Fairness and non-discriminatory treatment
 Dissemination of ethical guidelines for
 Modeling ethical behavior to set a visible example for others
 Criticizing or punishing unethical behavior
 It is important for leaders to tell a compelling and morally rich story, but ethical
leaders must also embody and live the story.
Ethical Leadership

5.  Moral standards used to evaluate ethical behavior are:
 Violating basic laws of society
 Denying others their rights
 Endangers the health and lives of other people
 Attempts to deceive and exploit others for personal benefit.
 Judgments about ethical leadership vary somewhat across cultures.
 It is necessary to consider a leader’s intentions and values as well as
behaviors when evaluating ethical leadership

6.  Influencing Expectations
 Unethical to make false promises and deceiving about likely outcomes
 Crisis time
 Influencing values and beliefs
 Unethical to attempt to change the underlying individual values and beliefs
 Major changes for firms survival and effectiveness
 Multiple stakeholders and competing values
 Unethical to do best in the interest of particular stake holders
 Serving conflicting interest of different stakeholders
So ethical leadership can be assessed on the basis of subjective judgements about rights,
accountability, due process, social responsibility
Dilemmas in Assessing Ethical Leadership

7. Individual determinants Situational determinants
Personality traits and needs:
High conscientiousness, low neuroticism and
personalized power orientation
Organizational culture and reward system
Values
Personal values, organizational values, social
and moral values
Community or national cultural values and
beliefs
Integrity
Honesty and having strong moral principles
Uncertain environment and lack of strong
government regulation
Kohlberg(1984) stages of moral development
Lowest, middle and highest level
Followers characteristics
Self-esteem and self efficacy
Determinants of Ethical Leadership

8. Ethical Leadership Unethical Leadership
Increase organizational citizenship behavior Decrease organizational citizenship behavior
Build trust, creditability and respect both for
individual and for the organization
Aggression towards organization and
coworkers
Increase the self-respect and moral of peoples
in the organization
Pessimistic employee attitudes
Lead to collaboration which creates good
atmosphere and good-team working
Difficulty of recruitment and bad work
environment
Consequences of Ethical and Unethical
Leadership
Sometime unethical leadership can help some organization to achieve the objectives and goals
with the profitability into the company in short run, but this leadership style can create the
negative effects in long run.

9.  Transformational Leadership: leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to
guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the
commitment of the members of the group
 It may involve influencing peers
and superiors as well as
subordinates
Theories of Ethical Leadership

10.  The servant-leader is servant first…. It begins with the natural feeling that
one wants to serve
 Helping others to accomplish shared objectives
 Encourage others
 Build morale
 Individual development and Empowerment in followers
Servant leadership

11.  Goal: Enhance intrinsic motivation
 Reason: many people are seeing deeper meaning in work
 Why: one’s work will have meaning and value other than instrumental
benefits and self gratification
: to increase the need for transcendence and fellowship
 How: through altruistic love such as kindness, gratitude, forgiveness,
humility, honesty, compassion trust and loyalty
Spiritual leaders increase the intrinsic motivation, confidence and organizational
commitment through transcendence and fellowship.
Spiritual Leadership

12.  Based on positive psychology and psychological theories of self regulation
 Authentic leaders have core values that motivate them to do what is right
and fair
 Aspects includes:
 Positive leader values, Leader self-awareness and Trusting relationship
with followers
 They create special type of relationship with followers
 Create high mutual trust
 Transparent
 Guidance towards worthy shared objectives
Generally, authentic leaders are positive people with truthful self-concepts
who promote openness.
Authentic leadership

13.  More emphasis on leader values than on leader behavior
 More emphasis on consequences for stakeholders than on enhancement
of subordinate motivation and performance
 For charismatic and transformational theories, these priorities are
reversed.
 Early stage of development
 Substantial conceptual ambiguity
 Measures of ethical leadership are still in the early stages
 More research, including some intensive, longitudinal studies, will be
needed to clarify the relationships proposed by the theories.
Evaluation of Ethical Leadership Theories

14.  Set clear standards of ethical conduct.
 Model ethical behavior in your own actions.
 Help people find fair and ethical ways to resolve problems and conflicts.
 Oppose unethical practices in the organization.
 Implement and support programs to promote ethical behavior
 Cultural values, laws and ethical standards
Guidelines for Ethical Leadership