Qualities of an Ethical Leader

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Qualities of an Ethical Leader

Effective leaders must adhere to a stringent ethical framework, clearly understand their

principles, and be aware of their core values. Ethical leadership often exhibits and advocates for

conduct that upholds other people’s rights within boundaries defined by ethical values (Stouten et

al., 2012). Within the business realm, ethical leadership exemplifies unwavering moral ideals

that expose and condemn unethical actions, even if they do not benefit one’s business. It involves

embodying the essence of ethical leadership by consistently promoting what is morally correct

(Den Hartog, 2015). Ethical leaders serve as role models for the entire organization, and they

anticipate that their staff members will respect and adhere to their acts and words with equal

dedication. Ethical leadership entails guiding, inspiring, motivating, and fostering a sense of

accountability among employees. When this occurs, it is possible to achieve more corporate

success as team members experience increased job satisfaction.

Honesty

Ethical leaders prioritize honesty and are more trusted by their team members. Ethical

leaders are open communicators and are reliable. In addition, they may also disclose company

updates and get other feedback with utmost transparency (Stouten et al., 2012). Although ethical

leaders often come across confidential material, maintaining honesty requires them to disclose as

much information as possible, especially when someone asks.

Team-oriented

Ethical leaders place a high importance on fostering cooperation, ensuring that every

team member has a sense of belonging to a collective entity that goes beyond their individual

duties and obligations. As leaders, ethical leaders consider strategies to support their entire

team’s collective and individual progress in attaining set objectives.

Respectful

Respect is a valuable trait for ethical leaders. Respecting others in the workplace means

ethical leaders listen to opinions, even if they vary from their own, and remain compassionate

toward those with whom they work. It also means taking the time to understand the management

style that individual team members prefer and incorporating that knowledge into their leadership

style.

Fair

Exhibiting fairness as a leader entails treating all others equally and refraining from

displaying any form of bias. More precisely, fair leaders may adhere to ethical principles that

ensure equitable treatment irrespective of demographic variables. Ethical leaders consistently

commend and offer constructive criticism to every team member equitably to ensure fairness

(Mihelic et al., 2010).

Leads by example

Ethical leaders lead by example. This entails executing the responsibilities and

embodying the attitudes they expect everyone on their team to maintain. By adhering to

standards similar to those of each team member, they may effectively convey their appreciation

of the value of each individual in the workplace and their commitment to fulfilling the necessary

tasks to facilitate the firm’s success.

References

Den Hartog, D. N. (2015). Ethical leadership. Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav., 2(1),

409-434.

Mihelic, K. K., Lipicnik, B., & Tekavcic, M. (2010). Ethical leadership. International Journal of

Management & Information Systems (IJMIS), 14(5).

Stouten, J., Van Dijke, M., & De Cremer, D. (2012). Ethical leadership. Journal of Personnel

Psychology.