Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership
If we use fear-based leadership, bullying, command-and-control leadership, belittling, sabotage or other forms of psychological violence, or allow them to be used by others in our organizations, we create the opposite of a supportive, productive learning organization. We create an environment of toxic stress that harms people and the organization.
LeadinginContext.com
There is a growing body of research across disciplines that shows that the impact of our interpersonal behavior as leaders is important than we ever imagined. The ways that we can help or harm people as a leader directly relate to the health of our businesses, and the well-being of our employees and co-workers.
The Impact of the Unethical Senior Leader
Take the common case of many organizational leaders trying to create an ethical culture, with one or more of the Senior Leaders not bought in or even blocking their efforts. The distraction, fear and chaos created by an unethical Senior Leader can drain the company of engagement, creativity and productivity.
Is blocking a company’s efforts to create an ethical culture unethical? You bet. It can be the cause of company failure because of the negative systemic effects that it creates. The systemic effects created by even one Senior Leader leading unethically include loss of trust, loss of employee engagement, loss of customers, lowered productivity, increased complaints, failure of departments to work together, sabotage, blaming, etc…
Correct it Quickly
When a Senior Leader is operating against the best interests of the company and its stakeholders, the problem needs to be corrected by the other Senior Leaders as quickly as possible. How?
How we treat people is an important part of ethical leadership. It is also a critical part of building trust in the organization. These 5 phrases signal that the speaker may not be treating other people in the company respectfully and may not be considering the ideas and concerns of others when making decisions:
When we are faced with a business problem that involves ethics, the easy way out is to blame someone. That appears to remove the pressure of actually solving the problem. But organizational problems are complicated and rarely have one simple cause.
The B Corporation. The new structure that legally protects a company that wants to put values before profits. In the article New Legal Protection for Social Entrepreneurs, John Tozzi provides an overview of the new structure and interviews some business…
Is it unethical to withhold information? Let’s use a case study to explore the question. “Company in the Process of Releasing a New Product” We are in the process of fine-tuning the product and getting ready to train employees on how it works and what…
Being an ethical leader is the right thing to do. And it pays off. There is a paradox that makes this information difficult for some experienced leaders to act on. Some business leaders are so concerned with the bottom line and shareholder value that they…
Jack Phillips, the guru of training measurement has written a book that helps HR executives measure their contribution to the organization’s results and engage senior management in the work of improving performance. Details available at Amazon.com. For New Blog Posts, visit LeadinginContext.com/Blog For more, see…
This article called “Employee-Engagement-The-Key-to-Improving-Performance” highlights the importance of management in organizational success. It provides good information for human resource managers about what employees need from management in order to feel engaged in their work. For New Blog Posts, visit LeadinginContext.com/Blog For more, see…
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