In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases in business and the public sector involving bribery, corruption and ethical breaches. The need for ethical leadership has been mentioned occasionally but it seems the problems have continued. In this regard, I wish to propose my views on the role of ethical leadership, particularly in business.
Foundation: Leading others should begin with the right understanding of how business should be run. Ethical leadership guides the leader to clearly understand what is right or wrong. Leaders who adopt ethical leadership behave properly. Since they tend to understand the big-picture implications of each action they plan to take, they will perform in line with best practices according to organisational codes of conduct.
Vision: Modern leadership theory tends to aim for short-term results, which is understandable since all organisations, corporate and non-profit alike, have to produce high-performance results, especially listed firms that are obliged to report business performance every quarter. In this regard, it is hard for leaders to look at the long term because they may not still be on board by then.
In this regard, leaders themselves need long-term vision, which addresses why they are in the business in the first place. If their answers tend to show that they are only there for themselves, it may not be the right kind of thinking. Leaders must, at the very least, ensure the well-being of their followers and society as well.
Principle-centred practice: Ethical leadership practices focus on carrying out work according to principles. Therefore, when leaders encounter a difficult situation, they will stick to rules to help them to make the right decision. Modern leadership theory tends to suggest that leaders adapt themselves to changing situations. There is nothing wrong with this, but a good leader must also insist that principles -- ethical practices in this case -- must be upheld at all times.
Role model: Leaders should practise what they preach. Behaving according to what they tell others to do is important. Modern management theory does not really address this subject. It can be concluded that it is not the focal point of management theory.
People vs task: Ethical leaders typically focus on people while those who lead based on modern leadership theory are likely to take a task-oriented approach. People-oriented leaders will make sure employees are taken care of and have what they need before the task begins. They believe that if they manage people right from the start, good performance will follow, and happy employees will continue to produce high-quality work in the future.
On the other hand, task-oriented leaders will get the best out of employees to get the job done first. Since their priority is not their employees' satisfaction, they will encounter problems with production and be unable to sustain good business performance.
Compassion and equanimity: Bosses who follow modern theories of leadership tend to lead according to their own interest or priority of work, based on their own views and analyses. In this regard, people are not part of the equation. The end-in-mind result for these leaders is always based on what is most likely to benefit them. If others can also benefit, it is considered a collateral result, not the main purpose.
Ethical leaders allow everyone to have opportunity. Therefore, kindness and compassion are considered key qualities of ethical leaders. However, equanimity is the practice of countering generosity in cases where a person behaves too compassionately. This kind of well-rounded thought demonstrates the balancing act of ethical leadership in practice.
Leadership style: Democratic and consultative styles are two key practices associated with ethical leadership. Democratic style refers to the practice of being concerned about others' opinions and caring for employees' well-being, while the consultative style involves aiming for an expected result while at the same time taking care of people.
However, most leaders today tend to focus on a directive style, which means the result does not prioritise the people. In extreme cases, it also means leaders pushing for the completion of tasks without caring for people's well-being.
Performance measurement: In order to justify organisational effectiveness, modern leadership theory relies heavily on measurement, especially financial key performance indicators. These will reflect the wealth and health of the organisation through growth in comparison with the previous period. Ethical leaders tend to consider the development and well-being of employees, the organisation and the society as success factors and signs that they are achieving their ultimate goals.
Sorayuth Vathanavisuth is the principal and executive coach at the Center for Southeast Asia Leadership and lectures at the Mahidol University College of Management. His areas of interest are executive coaching, leadership development, succession planning and talent management. He can be reached at sorayuth@sealeadership.com