Ethical Leadership: Doing the Right Thing Through Turbulent Times

• In Event: Ethical Leadership in the Real World

Short Description

Through the maze of ambiguities and competing priorities, how do leaders make the right decision as viewed through an ethical lens? How do leaders construct an ethical framework against which their decisions are measured? This presentation will examine real-life dilemmas using tools and activities to explore the importance of ethical leadership.

Detailed Abstract

Ethics and leadership both seem to be abstract and ambiguous – so imagine what happens when we discuss ethical leadership! Ethical leadership is not about how one must lead to reach specific goals, but the route leaders take to get them there. Ethics aren't morals themselves but rather the meaning of moral ways and actions. Discussions about ethics serve as a means of guidance – to find answers, make decisions, and know how to justify them.
Today’s leaders cope with many ambiguities within the workplace, a multitude of competing priorities, a changing business landscape, and an onslaught of government regulation. These leaders exhibit both their values and their ethics in their style and actions every single day, in every decision. The rapidly changing world of work results in many leadership challenges and choosing the right approach to take is not always clear. The leaders of today must be able to use their values, not simply to manage processes and transactions, but also to cope with uncertainties. Because leaders have to lead by example, by words and actions, values play a huge role in their success.
In recent years, many government and industry leaders have become the focus of high profile ethical questioning. This highlights the extent to which it can be difficult at times for leaders to determine what's right and wrong when making choices. While standards seem to keep tumbling for some, other leaders ‘raise the bar’ and inspire their teams to do the same. How is it that some leaders cut corners and blur the lines of ethical behaviors while others do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons? Great leaders put their ethics above all else and, as a result, they have dedicated teams that follow their example. So how do they do this? And how can we all do it as well?
Because every action, even the smallest, has an impact, ethics are always part of the decision-making process. Ethics is not a recipe to ensure we always make great decisions. Leaders know that every decision has to be balanced by responsibility and credibility. Encouraging the discussion of ethics in general, and of the ethical choices involved in specific situations and leadership decisions, is an ongoing feature of the transforming organizational culture.
This presentation will consider how those actions can be viewed through an ethical lens and will offer ideas, insights and suggestions of how any leader, in any industry and function, can build capacity personally and institutionally to address those difficult decisions and create a decision-making framework against which decisions can be measured. Participants will explore their own ethical beliefs and how they can lead by example. Those attending will come away with insight into the influencers of ethical behavior, how using an ethical framework can drive critical thinking and decision-making, and practical tools to use within their own workplace that can assess their own strengths and gaps.
At the end of the session, attendees will:
• Evaluate attributes and influencers of ethical behavior.
• Explore their own ethical beliefs and how they can lead by example in making sound, ethically-based decisions.
• Learn about successful strategies of ethical leaders that build workplace inclusiveness and drive organizational performance.
• Understand how a culture of ethical leadership can influence the employee experience and productivity.
• Receive suggestions for building internal and organizational capacity.

Participant

• Marilyn Thompson, University of Waterloo