Developing Ethical Leaders

New Directions for Student Leadership, Number 146

Arthur J. Schwartz

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781119100447
• eBook ISBN: 9781119100782
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Student Life

The call for our schools and universities to develop ethical leaders has never been stronger. This volume offers new approaches to equipping our student leaders with the skills, competencies, and courage to act in an ethical manner, even in the face of peer pressure, tradition, or convention. Each chapter includes:

• Ideas and strategies to help student leaders become more ethically fit
• Ways to challenge students to pursue what is ethical and right rather than simply avoiding what is wrong or illegal
• Examples of words, phrases, and red flag situations, along with effective responses, that can be practiced and taught
• Six different leadership models to help understand the dynamics and potentials of ethics-related leadership

The Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Student Leadership explores leadership concepts and pedagogical topics of interest to high school and college leadership educators. Issues are grounded in scholarship and feature practical applications and best practices in youth and adult leadership education.

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This chapter describes the behaviors of the ethical leader and explores the reasons why leaders do not always act ethically. The chapter also offers five recommendations to help educators integrate the practices of ethical leadership into their work with student leaders.

Inspiring and Equipping Students to Be Ethical Leaders

Arthur J. Schwartz

Rare is the student leader who has not had to make an ethical decision. Sometimes the situation will involve a close friend who has suddenly asked the student leader to look the other way. Other times the situation focuses squarely on the resolve and willpower of the student leader to do the right thing even if no one else is involved. Yet what do we know about how best to equip our student leaders to be ethical?

In recent years, there has been a verifiable explosion of attention given to the topic of ethical leadership. Scholars across many disciplines are beginning to conceptually map and empirically study the antecedents and outcomes of the ethical leader. Much has been discovered. Regrettably, and as I argue in the final section, most of what scholars have learned has yet to inform the thousands of educators who work with college or high school student leaders.

This chapter has five purposes. First, drawing on almost 2 decades of scholarship, I identify the core behaviors of the ethical leader. Second, I highlight what empirical data suggest are the benefits and positive outcomes associated with being an ethical leader. Third, I examine the multiplicity of reasons why leaders do not always act ethically. Fourth, I strive to answer the question: What motivates or inspires someone to be an ethical leader? Finally, I offer five recommendations to help college and high school educators integrate the practices of ethical leadership into their work with student leaders.

The Behaviors of the Ethical Leader

Based on nearly 2 decades of research, Linda Trevino and her colleagues have identified five core behaviors of the ethical leader (Brown & Trevino, 2006; Brown, Trevino, & Harrison, 2005; Trevino, Hartman, & Brown, 2000):

1. Integrity—the ethical leader is honest and trustworthy (“walks the talk”).
2. Fairness—the ethical leader is transparent and does not play favorites.
3. Communicates ethical standards—the ethical leader finds ways to explain and promote the ethical standards of the group as well as holds others in the group accountable for their own ethical behavior.
4. Care and concern for others—the ethical leader treats everyone with respect and dignity (see also Resick, Hanges, Dickson, & Mitchelson, 2006).
5. Shares power—the ethical leader listens to everyone's ideas and offers members a real voice (see also De Hoogh & Den Hartog, 2008).

It is critical to underscore the importance of individual differences when it comes to these five dimensions of the ethical leader. For example, student leaders may show a tremendous level of care and concern for all the members in their organization, but they may lack the highest levels of reliability and trustworthiness, because they overcommit and overpromise. Other student leaders may be exceedingly fair and principled when it comes to decision making, but they may have difficulty sharing power and giving others in their group a real voice.

Most significantly, student leaders may have difficulty holding others in the group accountable for their own ethical behavior. For a variety of reasons, many of which are discussed later in this chapter, it may be far easier for student leaders to personally model honesty and fairness than for them to proactively and consistently communicate (and defend) the ethical standards of their team or organization.

The five behaviors of ethical leadership are easier to practice in the professional context. For example, leaders in businesses and nonprofits can make ethics an explicit part of their leadership style and agenda (Trevino, Weaver, & Reynolds, 2006). They can experiment with the most effective ways to communicate and reinforce how essential it is for everyone in the organization to be honest, fair, and respectful. Business and nonprofit leaders can develop and implement tangible initiatives to reward positive ethical behavior, sharing power, or consistently showing care and concern for others (such as linking promotions to these core behaviors of ethical leadership). Moreover, leaders in the professional world can demonstrate to followers their willingness to discipline individuals who have failed to follow or abide by the clear and explicit ethical standards of the organization. Each of these concrete practices and steps may be difficult for a student leader to implement or embody, even if they are in positions of responsibility (such as a sports captain or the president of a fraternity or sorority).

Along an ethical continuum, Trevino and Brown (2004) identified four types of leaders. Some leaders are simply unethical. These leaders practice none of the behaviors described previously. Other leaders are hypocritical; although they may talk a good game (ethically speaking), the words of these leaders serve only to mask their self-interest and narcissism. Probably the most common type is the ethically silent leader. These leaders are fiercely honest and principled; however, they find it difficult—if not impossible—to communicate or defend their ethical standards to others in the group or organization. Finally, there is the ethical leader, the individual who consistently practices all five of the positive behaviors.

The Benefits of Ethical Leadership

Over the past decade researchers have identified an impressive range of empirical outcomes associated with the behaviors and practices of ethical leaders. The bottom line is unmistakably clear: the ethical leader is a more effective leader. When leaders are honest, fair, principled, and trustworthy there are real and tangible benefits for their group, team, or organization. Consider the following benefits of becoming an ethical leader. Your team members will:

• trust more,
• be more committed and exert extra effort,
• be less cynical,
• exhibit less counterproductive behavior,
• be more willing to report problems, and
• bully less.

Much of the research on the benefits of ethical leadership is grounded in social learning theory (Bandura, 1986), which suggests that followers learn what to do (or not to do) by modeling the behaviors of those in positions of responsibility, authority, or leadership. In short, we learn what is ethical by listening to and observing others—whether it's our parents and siblings, peers and friends, teachers in our schools, or supervisors in an organizational setting. Social learning theory helps us to understand why it is so critical for ethical leaders, including student leaders on our college campuses, to model ethical behaviors and reinforce the ethical standards of their group, team, or organization.

Why Leaders Do Not Always Act Ethically

At one time or another, all of us have fallen down the “ethical slippery slope.” No one is an ethical saint. Researchers have recently been investigating the reasons why we are not always ethical (Kish-Gephart, Harrison, & Trevino, 2010). In some cases, it is nothing more than having insufficient knowledge or a lack of awareness (e.g., I didn't know personal calls were not allowed). There are those times, of course, when our self-interest overpowers or trumps our ethical standards (e.g., I cheated on the test because I was afraid of failing). Research suggests, however, that peer pressure is the most significant reason why college students do not always act in an ethical manner (McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001).

Historically, colleges and universities have sought to increase the ethical reasoning skills of students as a way to increase the students’ ethical behavior (Kiss & Euben, 2010). Recent research, however, has shown that there is only a modest correlation between ethical reasoning and ethical behavior (Tenbrunsel & Smith-Crowe, 2008). The problem is not that we cannot make an ethical distinction; it is that we do not have the courage or inner strength to act on what we know is the right course of action (Gentile, 2010).

The research also suggests that context is critical to ethical decisions and actions. Not all ethical situations are created equal. Some situations may evoke a strong ethical response (e.g., I could never steal from a member of my family), whereas other situations will fail to elicit such a visceral reaction. In 1991, Thomas Jones examined the “moral intensity” we give (or do not give) to any ethical sit...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Editor's Notes
• 1: Inspiring and Equipping Students to Be Ethical Leaders
• 2: Building Moral Strength: Bridging the Moral Judgment–Action Gap
• 3: Learning About Ethical Leadership Through the Giving Voice to Values Curriculum
• 4: At What Age Should We Begin Developing Ethical Leaders?
• 5: When Leading With Integrity Goes Well: Integrating the Mind, Body, and Heart
• 6: Making Moral Mistakes: What Ethical Failure Can Teach Students About Life and Leadership
• 7: A Critical Review of Theories and Measures of Ethics-Related Leadership
• Advert
• Index
• END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT