Ethics for Leaders

When I was first in an executive role, some of the questions I faced were confusing. Not only did I need to come up with the right answer, but I also needed the right answer. Some issues weren’t just about technical information, tactics, or strategy. They also were about what is right or wrong to do here?

I attended an “Ethics for Leaders” workshop hoping to find answers. The workshop description made it sound like it would help. It was being taught by an apparently respected retired judge who had seen it all. I looked forward to it.

Instead, the workshop was about sexual harassment. And it wasn’t about ethics. It was about risk management. It was a “how to cover your butt” class.

Risk management is a legitimate topic. Ethical behavior is its own form of risk management. But it is different than just managing risks.

What Does Ethics Mean?

Ethics is a synonym for the word moral. It means a system or set of principles that define right conduct.

In fact, the word moral is often used to define ethics. The biggest difference is that ethics is most often used in secular situations where moral is more often associated with religious ones. But the meaning is the same. It’s the exploration of right and wrong behavior.

Ethics courses rarely teach ethics or morality.

Why Do Ethics Matter?

Our society has an uncomfortable relationship with morality or ethics. On one hand, there is a strong belief that morality is flexible, personal, and “none-of-your-business.”

On the other hand, there is near-constant dismay over the unethical behavior of others.

I don’t want you to tell me what to do. But you had better not do wrong. At least not by me.

It’s confusing. And so here are two primary reasons why ethics matter for leaders:

1. Good leaders don’t want to harm others. Ethical behavior is nearly always about eliminating or reducing harm. Most behaviors that are considered moral or ethical are an attempt to avoid offense or harm.
2. Good leaders are credible. Credibility is the currency of leadership. No leader can lead without credibility. Leaders who lose credibility either lose their leadership or can only rely on coercion. Being consistently ethical creates credibility.

That’s why ethics matters. It helps us know how to avoid harming others and how to build & protect our credibility.

The Most Common Ethical Challenges for Leaders

The salacious stories Hollywood likes to tell do actually happen. The sex and money stuff.

But that isn’t what I mostly see. The following ethical issues are far more common.

Lack of accountability: Many leaders really have stewardship roles. They don’t own the business they lead. They don’t own the non-profit or government agency. They are responsible for it – but it isn’t theirs. Even owners don’t own their employees. Some forget this. Many organizations fail to set up effective cultures or practices of accountability.

The lack of accountability, the ability to avoid answering to anyone, breeds the majority of ethical violations that I come across. Many highly successful, high-profile leaders fail to end their careers well precisely for this reason. Their personal chickens come home to roost. They get found out or taken down.

Leaders should welcome personal accountability and transparency when available. They should seek it if it isn’t. This can happen through peer mentorship networks, practices that promote transparency, or engaging with mentors or coaches. This protects you as well as those you serve.

Conflicts of interest: Conflicts of interest are any time where someone has two or more competing interests. A common scenario is when someone hires family members into the company. Another is when someone is a shareholder but also an employee under management. Neither is wrong or unethical – but both scenarios compromise normal, appropriate leadership or management practices. Many small and medium-sized businesses flounder simply due to weak or toxic leadership dynamics stemming from conflicts of interest.

Leaders should avoid conflicts of interest when possible. They can’t all be avoided. So, they should develop and be accountable to strong conflict of interest policies and practices.

Negligence: You might not believe how frequently a leader will tell me that their trusted bookkeeper or assistant of the last 15 years has embezzled them. A brief exploration will almost always disclose negligence (interpreted as trust) in the area of financial controls.

In industries that don’t have strong safety regulations and cultures, safety practices are often ignored. Many leaders neglect to recognize or confront toxic behaviors among their workforce. Others neglect employee performance issues. Or employee care issues.

Pay attention and take action. Provide appropriate confrontation and accountability. Negligence framed as “being trusting” or “being a friend” or “not wanting to get into the weeds” is still negligence.

Fear & Anger: Fear and anger aren’t the same things. But a lot of anger that I encounter is really a reaction to fear. Either way, leadership that is heavily fueled by or reactive to fear or anger is poor leadership.

Leaders who are fearful or angry create cultures that will either reflect or react to their behaviors. This creates dysfunctional workplaces.  Many downstream/frontline issues are directly reflective of how senior leaders act and react. It’s an ethical (and prudent) choice for leaders to do their own internal work and find healthier ways to respond to their triggers of fear or anger.

Arrogance & Inadequacy: It may seem that arrogance and inadequacy are opposites. But they both often coexist within the same person. Leaders often struggle with feeling unqualified or like an “imposter.”  They are both very concerned with comparisons – measuring above or not measuring up.

Humility and confidence may also seem like opposites. But humble people don’t compare themselves to others. Their sense of value and identity doesn’t need the validation of others. This gives them tremendous confidence to act. This is not a form of confidence that requires that others be “less than.”

Your Ethical Work

Whatever our ethical work is – it will pay dividends. Acting with integrity gives leaders credibility – and not just with those who like and agree with us.

We all have ethical work to do. What is yours?

Take good care,

Christian

P.S. Do you feel like I missed something? What is the big ethical issue that you see that you feel needs to be addressed?

In the podcast Thought Leaders Driving Returns (TLDR), I’m interviewed by host Hunter Guthrie about how important mindset is in leadership and about effecting cultural change in the face of transition.  LISTEN HERE.

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