The document presented is a critical essay on leadership focused on the virtues that it represents for society. In it the author presents his opinion on the subject.
Ethical leadership
According to Moreno (2006) It is pointed out that the virtues of prudence, temperance, justice, and strength are the ones that underpin ethical leadership. In this sense, there is a long way to go, both in research and in its practical application. It is indisputable that the signaling implies an entire ethical attitude of the members of the organizations and working behaviors is difficult, since human beings are not machines to accept ideas and changing their attitude brings with it many implications.
If we associate ethics with these concepts, the difficulty is much greater. This is undoubtedly one of the great challenges posed: how to balance ethical theory with ethical business practice. If we want to be coherent and consistent between what we think and what we do and put our ethical principles into practice so that they are present in our work. To do this, we have to face four fundamental concepts: leadership, direction, ethics and person. These four concepts raised separately converge in only one: person. The person can gather in himself the other three. For this reason, the ideal to which we aspire would be to meet, in reality, with managers who exercise leadership based on ethics.
Whenever the ideal is going to be an objective, the reference must be an ethical direction with leadership, its opposite pole, would be a direction without ethics or leadership. In this second case, we ask if it would be direction. We surely have in mind that an ethical direction without leadership: ethical managers who do not lead. The question is, really, if they are managers. We also know about leadership, from direction, without ethics. This being the case: is there leadership? The answer is no. An ethical leadership is centered on values. An ethical leadership is based on virtues.
Ken Blanchard and Michael O'Connor, referred to by Moreno (2006) consider integrity as the primary characteristic for effective leadership. Ethical leadership must be focused on integrity. Managers must be people who act from integrity and with integrity. If, indeed, they are, they will generate trust, loyalty, credibility among their subordinates. As Bennis states, “There is nothing that destroys subordinates' trust more than the perception that people in the highest management levels suffer from a lack of integrity; that is, they do not have a solid sense of ethics. Integrity implies three very important elements for a management that takes into account the network of behaviors and actions that occur in a company: trust, credibility and exemplary nature.The manager must be aware that with his way of doing he transmits an example to the members of his organization. The integrity-focused manager builds trust and, therefore, credibility. Never lose sight of the fact that both trust and credibility are hard to come by, but very easy to lose. It is a common fact in our reality.
Leadership is known to be exercised by a person with a high degree of responsibility. Leadership based on virtues. When literature analyzes the cases of different leaders who have left their mark on political, economic and social history, Hitler is included and the question arises, was Hitler a leader? One could answer: for his people, at that time, What he was is a leader who exercised ethical leadership. Ethics has to do with the long term. It becomes very difficult to separate leadership from ethical leadership. I am not saying that in practice, unethical leadership has been given, given, or can continue to be given. But leadership without ethics, from my point of view, is less leadership.. If the leader who is a person, is not based on virtues, it goes against the human condition, therefore, his own condition, himself.Leadership is not unique but it is personal, insofar as it is exercised from the person and towards people. It is difficult to refer to leadership models, but qualities can be found, ingredients common to leaders, as well as a portrait of them.
You could say about virtue-centered leadership. Ethical leadership should be (it may or may not be) based on virtues, on the human condition itself, on respect for the person, the center of every company, on anthropological values, proper to man. Ethical leadership is: anthropological even if it seems like a tautology. Because it takes the man himself, the person, as the first and last reference. Because it takes leadership to the root of the human condition. Only from deep respect for the person is it possible to understand ethical leadership. Usually, very quickly, our mouths fill with statements such as: "people are the key to the company", "people are our most important asset", "the heart of the company"… And we gladly accept that it is, really like this,which are statements that go beyond good intentions. We would agree. But the question to be resolved would be: what conception of person are we not referring to? What underlies our concept of person? What content do we give it? In short, what is our notion of person?
Because the idea that we have is the one that we will put into practice, right? Above all, if we want to combine theory with practice. At this point is where the conception we have of the person is strategically decisive.
To do this, we should have "very close at hand" the fundamental virtues that are, as we know, seven. We stop with the theological virtues and focus on the other four: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The four (in fact, the seven) must guide ethical leadership because they are grounded in the person (leader and ethical manager) and are directed at people.
Prudence, first of all, is the business virtue par excellence. Ethical leadership cannot be understood without exercising prudence. Prudence must govern our conduct and, therefore, must be present in all our actions. Being prudent is a fundamental virtue of ethical leadership. Along with prudence, there would be temperance. Temperance has to do with a serene spirit, balanced in its proper measure to convey the serenity in a company that things are being done in the best possible way. Essential virtue to keep calm in difficult moments, to know how to mediate in delicate matters, to properly conduct a negotiation…
Next door, right next to the temperance, is the fortress. Strength is a virtue of courage-animus, spirit, vital principle - where the leader remains alive where others fail. And the ethical leader has the character forged after the repetition of acts authentic habits in the pursuit of the greatest possible good, for the majority of the people in his company. With a well-disposed spirit, focused on principles, he draws, by his example, those around him. The previous virtues would be of little use without justice. The people of the company must clearly perceive that the leader is just in his way of doing things. If justice is present in management, you gain credibility with your subordinates. When arbitrariness, arrogance or the simple lack of criteria are present in the conduct of the manager, any possibility of carrying out ethical leadership is lost.
Pérez López (1998) says: “When a business man is not capable of moving his people other than through economic reasons, he is as bad a professional as the doctor who is incapable of anything other than attacking the symptoms that the sick says he has.
When you are able to move people through the jobs you offer them and the professional learning you provide, you are already at another professional level; He is no longer just a strategist but an executive. When he is able to reach subordinates to discover the value and meaning of what they are doing, then, and only then, is he a leader ”.
It is true that only some companies make a real effort to introduce them into their business reality. If values are exchanged for virtues, then the matter acquires a much greater degree of complication. If implanting values is difficult, trying to apply virtues, it is even more so. We have to take one step after another. Values-focused leaders. But on the horizon we have to contemplate ethical leadership based on virtues because what really counts are the people. And if there is no virtue, where is the person left? If values-centered leadership and virtue-based leadership are not put into practice, what good are they to us?
In the case of schools that are moral institutions, designed to promote social norms, and principals are the moral agents who often must make decisions that favor one moral value over another. Furthermore, although they are dedicated to the well-being of children, the students have almost no say in what happens there. For all these reasons, the leader's behavior "must be deliberately moral." The moral duty of the leader is expressed not only in day-to-day ethical dilemmas, but also in day-to-day policies and structures that may have ethical implications. Robert Starrat (1991) points out that all social agreements benefit some at the expense of others; simply to assume that schools embrace desirable standards is "ethically naive, if not guilty."That is why directors must not only behave responsibly as an individual, but must create an ethical institution.
Rushworth Kidder (1995), referred to by Lashway,., L., (1996) defines the ethical dilemma is not having to make a choice between right and wrong, but in choosing between two correct things. For example: considering a bribe would be "a moral temptation", deciding what scarce resources should go to a curriculum with good prospects or a program to prevent students from dropping out of school would be a dilemma.
Dilemmas arise when cherished values conflict. A principal who values both teacher autonomy and student achievement will face a dilemma when teachers want to develop a policy that lowers expectations. This type of dilemma is intensified because school leaders are public officials who have obligations to many people who often have conflicting values or interests.
To create ethical leaders: First, leaders must have, and be willing to be guided by, a defined sense of ethical standards. Second, leaders can examine dilemmas from different perspectives. Three are described. One is to anticipate the consequences of each choice and try to identify which ones will be affected and in what ways. Another approach uses moral rules, assuming that the world would be better if people always followed certain widely accepted rules (such as telling the truth). A third perspective emphasizes caring, which is similar to the golden rule: How would we like to be treated under similar circumstances?
Third, leaders can often reframe ethical issues. It is pointed out that many apparent themes are actually "trilemmas", offering a third path that avoids thought, for example: faced with a parent who objects to a task that has been given to be done at home for religious reasons, the director must be able to negotiate an alternative assignment, in a way that preserves academic integrity without going on to bring parental rights. Finally, leaders must be in the habit of mindful reflection, wherever it takes them.
What virtues are most important to school leaders? Some studies suggest that honesty is the quality most appreciated by subordinates (Michael Richardson and others 1992). And any director who has launched a risky new show or has publicly held the blame for someone else's mistake can attest to the importance of courage.
Some who write on ethics point out that leaders must use their power with restrictions, since it always has the potential to treat others below what they deserve as individuals.
Peter Block (1993) referred to by Lashway, L., (1996) defends stewardship, which is the willingness to accept responsibility for results, without always trying to impose control over others. In simple terms, stewardship asks leaders to recognize their own human faults and limitations, and not hide them behind their status and power.
Whatever virtue is required, moral philosophers since Aristotle's time have emphasized that this must become a habit. Just as musicians develop musical ability by playing an instrument, people become virtuous by practicing virtue. Ethical behavior is not something that should be kept in reserve for current affairs; it must be a constant companion. Being an ethical leader, then, is not a matter of following a few simple rules. Leader complexity is complex and multi-dimensional, rooted less in technical knowledge than in simple human integrity.
References
Moreno., C., (2006) ethical leadership based on virtues in
Pérez., L,. J., (1998), Leadership and ethics in business management. The new company of the XXI century,, Deusto, Bilbao
Lashway,., L., (1996) Ethical Leadership ERIC Digest 107 - June 1996 in
