Module 9 Final Post

 

Module9Bringing It All Together

Reflection Blog: Final Post


Prompt

Reflect on what you have learned throughout this course. How can you apply what you learned to your own framework of ethical leadership? Based on what you learned in this class, what are some changes you want to make in your own ethical framework? How does this tie into the organizational or industry lens of ethics?

Final Post


Prompt 1

    Throughout this course, I grew significantly in my understand of ethical leadership and frameworks that accompany it. The first few weeks were especially eye-opening with our discussions and readings on unconscious bias. I never took a hard look at what my unconscious biases are and why it is important to be aware of them. The same can be said for truly understanding what my own values and beliefs are and how they influence my own behaviors and decision-making, particularly as a leader. Shen (2020) writes that leaders can often “rely on emotion rather than an objective framework that could help them consider their options” which leads to poor decision-making as “each situation needs to be evaluated objectively and…emotions need to be kept under control.” I have come to understand that I tend to be an emotional person at times which can result in spontaneous or irrational outcomes; while this is not necessarily always a bad trait, it is important to be aware of when making decisions as a leader. A major reason for this is that “ethical leaders motivate followers to internalize ethics-related values of the organization and that through this internalization they engage follower ethics-related identities” (Shamir et al., 1993). However, unethical leaders can also have similarly large influence, but in undesirable ways. Leaders are the forefront of an organization, and their behaviors and values ripple throughout the unit as a whole. 

    For my own framework, I like a take by Gurley and Kraemer (2015) who write that leaders should “focus on doing the right thing rather than being right all the time.” They continue to explain that values-based leadership has four main principles which are ongoing self-reflection ("identify your core values and goals"), balance ("ability to see more than one side to a story"), true self-confidence (accept strengths and weaknesses), and genuine humility (remembering "where you came from" and keep "your leadership role in perspective") (Gurley and Kraemer, 2015). I believe that I need to own who I am rather than try to be someone I am not. 

    Although some previous bosses told me that I should change my behaviors to act a certain way that is more akin to traditional leadership, that would have me behaving in ways that are not genuine. I learned it this course that as long as my leadership style is effective in terms of getting the job done while still being true to who I am, all while acting ethically, then that is a perfectly fine way to lead. This also comes with self-accountability; Galliard and DeCorte (2020) contend, "When employees felt their supervisors would hold them accountable for wrongdoing, favorable ethics outcomes multiplied 12 times." I strive to be more transparent with those who I lead so that I can demonstrate a willingness to be held accountable similar to high-performing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in which organizations subject themselves to public scrutiny. “CSR and firm reputation can connect ethical leadership to enhance performance…ethical leadership positively influences CSR, which, in turn, results in enhanced firm reputation and firm performance” (Nguyen et al., 2021). 

    Ultimately, I want to have more integrity, be less emotionally-driven in my ethical decision-making (i.e., be more objective), to be open to and consider multiple perspectives, and to still stay true to who I am. I want to be more authentic, transparent, and accountable for myself and others. I want to be a role model for those I lead. The most fascinating aspect of this course is learning just how much leaders influence organizations and industries in terms of ethical or unethical behavior. Through this understanding, I aim to act in good faith; people are always watching whether that be partners, investors, employees, or customers. Lastly, I want to remember that I do not have to be perfect as a leader as we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. But it is how we leverage each other’s strengths and weaknesses to build trust, relationships, and success; it takes a village. Overall, leadership effectiveness is drastically enhanced with ethical behaviors and decision-making; it is wise to get on board.

Chad

References:

Gaillard, M., & DeCorte, M. J. (2020). Ethics and Workplace Productivity. The Journal of Government Financial Management, 68(4), 50-52. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/ethics-workplace-productivity/docview/2376136611/se-2

Gurley, G., & Kraemer, H. (2015). The Values-Based Leader by Harry Kraemer. Kanopy Streaming.

Nguyen, N. T., Nguyen, N. P., & Thanh Hoai, T. (2021). Ethical leadership, corporate social responsibility, firm reputation, and firm performance: A serial mediation model. Heliyon, 7(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06809

Shamir, B., House, R. J., & Arthur, M. B. (1993). The motivational effects of charismatic leadership: A self-concept based theory. Organization Science, 4(1), 577-594.

Stein, L. (2020, March 24). The importance of being an ethical leader. Northeastern University. https://graduate.northeastern.edu/resources/ethics-and-leadership/

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