Ethical leaders are leaders not only in their places of work, but also in their communities and homes; they lead by example; and they hold fast to their values and beliefs in time of pressure.
An important part of ethical leadership is that it's something that can't be turned off, nor is an ethical leader's voice ever silent on important matters. Ethical leadership is not something that can be called upon at will - it is an integral part of who an ethical leader is.
Ethical leaders are always honest, trustworthy and loyal. They create in the people they work with a sense of good, and they can be relied upon to make sound decisions that are neither selfish nor motivated by a personal agenda, when tough decisions need to be made.
Ethical leaders in the workplace create environments where good ethical behaviour is the norm and practiced on a daily basis. "Doing the right thing" becomes the only thing that these employees do, even when no one is watching, because this is the culture that has been created and is something to be proud of.
An ethical leader is seen as someone who is not served by his own beliefs but uses them to serve others. He is therefore a servant of the greater good. Naturally he is just and fair, treating everyone equally, providing no bias, and swiftly punishing wrongdoing where necessary.
Unfortunately not all leaders are ethical leaders and not all companies, possibly as a result of this, are not ethical companies.
This is why an ethical leader in this day and age should be revered. It is extremely difficult and highly commendable for someone to consistently stick to his or her values in a fast-paced world where money is everything, but there are those that do.
One such example is a company called Granite Construction, who were voted one of the world's most ethical companies in 2014.
The 2014 World's Most Ethical Companies recognised 144 companies around the world based on ethics and compliance programs; reputation, leadership and innovation; governance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; and overall culture of ethics.
"This year, 144 companies were recognized as World's Most Ethical Companies, representing five continents. These companies earned the recognition after a substantial application process, which resulted in an Ethics Quotient ("EQ") score. The companies with the highest EQ scores within their respective industries were recognized as World's Most Ethical Companies."
Granite Construction clearly have good ethical practices at the heart of their operation, and it seems that both their employees and customers understand the importance of this.
According to Granite Construction CEO Jim Roberts, "Granite has been in business for over 91 years, and we he never lost the understanding of where we came from. From our "Founder's Guide for Future Generations", a legacy document expressing our core guiding principles, to our current "Code of Conduct", our employees truly understand the importance of ethical conduct."
On top of that, he says, "we are a company that employees, customers, shareholders, and communities where we work, trust us to do the right thing at all times."
From this we can see just how important and far-reaching ethical leadership can be, as well as the influence it can have.
An example of this good ethical leadership can be seen in Granite Construction's decision, despite the possibility of monetary loss, to reach out to potentially overcharged customers and make things right.
CEO Jim Roberts said the following of ethical challenges faced by Granite Construction:
"Our employees continually make decisions based purely on our ethical standards. For example, several years ago we determined that we may have inadvertently overcharged certain customers in limited situations under certain contract methods. Although not sure if the overcharging had actually occurred, or understanding the magnitude of the issue, we voluntarily notified the potentially affected customers and began a process to determine if any charging errors had occurred. Our self-disclosure was a complete surprise to affected customers, who appreciated our honesty. We worked with our customers over several years to make sure we rectified any issues that may have occurred. All of us at Granite agreed that this was the right thing to do, even though no one outside of Granite was aware of the potential issue. After reimbursing any potentially affected customers, several of them reaffirmed the trust they have in Granite and our open and honest approach to business."
This is a prime example of how ethical leadership creates an environment of good ethical behaviour that serves the greater good above the company.
Do the leaders in your organisation display ethical leadership?
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