Ethical Leadership: A commitment

Ethics touches many aspects of life, as well as many disciplines: from business to medicine to teaching. The theories of ethics go all the way back to the writings of Plato and Aristotle and have not changed that much since then. As interest in this field has grown, it has become highly talked about so much so that most people have to follow some type of ethical guidelines. For me, it would be when doing research in psychology. These guidelines are there to ensure that people do the right thing, however, as Northouse discusses ethical leadership is more than just conduct, it is about character. To be a truly ethical leader, one must make a commitment to follow these principles.

When asked last semester what some of my favorite leadership theories were, I would say servant leaders, authentic leadership and transformational leadership. These all complement the principles of ethical leadership. We all want to be successful leaders and allow others to let us influence them and them influence us. This means we must be reliable, dependable, trustworthy, etc.

The number one way I will commit to this type of leadership is by putting it at the center of the process and take responsibility for my actions on it, that way I can play a major role in the climate of the organizations I am a part of and ensure I uphold our mutual beliefs and vision. To strive for putting others needs before my own instead of focusing on self-interest. I agree that "virtue comes from actions and actions manifest virtues" so basically the first step to ensure that this becomes a habit is by acting in ways that support it. Ethical leadership is highly connected to cultural competence because of the principles and these are all things I will constantly need to analyze and consider as I continue with my leadership journey.

• Respect: I will allow others to be themselves and be tolerant through listening and teaching them to be more competent
• Service: I will focus on community, something I have learned through my time with the Honors College, and their potential benefits by nurturing the vision of whatever organization (but still making it sure it aligns with my inner voice)
• Justice: I will try to disregard stereotypes, and not play favorites to ensure that no one receives special treatment, through upholding rules that are set.
• Honest: Find the line that allows me to be as honest as possible while still being sensitive to others in the group
• Community: This principle is the hardest to put into practice because it is a process of checking on the others in the group and seeing that both leaders and followers are changed through our actions. This is something that needs to attended to constantly to ensure that positive effects are wide and broad and we are always changing to fit the situation and larger society.

Most importantly, this theory teaches us to always be conscious of our actions and words because as leaders we are being watched constantly. It can be applied, it can be taught and instead of thinking of it as "I always have to do the right thing", think of it as a way to strengthen my leadership abilities and keep the leader-follower relationship central to the process.