Leadership:Understanding its Global Impact

Chapter 2:Values-driven leadership

Learning objectives

• Understand the nature and significance of values for leadership

• Understand the relationship between ethics and leadership

• Understand better your own value system

• Be able to lead an ethical organisation

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Chapter contents

• Spotlight: Tim Costello• Introduction• The development of values• Ethics and leadership• Leading an ethical organisation• Codes of conduct• Leader in action: Lars Kolind• Summary• Case study: The Foodbank

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Spotlight: Tim Costello

• Highlights the importance of values in effective leadership

• Identifies how values have critical role in addressing some of the critical issues for leaders

• Importance of having a clear vision and a set of values that inspires and motivates

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• Concept of values and ethics

• Personal values may be one of the most important determinants of how power is exercised

• Are values relevant in business?

• Ethics concerns right and wrong

Introduction

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• Values: ‘constructs representing generalised behaviours or states of affairs that are considered by the individual to be important’ (Gordon 1975, p. 2)

• Revised throughout life• Life experiences shape our values• Morality and ethics start with values• Instrumental values & end (terminal) values• Gordon (1975): a leader’s personal values

correlated positively with leadership effectiveness

The development of values

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• Ethics: study of morality

• Ethics can be defined as “a set of moral principles or values,” a definition that portrays ethics as highly personal and relative … Lagan 2000, p. 13

• Highly competitive and unsupervised situation can = unethical behaviour

• Actions speak louder than words

Ethics and leadership

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• Strives to live its values An action is morally right if in carrying out the

action the agent exercises, exhibits, or develops a morally virtuous character, and it is morally wrong to the extent that by carrying out the action the agent exercises, exhibits, or develops a morally vicious character. Velasquez (1998, p. 137)

• Rightness and wrongness: wrongness determined by examining character action tends to produce

Leading an ethical organisation

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• Reasons for ethical behaviour:– working for something larger; more noble

– easier to do business with someone who is ethical

– like to feel proud of what we do

• Two elements to any program:– shared organisation purpose and value

system

– members who have professional self esteem, self confidence and commitment (Dalglish 1991)

Leading an ethical organisation

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• Establishing ethical behaviour in an organisation:– leaders … must articulate a set of values– establish a code of ethics – leader serves as a role model– ensure that everyone is aware of what is

expected – the example of the leader– development of professional pride

Leading an ethical organisation

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• Ethical dilemmas:– human resource issues

– conflict of interest

– use of corporate resources

• Codes of conduct address:– conflict of interest– confidentiality of information– employment practices– relationships with outside organisations.– the protection of organisational assets

Codes of ethics

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• The knowledge-based corporation is not only a vision. For me it is a reality. (Lars Kolind)

• Four critical principles for change– choice– multi-job– transparency– no controls

Leader in action: Lars Kolind

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• Marcus Aurelius:– retreat– search for ‘lived truths’– keep the imagined ‘best life’ in view

• ways of being a friend• showing affection to children• dealing with flatterers• showing courtesy• practising self-control• worshipping the gods, and serving

the community

Managing in a world of conflict

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• Leader’s values important determinant of how power is exercised

• Ethical behaviour and a clearly articulated value position are important to effective leadership

• It is easier to do business with someone who is ethical

• Codes of ethics: supporters and critics

Summary

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• Case study questions:– Why do you think Foodbank is so

successful?– What are the values that Foodbank

is driven by?– What sort of leadership skills do you

think those who lead within this organisation need?

Case study: FoodBank

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