Understanding the Difference Between Ethics and Ethical Leadership

 

Ethical Leadership is More Than Just Being Ethical

 

Being ethical is doing the right things that are required to be done. Ethical leadership is doing the right things that are not required to be done.

 

Ethical behavior is considered a surefire precursor to effective leadership and success in business. It means behaving in compliance with society’s laws and accepted mores, which basically boils down to not lying, cheating or stealing.

Publicized “perp walks” to the contrary, possessing solid ethics is not all that rare. The business world is filled with thousands of ethical individuals working hard to be effective leaders and successful in business. That’s good, but for individuals who desire to stand out from the crowd and distinguish themselves as exceptional leaders – in all ways – it is not enough to simply comply with the minimum code of ethics.

Ethical leadership requires an effort to do more than other ethical individuals in positions of leadership. The way to do this is to turn ethics from a negative – don’t do this – admonition into actions that create a positive connotation by adopting a pro-active approach to ethics.

What does this mean?

Traditionally, being ethical entails doing the right things that are required to be done. However, when it comes to ethical leadership it means going beyond the basic standards and consistently doing the right things that are not required to be done. True ethical leadership is simply doing more than what should be done by doing more of what can be done.

For example, there is no requirement to give a single parent extra time to be with a sick child, but it is the right thing to do. A leader who does so is doing more than what is ethically required, and this translates into ethical leadership.

Adopting an elevated level of ethical performance is neither complicated nor a secret. Those who exhibit traits of ethical leadership operate in a constant, consistent, respectful, parallel and open manner. Basic ethics does not oblige them to act this way, but they do because they understand it is what will distinguish them from other leaders. Those who practice this type of ethical leadership soon come to realize that reciprocal respect, loyalty and commitment will be willingly offered by those working under this philosophy.

What is the payoff?

The end result is an environment in which people are highly motivated to work and contribute to the success of the leader and the organization.

It is no coincidence that companies functioning under the aegis of ethical leadership consistently perform better than those that don’t. That does not mean that competing companies are managed by leaders without ethics, only that those with ethical leadership characteristics often outperform the competition on every level.

The business word is crowded and competitive. If you want to be more than just part of the crowd, you must stand out and be different. Adopting a philosophy of ethical leadership – not just doing the right things that are required to be done, but also doing the right things that should be done – will set you apart and put you on the path to being recognized as an exceptional leader.

When you get right down to it, it is the most ethical thing to do.

                                                        ###

Bob MacDonald -- Founder of LifeUSA, retired chairman and CEO of Allianz Life of North America, author of numerous books on business, management and leadership.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dirty Little Secret of Retirement Planning

What is the most difficult challenge you will encounter in retirement? It is the risk of running out of money and not having enough income to live on. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated risk.  After working for decades so you could enjoy decades of not working, what is the first thing that happens the very day you retire? Your income stops. After a career receiving a check every two weeks, you suddenly need to replace that income for your retirement years, no matter how many years that may be.  The truth is you need a plan to meet your income needs in retirement. Fortunately, there is no shortage of banks, investment firms and insurance companies, along with a bevy of financial planners eager and ready to help you create a retirement income plan.   A Dirty Little Secret  Unfortunately, there is a dirty little secret when it comes to retirement planning.  The secret is that even the most forward-looking retirement plans don’t fully protect against the ri...
Read more

Don't Die From Running Out of Money

  Most of us do what we can to lead a long, healthy and happy life. If health issues threaten our longevity, we do all we can to obtain the medical treatment intended to extend life. Of course, no matter how diligent we may be, eventually we will die from something. Among other things, it could be from an accident, heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease or chronic lower respiratory disease. But there is another type of death that we do have the power to stave off till something else gets us. It is a living-death caused by running out of money during retirement and such a circumstance can be almost worse than physical death. Preparing to Extend Life During Retirement Most of us dutifully work at a job for most of our adult lives, all the while dreaming of the time when we can retire. Retirement is envisioned as a laid-back period of life with discarded alarm clocks, loose schedules, leisure travel and the freedom to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. Suc...
Read more

To Assure Continued Growth and Profitability, The Insurance Industry Needs Another Revolution

  During the last quarter of the 20 th century the life insurance industry was forced into a period of structural and product change that had not been seen in over 100 years. Most of the established insurance institutions, comfortable with the way things were, not only did not recognize the need for change, but they also stubbornly tried to ignore and resist it. The needed change was driven by several factors, but the primary trigger was the consumer who began to reject the traditional business model of the life insurance industry. At the time, the industry’s business model was predicated on offering, through a cadre of exclusive sales agents, long term products designed to protect against the economic cost of dying young. For almost a century this approach resonated with consumer needs and concerns and insurance companies grew to become financial behemoths.   However, during the 20 th century medical advances increased male life expectancy from 42 to 73 years.  As ...
Read more