Ethical Leadership : A ray of hope for the organisational growth & development

Ethical Leadership is leading by knowing and doing what is right. If leaders are ethical, they can ensure that ethical practices are carried out throughout the organization.

1. Ethical leaders respect others

Immanuel Kant argues that it is our duty to treat others with respect. One should treat others as ends in itself and never as means to an end.

Beauchamp and Bowie (1988) pointed out that "Persons must be treated as having their autonomously established goals and must never be treated purely as the means to another person's goals."

• Leaders who respect also allow others to be themselves. They approach others with a sense of unconditional worth and value individual differences (Kitchener, 1984)
• Respect means giving credence to others' ideas and confirming them as human beings.
• A leader should nurture followers in becoming aware of their own needs, values, and purposes.
• Respect means that a leader listens closely to their subordinates, is empathetic, and tolerant to opposing views.
• When a leader exhibits respect, subordinates feel competent about their work.

2. Ethical leaders serve others

• This is based on the concern for others (Ethical egoism)
• This is an example of altruism.
• An example of this is observed in mentoring, empowerment, behaviors, and team building.
• Very similar concept to the "Beneficence" that is taught to health professionals.
• Senge contended that one of the important tasks of leaders in learning organizations is to be a steward (servant) of the vision within the organization and highlights the importance of not being self-centered, but integrating one's self or vision with the vision of the organization.

3. Ethical leaders are Just

• Justice demands that leaders place the issue of just at the center of their decision making.
• No one should be treated differently unless their particular situation demands it and if that is the case, then the rules for differential treatment should be made clear.
• Good coaches are those who never have favorites and those who make a point of playing everyone in the team.
• The golden rule (Rawls, 1971) is to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
• The principles of distributive justice includes:i. To each person, and equal share.ii. According to individual needs iii. According to that person's rights iv. According to individual efforts v. According to societal contribution vi. According to merit.

4. Ethical leaders are honest

• Being honest is not just about telling the truth. It has to do with being open with others, representing reality as fully and a completely as possible.
• There are times of course where telling the complete truth can be destructive and counter productive. The challenge is to strike a balance.
• It is important for leaders to be authentic, but sensitive to the attitudes And feelings of others.
• Dala Costa (1998) made a point in the Ethical Imperative book. "Do not promise what you can't deliver, do not misrepresent, do not hide behind spin-doctored evasions, do not suppress obligations, do not evade accountability, do not accept the 'survival of the fittest' pressures.

5. Ethical leaders build community

• Leadership is often defined as the "process of influencing others to reach a common or communal goal." This definition has a clear ethical dimension. The common goal implies that leaders and followers agree on the directions of the group.
• Authentic transformation means that a leader cannot impose their will on other. They need to search for goals that are compatible with everyone.
• Ethical leadership demands attention to civic virtue (Rost, 1991). This means that both leaders and followers need to attend to community goals and not just their mutually determined goals.

Maybe the most important thing is to realize that leadership involves values; one cannot be a leader without being aware of and concerned about one’s own values. We can say also that rather than telling people what to do, we should tell them what to be and help them to become more virtuous.

Contributed by Mr. Khagendra Nath Gangai 

Assistant Professor- HR/OB,  BULMIM, New Delhi  

How To Make ‘Work Life Balance’, Work For Your Business?

“Harmony makes small things grow; lack of it makes great things decay.” ~Sallust

You will always have that one more email that needs to be replied to. That one phone call that will always get prioritized over dinner with the family. That one Sunday client meet for which you just rescheduled your family outing. More and more people today, struggle to achieve an acceptable balance between work and family life.

Let’s face it it’s not always easy to make a living doing something you love.

The first challenge is to figure out what that is, and it’s often complicated by what we think we should do based on what other people think and what we’ve done up until now.

A disharmonised employee is as such of a threat as an unacquainted one. With the recent German wings plane crash in the French Alps on March 24, 2015 brought the reality of mental illness in the workplace to the attention of employers all over the world. Over the last 20 years, workplace health initiatives around the world have been growing as employers have started understanding that better employee health leads to reduced absenteeism and better employee productivity. These initiatives mainly address physical health of employees but initiatives to address mental health and work stress are still in budding stages.

It’s shocking that despite all this, only 38% of Indian employers identified stress management at workplace as a top priority of their health and productivity programmes. Research proves that the main cause of suicide in working class in stress at the workplace. It’s high time that you as an establishment take responsibility for work your employees’ life. Helping employees achieve balance and harmony in their lives is equally beneficial both for you!

We steer you through simple steps you can incorporate towards a happier and hence more productive work life.

1. Prioritize

Help your employees prioritize. Deadlines are good but they are often taken with a pinch of salt. You must have faith in their decisions. Allow them flexi hours, work from homes, webinars. All to make sure the family isn’t left behind.

After all a happy family is the backbone to a happy employee.

2. Spread the word!

Share experiences, ideas, stories…talk. It has proven to not only relive stress but also enhance creativity and productivity. As employers to hundreds its important to systematize regular informal cluster meeting into your standard operating procedure. Let people discuss and vent out!

3. Help them look forward

Organisations are increasing giving “An Hour Off Work” to let employees do what they love the most. It could be a small chit-chat hour or an hour toindulge themselves into s shopping or simply finish off that last chapter of the book. It doesn't necessarily need to be time consuming or tiring!

4. Respect Private Time

An email or two after working hours won’t hurt but there is a reason why its called “working hours”, If there is something extremely urgent, it’s always a good idea to simply add “I am sorry to bother you at this hour.” Your employee will only feel all the more preferential and appreciated by this gesture.

5. Freedom to Express

Tell your boss, family, friends, colleagues, and anyone. Tell them what your plan is, and ask them to respect it.

6. Exercise

It may feel counter intuitive to add another activity to your life, but exercise relieves stress, clears your mind, and ultimately makes you more productive. Don't skip it. You'll find that you greet work, family, and personal commitments with renewed liveliness.

Contributed by Shreya Krishnan 
PGDM-Batch 2014-2016