What is ethical leadership? ___Ethical leadership involves both acting and leading ethically over time all the time. Why practice ethical leadership? ___Ethical leadership models ethical behavior to the organization and the community.. ___Ethical leadership builds trust. ___Ethical leadership brings credibility and respect, both for you and the organization. ___Ethical leadership can lead to collaboration. ___Ethical leadership creates a good climate within the organization. ___If you have opposition, or are strongly supporting a position, ethical leadership allows you to occupy the moral high ground. ___Ethical leadership is simply the right way to go. ___Ethical leadership affords self-respect. When and by whom should ethical leadership be practiced? ___Ethical leadership should be practiced all the time by anyone in a formal or informal leadership position. How do you practice ethical leadership? General guidelines: ___Ethical leadership requires a clear and coherent ethical framework that the leader can draw on in making decisions and taking action. ___Your ethical framework should agree with that of the ethical framework, vision, and mission of the organization or initiative. ___Ethics should be a topic of discussion. ___Ethics should be out in the open. ___Ethical thought must be connected to action. ___Ethical leadership is a shared process. Specific components ___Put the good of the organization and the general good before your own interests and ego. ___Encourage the discussion of ethics in general and of the ethical choices involved in specific situations and decisions as an ongoing feature of the organizational culture. ___Institutionalize ways for people to question your authority. ___Don’t take yourself too seriously. ___Consider the consequences to others of your decisions, and look for ways to minimize harm. ___Treat everyone with fairness, honesty, and respect all the time. ___Treat other organizations in the same way you treat other people – with fairness, honesty, and respect. ___Collaborate inside and outside the organization. ___Communicate. ___Work to become increasingly culturally and interpersonally competent. ___Take cultural sensitivity and cultural competence seriously. ___Work to be inclusive. ___Take your leadership responsibility seriously, and be accountable for fulfilling it. ___Constantly strive to increase your competence. ___Don’t outstay your usefulness. ___Never stop reexamining your ethics and your leadership.
