Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Ethical Leader

"Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do."
 - Potter Stewart

"Apart from values and ethics which I have tried to live by, the legacy I would like to leave behind is a very simple one - that I have always stood up for what I consider to be the right thing, and I have tried to be as fair and equitable as I could be." Ratan Tata

Ethics is nothing else than reverence for life.-  Albert Schweitzer

The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings. 
- Albert Schweitzer

Corporate executives and business owners need to realize that there can be no compromise when it comes to ethics, and there are no easy shortcuts to success. Ethics need to be carefully sown into the fabric of their companies. - Vivek Wadhwa


We all look forward to the leadership of an ethical leader.

What are the characteristics of this leader?

These leaders are just.

They respect others.

They are known for their honesty.

They are humane.

They're team builders and driven by value-focused decision making.

These leaders encourage initiative and invite all to participate in these initiatives.

These leaders walk the walk and model what they preach.

These ethical leaders are communicators who value awareness.

Ethical leaders have no tolerance for ethical violations.

Who are the ethical leaders in your midst? How do they inspire your own ethical behavior and elevate the ethics of those around them and the organizations they lead?

Ethics matter and it's important that we all work to be ethical contributors and members of the many professional and personal groups we belong to.

When organizations are ethical they allow the members to focus on the good work at hand instead of multiple digressions and investigations that take them away from the good work possible.

As a culture, we need to support one another in order to be ethical and develop ethical groups and organizations. There will always be temptation to be unethical, but this serves no one well as the quotes at the top of the page infer.

Reference: I culled these characteristics from this article. Over time I've done some reading about ethics too.