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In this article, I am not going to write about Deontological, Teleological, and Utilitarian ethics, because I want to concentrate on the correlation between ethics and leadership. I want to address the importance of knowing what you believe to be right, knowing what is legally right, and following your beliefs as a necessary trait of leadership.
If you do not do your job right, you have no right to do your job. This is critical for those in leadership positions and, especially, for government leaders and corporate officers. You lose all credibility when your ethics are questioned, when you are even suspected of breaking the law, and, finally, when you are actually found guilty of missteps of judgment. You lose any ability to enforce your authority…and you should.
Here are three recent news stories to resonate the accuracy of my statement:
1) The Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s loss of credibility after the firing of US Attorneys.
2) The mounting pressure for the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank.
3) Even the legacy of British Prime Minister Tony Blair is subject to the questions of his judgment in sending British troops to Iraq.
In the end, it often does not even matter what the truth is and that can be the toughest problem for leaders. What people perceive is what people believe. If there is even the perception of a dent or tear in the ethics of a political leader, that leader is run through the mud and publicly stoned by accusations and calls for resignation.
Is it right to deny a leader the benefit of doubt? A position of the significance that the above three leaders hold, is a position that needs to be occupied by an individual of integrity and reason. A high political position is a position of power and influence. If there is corruption, then the power and influence can be used in support of corruption and to cover up the corruption. Action against corruption must be quick and decisive, so the action against leaders who are perceived to be corrupt is right.
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9 responses so far ↓
1 Leadership Jot » Blog Archive » 2 Standards of Judgement // Jul 26, 2007 at 8:23 am
[...] Jot Exploring Leadership and jotting about what I discover! « The Correlation of Ethics and Leadership Nails in the Coffen [...]
2 Leadership Jot » Blog Archive » Nails in the Coffin // Jul 26, 2007 at 8:48 am
[...] Bank effective June 30. Read about his resignation here. Also, check out my blog entry about the correlation between leadership and ethics. When will leaders [...]
3 Leadership and the Army’s Core Values // Jul 26, 2007 at 4:38 pm
[...] a previous entry, I addressed the relationship between leadership and ethics. The Army’s use of the “leadership” acronym to present the Core Values is simply brilliant. [...]
4 Leadership Quote from Albert Einstein // Jul 26, 2007 at 4:54 pm
[...] as a genius, but I think Einstein was quite a leader as well. He had a clear understanding of the correlation between leadership and ethics, but furthermore he left a significant and lasting impression on our world of which only leaders [...]
5 Leadership is One of the Elements that has made America Great // Aug 30, 2007 at 9:54 am
[...] Power is the absence of leadership. Power is what some rely on when they fail to develop as a leader. The mix of power and privilege corrupts one’s ethics which is a critical problem for a leader (see leadership and ethics). [...]
6 Building Trust in Leadership // Oct 24, 2007 at 5:32 pm
[...] the correlation of ethics and leadership for [...]
7 Quick Links // Nov 15, 2007 at 6:12 am
[...] at Orange Punch gives us yet another example of The Correlation of Ethics and Leadership (read [...]
8 Hussain // Jul 27, 2008 at 2:40 pm
very useful and informative even for the experienced managers.thanks
9 Ethics and Leadership // Aug 7, 2010 at 11:37 am
[...] the news today is reminder of the correlation between ethics and leadership. Referencing the outer of HP’s CEO, Mark Hurd, HP’s general counsel Michael Holston said, [...]
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