Ethics &

Our Role as Leaders

Jeff King, Ph.D.

Director, OSU Leadership Center & Associate Professor

Departments of Agricultural Communication, Education and

Leadership & OSU Extension

king.20@osu.edu

http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu

Ethics and Our Role as Leaders Ultimately the goal is to increase our:

• Commitment…boosts our desire to do the right thing. • Consciousness…being aware how ethics control our choices and actions. • Competencies…skills to act ethically.

What is Ethics? “Ethics is not about rhetoric, what we say, what we intend, what is written, or what has been framed into a credo, but rather ethics is about actions and attitudes, who we are to people, how we treat people, who we are when no one seems to be looking…it is about choosing to do more than the law requires and less that the law allows. Ethics is not about compliance but is about doing what is right, good, just, virtuous, and proper. Ethics is not about the way things are but about the way things ought to be. Rather when rightly understood, ethics is a set of principles that guide our attitudes, choices, actions.” (Donlevy and Walker, 2011, p.1) Questions to ponder --- What is your definition of ethics? How does the definition translate to your actions? Where-What-Who are your greatest successes? Where-What-Who are your greatest challenges?

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Characteristics of Admired Leaders Characteristic

2010

Edition 2007

Edition 2002

Edition 1995

Edition 1987

Edition

Honest* 85 89 88 88 83

Forward-Looking 70 71 71 75 62

Inspiring* 69 69 65 68 58

Competent* 64 68 66 63 67

Intelligent 42 48 47 40 43

Fair-minded 35 39 42 49 40

Straightforward 31 36 34 33 34

Broad-minded 40 35 40 40 37

Supportive 36 35 35 41 32

Dependable 37 34 33 32 33

Cooperative 26 25 28 28 25

Courageous 21 25 20 29 27

Determined 28 25 23 17 17

Caring 20 22 20 23 26

Imaginative 18 17 23 28 34

Mature 16 15 21 13 23

Ambitious 26 16 17 13 21

Loyal 18 18 14 11 11

Self-Controlled 11 10 8 5 13

Independent 6 4 6 5 10

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2007). The leadership challenge. (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2010). The truth about leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. *A Leader’s credibility is commonly evaluated on three criteria: their perceived trustworthiness (honesty), their expertise (competent), and their dynamism (inspiring). Credibility is the foundation of Leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 2007).

Percentage of Respondents Selecting Each Characteristic

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Kerns’ Fifteen Factors that could Derail an Otherwise Ethical Person 1. No Professional System No set rules to follow when handling ethical issues.

2. Unclear or Unstated Values Not aware of personal core values and the

group’s core values.

3. Poor Persuasion Skills

Not being able to influence other people and

promote core values. This may cause others in the

group to act unethically.

4. Unrealistic Optimism Failing to see the size of a problem, or ignoring it,

and thinking it will go away.

5. Low Maturity Reacting to a situation based on your feelings

rather than thinking it through before reacting.

6. Rationalization Telling yourself what you are doing is okay when

it’s really not.

7. Walking the Talk What a person does is not equal to what he or

she says.

8. Poor Accountability When people, mostly in larger groups, try to “fly

under the radar” and not be noticed or

responsible.

9. Misaligned Incentives Rewards given to people do not match how

you want them to act at work.

10. Unapproachable Someone who doesn’t listen, stays away from

conflict, doesn’t look you in the eye,

and is not helpful.

11. The Need to be Liked Ethical slips may be ignored when the person

seeing them wants to be liked. This may happen

when social boundaries are not set between

bosses and workers.

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12. Hyper Competitiveness The need to win at any cost.

13. Satisfying Seeking solutions that make people happy

rather than the best solution.

14. Lack of Straight Talk Changing the words to describe an unethical

action so it doesn’t sound so bad. Like hiding a

product you want to buy and calling it “creative

stocking.”

15. Over-Confidence When you think your abilities are better than

they are.

Kerns, C. (2005). Value-centered ethics: A proactive system to shape ethical behavior (pp. 9-25).Amherst: HRD Press.

• What do you see in others?

• What do you see in yourself?

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Ethical Behavior Derailment Self-Assessment Survey Instructions: Use this survey to rate your tendencies to act in ways described when dealing with ethical situations. For each area, rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 in the spaces provided. “10” means that you rarely take this type of action, if at all, when dealing with ethical situations, and “1” means that you take this type of action almost always.

Derailment Area Self-Rating 1. Establishing clear systems, procedures, and mechanisms _________

to proactively handle ethical issues.

2. Espouse and affirm a set of virtuous values. _________

3. Act persuasively. _________

4. Display realistic optimism. _________

5. Demonstrate a professional response rather than _________ respond personally.

6. Consciously align attitudes and behavior. _________

7. Align words with actions. _________

8. Establish clear performance accountabilities. _________

9. Accurately report performance results. _________

10. Be approachable to others. _________

11. Maintain business objectivity when making decisions _________ affecting people.

12. Consider the appropriateness of the means taken to be successful. _________

13. Consider sufficient information and alternatives _________ before deciding.

14. Use straightforward words to describe unethical acts. _________

15. Act with appropriate levels of confidence. _________ Overall General Interpretation Guidelines: This self-assessment survey is intended to help you examine ways in which you react to situations involving ethics. Any area of derailment with a rating of “8” or higher should be reviewed to determine potential opportunities for self-improvement. Any item rated “2” or lower is likely a strength. Use this self-assessment tool as a springboard to discuss with a trusted colleague or performance coach your reactions to ethical challenges.

Kerns, C. (2005). Value-centered ethics: A proactive system to shape ethical behavior (pp. 24-25).Amherst: HRD Press.

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How (Un)ethical Are You?

Implicit Prejudice: Bias That Emerges from Unconscious Beliefs “People judge according to unconscious stereotypes and attitudes, or ‘implicit prejudice.’” “What makes it common and persistent is that it is rooted in the fundamental mechanics of

thought. Early in life we learn go associate things together and most of the time it is positive.” “Because implicit prejudice arises from the ordinary and unconscious tendency to make

associations, it is distinct from conscious forms of prejudice, such as racism or sexism. This distinction explains why people who are free from conscious prejudice may still harbor biases and act accordingly.”

In the mid-1990s, Tony Greenwald, a professor at the University of Washington, developed an experimental tool called the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to study unconscious bias. This test is available at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/ or http://www.tolerance.org/hidden_bias/.

In-Group Favoritism: Bias That Favors Your Group “…Have you helped someone get a useful introduction, admission to a school, or a job? Most of

us are glad to help out with such favors. Not surprisingly, we tend to do more favors for those we know, and those we know tend to be like ourselves…”

“Few people set out to exclude anyone through such acts of kindness. But when those in the majority or those in power allocate scarce resources (such as jobs, promotions, etc) to people just like them, they effectively discriminate against those who are different from them. Such “in-group favoritism” amounts to giving extra credit for group membership. Yet while discriminating against those who are different is considered unethical, helping people close to us is often viewed favorably.”

Overclaiming Credit: Bias That Favors You “It’s only natural for successful people to hold positive views about themselves…We tend to

overrate our individual contributions to groups, which, bluntly put, tends to lead to an overblown sense of entitlement.”

“A group of MBA students in study groups were asked to estimate what portion of their group’s work each had done. The sum of the contributions by all members, of course, must add up to 100%. But the researchers found that the total for each study group averaged 139%.”

“Unconscious overclaiming can be expected to reduce the performance and longevity of groups within organizations…it can take a toll on employee commitment. Think about how employees perceive pay raises...”

Conflict of Interest: Bias That Favors Those Who Can Benefit You “Everyone knows that conflict of interest can lead to intentionally corrupt behavior. But

numerous psychological experiments show how powerfully such conflicts can unintentionally skew decision making.”

Examples could include physicians when they accept payment for referring patients into clinical trials. While, surely, most physicians consciously believe that their referrals are the patient’s best clinical option, how do they know that the promise of payment did not skew their decision?

Banaji, M.R., Bazerman, M.H. & Chugh, D. (December, 2003). How (un)ethical are you? Harvard Business Review.

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VALUES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE DEFINITIONS Aspiration: A strong or constant desire for high success.

Autonomy: Being able to work by yourself.

Caring: Feeling and exhibiting concern and empathy for others.

Cheerfulness: Being cheerful and dispelling gloom.

Citizenship: The duties that come with being a member of a community.

Commitment: Dedication to a cause or a person.

Competence: Being able to do something well.

Competitive: To strive to do something better than someone else.

Cooperation: Working together to achieve a goal.

Courage: The ability to face danger, fear, with confidence.

Courtesy: Civility; consideration for others.

Credibility: Quality or power to elicit belief.

Dependability: Trait of being reliable.

Determination: Firmness of will, strength, purpose of character.

Diversity: Point of respect in which things differ; variety.

Education: Knowledge gained by learning.

Efficiency: Getting results without a lot of extra work.

Fairness: Consistent with rules, logic, or ethics.

Flexibility: Responsive to change.

Forgiveness: Willingness to stop blaming or being angry with someone.

Hardworking: Industrious and tireless.

Helpfulness: Providing useful assistance.

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Honesty: Fairness and straightforwardness of conduct.

Initiative: Ability to begin or to follow through with a plan or task.

Integrity: Strict adherence to moral values and principles.

Justice: Fairness in how people are treated or decisions made.

Kindness: Acts that show you care.

Loyalty: A feeling of being true to somebody or something.

Mercy: Forgiveness shown toward someone.

Patience: Being able to accept delays without complaining.

Perseverance: Staying focused on a course of action, a belief, or a purpose.

Resourcefulness: Being good at problem solving, especially in difficult situations.

Respect: Being nice to someone or something you think is important.

Responsibility: That for which someone is responsible or answerable.

Self-discipline: Doing things you should, even when you don’t want to.

Tolerance: Recognizing and respecting the beliefs of others.

Ethics Resource Center, Definition of values, retrieved from http://www.ethics.org/resource/definitions-values

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Kidder’s Ethical Checkpoints Kidder’s Ethical Decision Making Process

Here are nine steps to think about when faced with ethical issues. They are:

1. Recognize that there is a problem.

Admit that there is an ethical dilemma that needs to be addressed.

2. Decide who is responsible.

Decide who is going to fix the problem.

3. Gather the relevant facts.

Get the true facts so you can make good decisions (including

ethical ones).

4. Test for right-versus-wrong issues.

A choice is usually not the best if it (a) gives you a bad, gut feeling

(stench test), (b) would make one feel bad if it was on front page

of tomorrow’s newspaper, or (c) would make someone you know

and care about upset (“the Parent’s test”).

5. Test for right-versus-right values.

Two core values may be pitted against each other. Use the four

dilemma models to conduct the assessment.

6. Apply the ethical standards/perspectives.

Apply the ethical values.

7. Look for a third way.

Maybe the decision can be made by finding a compromise.

8. Make a decision.

Step up and make the decision.

9. Look back at the decision and think about how it could have been done

differently.

Learn from your choices. Johnson, C.E. (2005). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership (pp. 188-189). Thousand Oaks: Sage

Publications.

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Applying the Paradigms & Principles

Of Ethical Decision Making

Adapted from Kidder, R.M. (2003). How good people make tough choices: Resolving the dilemma of ethical living. New York: HarperCollins

Decision-Making

Principles

Dilemma

Paradigms

Ends-based Thinking

(greatest good for the

greatest number…)

Rule-based Thinking

(follow what you want everyone

else to follow…fixed rules…)

Care-based Thinking

(putting care for others first…do

to others what you would like

them to do to you)

Truth versus Loyalty

(honesty or integrity versus

commitment, responsibility, or

promise keeping)

Individual versus Community

(us versus them, self versus others,

or the smaller versus the larger

group)

Short-term versus Long-term

(now versus then, immediate

needs or desires versus future

goals or prospects)

Justice versus Mercy

(Fairness and equity versus caring,

understanding, and love)

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10 Characteristics of Servant Leadership

1. Listening A deep commitment to listening intently to others to identify the will of a group and helps clarify that will.

2. Empathy Accepting and recognizing others for their special and unique talents and personalities.

3. Healing The potential for healing one’s self and one’s relationships with others.

4. Awareness Being generally aware and also having self-awareness allowing for a integrated and holistic view of situations.

5. Persuasion Ability to build consensus within groups through convincing rather than coercing.

6. Conceptualization The ability to look at a problem beyond the day-to-day realities. Dreaming big dreams.

7. Foresight Understanding the lessons past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of future decisions.

8. Stewardship A commitment to serving the needs of others.

9. Commitment to the Growth of People Doing what is within your power to nurture the personal, professional, and spiritual growth of employees.

10. Building Community Creating a shared purpose that creates trust.

Greenleaf, R. K. 1998, The power of servant leadership. Edited by Larry Spears. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.