Understanding Ethical Leadership and Its Influence

Jessica Waggoner (2010) stated in her thesis, there are three requirements of leaders allowing them to capitalize on their ability to influence ethical conduct. These three requirements are “achieve an understanding of ethics; serve as a role model in making ethical decisions; and develop and implement a plan of action for promoting ethical conduct on the part of his or her staff” (Waggoner, 2010). This paper attempts to define ethics and leadership and how they combine to create ethical leadership. It will explore the traits of an ethical and unethical leader as well as what influences or contributes to unethical behavior. It also discusses how employees, leadership, and the environment can lead to or contribute to unethical behavior.

Ethical leaders are humble, concerned for the greater good, strive for fairness, take responsibility, show respect for each individual, and think about the long-term consequences, drawbacks, and benefits of the decisions they make in the organization (Leigh, 2013). Ethical leaders influence the values of the organization by setting high ethical standards and act in accordance with them in order to serve as role models for their followers. These types of leaders are perceived as honest, trustworthy, courageous and demonstrating integrity. The more the leader "walks the talk", by translating internalized values into action, the higher the level of trust and respect he generates from followers (Leigh, 2013). Unethical leaders follow a different path.

Unethical Leadership Behavior Unethical leadership refers to leaders acting in a manner inconsistent with agreed upon standards of character, decency, and integrity and which clearly violates moral standards and fosters distrust from subordinates (Chandler, 2009). This type of behavior could promote and set into motion unethical conduct by the leaders subordinates. According to Dexter Dunphy, Emeritus Professor in the School of Management at the University of Technology Sydney Australia, at least three levels of unethical behavior can be identified and defined (Oates &Dalmau, 2013). The three levels are rejection, non-responsiveness, and

Unethical leaders use these weaknesses for their own gain without regards of the consequences to themselves or the subordinates. Non-responsiveness concerns itself with operating from a position by which the leader measures success only in terms of what they may gain thru exploitation of others especially when power or monetary gain is involved and the leader shows little or no concern for laws or regulation (Oates & Dalmau, 2013). The third level of unethical behavior is compliance. Compliance is doing the minimum required by law while continuing to exploit and use others to achieve this minimum. Unethical leaders are narcissistic, greedy, cheat, lie, and do not care who they step on or hurt to achieve their goals and