If you have ever been in a position of leadership, chances are that you are familiar with the concept of ethical leadership. After all, it is not just about leading others — it is also about making sure that everyone involved is being treated with respect and fairness. But what exactly is ethical leadership? What makes it so important? In this article, learn the answers to these questions to better understand how ethical leaders can make a positive impact on their organizations and the people around them.
From there, you will learn about some benefits of having an ethically minded leader at the helm of an organization — why they are crucial to creating productive work environments and fostering growth among employees, how they positively influence decision-making processes, the challenges they may face while trying to lead ethically, and finally, why having strong ethics should be valued highly by businesses today.
Benefits and challenges
Ethical leadership is a style of management that focuses on leading people with honesty, respect and integrity. It is the kind of leadership where employees feel secure in their positions knowing they are being treated fairly and ethically by their boss or supervisor. Ethical leaders strive to make decisions based not only on what is best for themselves, but also on how it will affect all those around them.
There are many benefits that ethical leaders can bring to organizations they lead, from creating an atmosphere of trust among staff to improving morale among workers. This leads to increased productivity levels by providing a platform for open communication, allowing ideas and opinions to be heard without fear of reprisal, which could result in new ways for work processes to become discovered or implemented. This type of leader may even foster healthier relationships between team members, resulting in better collaboration when working towards common goals making way for greater success within any organization.
One benefit of ethical leadership that is often overlooked is its ability to help retain talent, since there will not be as much staff turnover due to the lack of employee dissatisfaction caused by unethical practices such as nepotism. Employees who have been provided with fair treatment under this model tend to be more loyal and stay longer. This directly affects the bottom line because this new research indicates that 81% of businesses admit that staff turnover is a costly issue.
When it comes to ethical leadership, there are some challenges that must be faced. The first challenge is staying true to the values and principles of ethical leadership in a constantly changing business environment. This can be tough because you may have to make difficult decisions or take unpopular stands when managing employees, customers and other stakeholders — all while trying not to compromise your core beliefs about good behavior.
Managers who endeavor to adopt an ethical approach to their management style face the challenge of instilling a culture that will continuously educate and inspire employees to act with ethics. Additionally, it is essential that managers exhibit ethical behavior so that their staff feel incentivized to uphold the new set of standards.
Learn more about ethical leadership
To learn even more on this topic, Spalding University offers an online Doctorate of Education in Leadership (EdD: Leadership) program for aspiring leaders who want to earn their terminal degrees and make a meaningful impact on the world. The program is designed for current and future leaders who want to use their influential voices to innovate and create. After going through the Spalding University EdD in leadership program, graduates will become great at ethical organizational leadership, exceptional team builders, systematic thinkers and change agents.
Sustained success requires ethics
In business, ethical leadership is key for sustained success. It requires making informed choices that respect the rights of all affected and cultivating a culture of honest communication and collaboration among employees. The resulting high morale drives productivity, boosting the company’s competitive edge.
Ethical leaders place great emphasis on building a trusting and equitable environment where all employees feel their rights and interests are respected, no matter their role or background. This has several benefits, such as retaining quality staff, as employees may be likely to remain in their job if they feel assured of their safety and contentment. Furthermore, having seen fair treatment under this type of leadership, staff are usually devoted, even when presented with other job offers, due to the lack of dissatisfaction caused by immoral practices such as favoritism.
Creating a positive work culture can help to build strong relationships between employees and lead to better collaboration in the pursuit of common goals and greater success. Moreover, a culture of ethical leadership ensures that everyone can communicate freely and make their thoughts and opinions known without fear of retribution, often resulting in new solutions being implemented, increasing efficiency, profitability and overall growth. Ethical leadership provides assurance to customers, suppliers, partners and stakeholders that the company operates in an ethical and reliable way, meeting both legal regulations and industry standards.
