Chapter 13 is not concentrated on a specific theory of leadership; it concerns the examination of leadership from an ethical point of view. The chapter considers ethical issues arising during the leadership process and gives practical recommendations, offering potential assessments. Despite the fact that ethics in leadership has always been known, the formation of a full-fledged concept began recently (Northouse, 2016). An ethical theory provides a set of clear principles that should direct leaders to be moral and deciduous. Unlike other approaches, like path-goal or behavioral leadership, the ethical theory is fundamental (Northouse, 2016). The ethical model helps analyze leadership behavior and apply a certain set of rules and foundations, which other models, such as trait or situational approaches, do not allow (Northouse, 2016). The ethical approach to leadership has a strong side in defining leadership as a highly moral process, which is required in modern society. However, the concept has restrictions since the nature of ethical leadership is not fully determined. In addition, the interconnection of ethics in leadership and ethical theories remains incomprehensible.
Ethical leadership fully describes my leadership experience: I always adhere to generally accepted moral concepts, despite the fact that this is a difficult process. For example, I always pay equal attention to all the people in the group, trying not to use favoritism. However, in my ethical approach, there may be weaknesses, for example, paying excessive attention to the analysis of mistakes. In my opinion, almost all the leaders that I came across in educational institutions were ethical. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the theory may have an omission regarding the differences in moral assessments. Ethical theory needs to develop a clear theoretical base for determining acceptable behavioral patterns.
The inventory of Chapter 13 proposes to determine the degree of ethics of the leader with whom the experience of interaction occurred. The assessment is carried out on a scale of thirty issues considering various situations in the leadership process. I evaluated a female leader, under whose leadership I used to work. Before the inventory, I considered her an example of an ideal ethical leader, but the results presented in Appendix 1 indicate a moderate degree of ethics. It seems to me that the situations presented in the inventory are too categorical for evaluating the leadership approach. For example, a point on violation of the rules may not demonstrate unethicality, but on the contrary, a revolutionary approach. However, it became clear to me that I was inclined to idealize a person, since, for example, an ethical leader should definitely not show favoritism. In general, the results of the inventory are useful for determining the criteria of ethically true leadership behavior.
In conclusion, I partly agree with the results of the inventory, since they allowed me to soberly evaluate the leader I came across with. The most useful insight in the inventory is the set of fairly defined criteria for an unacceptable behavior of the competent leader. The missing side of the questionnaire is excessive exaggeration in some matters. In addition, some points are too intuitively understandable: for example, the inadmissibility of theft. The inventory could be more effective if it concerned more complex ethical dilemmas. My leadership practice will not change significantly after the inventory, but I gathered the valuable principles of ethical behavior, which I will definitely apply in the future.
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. (7th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Appendix 1. Perceived Leader Integrity Scale (PLIS)
- Puts his or her personal interests ahead of the organization – 1.
- Would risk other people to protect himself or herself in work matters – 2.
- Enjoys turning down requests – 1.
- Deliberately fuels conflict between other people – 1.
- Would blackmail an employee if she or he thought she or he could get away with it – 1.
- Would deliberately exaggerate people’s mistakes to make them look bad to others – 1.
- Would treat some people better if they were of the other sex or belonged to a different ethnic group – 1.
- Ridicules people for their mistakes – 2.
- Can be trusted with confidential information – 3.
- Would lie to me – 1.
- Is evil – 1.
- Is not interested in tasks that don’t bring personal glory or recognition – 2.
- Would do things that violate organizational policy and then expect others to cover for him or her – 1.
- Would allow someone else to be blamed for his or her mistake – 2.
- Would deliberately avoid responding to email, telephone, or other messages to cause problems for someone else – 1.
- Would make trouble for someone who got on his or her bad side – 1.
- Would engage in sabotage against the organization – 1.
- Would deliberately distort what other people say – 1.
- Is a hypocrite – 2.
- Is vindictive – 1.
- Would try to take credit for other people’s ideas – 2.
- Likes to bend the rules – 3.
- Would withhold information or constructive feedback because he or she wants someone to fail – 1.
- Would spread rumors or gossip to try to hurt people or the organization – 1.
- Is rude or uncivil to coworkers – 1.
- Would try to hurt someone’s career because of a grudge – 1.
- Shows unfair favoritism toward some people – 2.
- Would steal from the organization – 1.
- Would falsify records if it would help his or her work situation – 1.
- Has high moral standards – 4.
Results: 40 (moderate ethical)