MY PERSPECTIVE ON LEADERSHIP

Figure 1

Previous blog posts have extensively analysed and critiqued various leadership and management styles with a focus on the financial services sector. A self-reflective assessment may reveal my desire to be an ethical leader who applies inert virtues and established values to lead a diverse team of distinct capabilities in a democratic fashion. This vision of leadership could best be explained through the leadership tactics of my role model, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala because she has inspired my current vision of effective leadership.

Figure 2

Ngozi is a former Managing Director of the World Bank whose tenure began in 2007 and ended in 2011 (Premium Times 2015). As a Harvard University graduate with a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ngozi was appointed a two-time minister of Finance in Nigeria based on her exceptional leadership skills at World Bank (Premium Times 2015). Little wonder she was listed as the thirty-third of world’s 50 greatest leaders by the US magazine, Fortune (Fortune 2015). This list included the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Tom Cook of Apple (Fortune 2015).

Ngozi has been described by many as “a fearless promoter of sound economic policies” whose decade long management styles helped triple Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (The Economist 2012). This is regardless of Nigeria’s crippling economic condition (Lobel 2012). She inspired a lot of followers within and beyond the finance sector to lead ethically through an examplary lifestyle (The Economist 2012). Thus she was effectively committed to pioneering her subordinates to success through inclusive leadership map as depicted in figure 1. Having grown to admire her sense of leadership, it is a bit worrying to hear allegations of mismanagement of oil savings during her last administration (Vital Voices 2015). One may pause and question if indeed such allegations negates her widely-perceived ethical leadership vision.

Presently, these leadership aspirations may not be so far from being met if additional hardwork and dedication is applied towards my career growth. An insightful starting point could be based on feedback from my leadership team mates as well as personal experiences from leadership seminar activities. Individual feedback confirms my dedicated approach towards achieving the goals of any team activity. However, I may need to be less rigid within the team in order to give my team mates a sense of belonging. Perhaps, this critcism stems from the fact that I believe self-management is not the best management technique for a diverse team. As such, a little bit of beauracracy and rules ought to curtail individual freedom and enhance group focus towards set objectives. I was also made to realize that improved active listening skills may help in understanding the individual strengths, weakness and triggers of my team mates. This could easily be adapted to the financial services industry with respect to building effective customer service skills.

As I progress with my studies, more skill sets excluding those highlighted by my team mates, ought to be developed. From a team leggo building exercise, I realized that the most important is communication skills within a team. In a multi-cultural environment, individual differences in language, culture and lifestyle could pose enormous communication barriers. The ability to integrate effectively within the environment could help in boosting my team communication skills. In addition, the tendency to be rigid may be eliminated if communication barriers are gradually reduced. Having identified ethical and democratic pricnciples as the core of my leadership vision, confidence with public speaking and presentations ought to be strengthened. This will help in communicating with a large audience with less tension.

To develop the above skills, registering for continuous education programs and skills acquisition classes may be a good starting point. Spotlight sessions in the university so far has provided useful insight in activities such as presentations, blogging and research. These sessions have not only tried to improve my public speaking and communication skills, but have also helped in quicker use of sound data bases for research. Memebership of resourceful social groups within the university may also be able to aid in effective collaboration and team building. Such membership opens more avenue for one to identify individuals with shared interests and objectives. In addition, volunteer coaching and student mentoring sessions may be useful with communication.

In conclusion, leadership and management, as two sides to a business coin ought to be applied in the most efficient manner within an organisation to help achieve the overall objectives of a group. No leadership ideal is the most perfect. Howver, based on personal experiences and feedback, it is imperative that my team communication skills within a diverse team is given the most priority in development so as to achieve my vision of leading ethically and democratically.

REFERENCES

Fortune (2015) World’s Greatest Leaders [online] available from <http://fortune.com/worlds-greatest-leaders/&gt; [28 August 2015]

Lobel, M. (2012) Nigeria’s Finance Boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Profile [online] available from <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17662481&gt; [28 August 2015]

Premium Times (2015) Okonjo-Iweala Listed Among Fifty Greatest World Leaders [online] available from <http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/180832-okonjo-iweala-listed-among-50-greatest-world-leaders.html&gt; [28 August 2015]

The Ecomomist (2012) Has Off to Ngozi: A Golden Opportunity For the rest of the World to show Barack Obama the meaning of Meritocracy [online] available from <http://www.economist.com/node/21551490&gt; [28 August 2015]

Vital Voices (2015) Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Global Development Leader and Advocate [online] available from <http://www.vitalvoices.org/blog/2012/04/dr-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-global-development-leader-and-advocate&gt; [28 August 2015]

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHANGE: CHALLENGES FOR ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT

There are strong reasons to align with the claim that every facet of our economy today in one way or the other is impacted by the modern socio-economic, technological, and cultural revolution (Mullins 2013). This global trend is actively felt in our businesses where management, leadership and strategy help shape adaptation to the ever-changing world. Managers can effectively contribute their quota in achieving this goal depending on how well they handle change and its resistance in their organisations, thus the importance of change management (Chapman 2015). The above video summarises the whole essence of change management.

Several reasons have been proffered on why some employees may be comfortable with changing work dimensions as against those non-susceptible to a change. A clear misunderstanding of the reason for changing a previously functional system my pose a barrier, especially employees they are unable to assess the risk factors involved (Rick 2011). Perhaps, they may feel satisfied within their comfort zones. Moving a step forward may indicate taking up additional responsibilities, which may not suit their normal routines. More so, employees may not trust that the organisation is capable of effectively managing any change in status quo, or they may feel they lack the necessary competence to embrace change and its consequences (Rick 2011).

Despite these, some employees may have an optimistic view on change initiatives, willing to adjust especially if well communicated and understood (Grover 1995). These reasons vary according to the personalities and openness of individuals to challenges (Mullins 2013). Therefore, in such trying situations, managers ought to be proactive by expecting resistance to change as well as making adequate preparations for its management. Managers should expect going through different stages of change resistance as shown in figure 1 below (Grover 1995).

Figure 1

How can organisational change be implemented? Change ought not to be enforced on employees (Sirkin 2005). It should take thoughtful planning, consultation, involvement and sensitive implementation on the individuals affected, else problems may arise (Sirkin 2005). When issues arise, management may be able to do little or nothing about it (Mullins 2013). Applying John Kotter’s steps to a successful change, in terms of changing individual personalities, managers should ensure that such changes are realistic, measurable and achievable (Kotter 2012). Setting very high targets may be met with individual displeasure. The figure above summarises the general steps of adapting to change.

To effectively manage resistance to change, managers could commence by understanding any form of resistance from an objective and non-judgemental standpoint (Kotter 2012). They could also organise workshops to achieve better understanding, positively respond to employees concerns and proffer alternative ways of safeguarding employees’ interests regardless of the change (Leucke 2003). This should be done in a subtle form, employing paternalistic or democratic leadership styles. Employees may also feel a sense of belonging, and subsequently desist from resistance where the managers introduce anonymous surveys requesting for their opinion on how such change may be introduced (Guy 2005). Such form of empathy and tolerance could further improve employees’ trust on the expected benefit of the change (Guy 2005). This may add value to an organisation’s employee management system because it gives more insight on the strengths, weaknesses and peculiarities of each individual. Such revelations may then be adapted into the change process to ensure every individual’s needs or concerns are not overlooked.

Figure 2: Lewin’s 3-step Model

Different change management models have been propounded to resolve organisational challenges to introducing changes. Kurt Lewin’s ‘Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze’ theory shown in figure 2 above proposes a foremost understanding of the major motivation for change and the reason for the discontinuance of existing systems [unfreeze] (Burnes 2004). ‘Change’ commences when people are given cause to believe and accept the new system while ‘unfreeze’ occurs when the changes are taking place with employees already embracing the new system (Burnes 2004). The ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement suggests that effective organisational management of change begins with a single individual (Hiat 2006). Prosci’s theory combines individual changes with that of an organisation for a sustainable business result (Hiat 2006). To successful lead change, adopting Prosci’s methodology may be most suited for all organisations. This theory adopts a holistic approach involving awareness of change, communication and training (Bourda 2013). It ensures that fears, uncertainty and doubts are best overcome with trainings with less interruption of on-going business (Bourda 2013). By so doing, individual and organisational management are given equal focus.

PayPal is an example of a company within the finance industry that was able to effectively manage change after it changed its business line while retaining resourceful employees (Newcombe 2013). PayPal was not initially founded as online payment service but a cryptography company (Newcombe 2013). Its transition was difficult because they faced competency issues. After much persistence, they went public and were subsequently bought out by e-bay with most of its employees retained (Newcombe 2013). In Nigeria, a branch of mortgage bank was able to effectively manage change when cost-cutting in all branches was introduced by the head management (Root 2013). Rather than subscribe to a swift laying off of staff due to subletting of office space, the bank resorted to asking employees to temporary share office desks before thy move to a permanent site (Root 2013). Therefore, while trying to embrace cost-cutting as an effective change management for the company, the bank was able to protect individual fears of salary reduction or layoffs.

As managers, how can we effectively apply our knowledge of change management theories in practice? It is recommended that managers endeavour to eliminate any ultra-autocratic tendencies and first understand any hidden rationale behind subordinate’s resistance to change. Commencing with teams, individual feedback exercise on leadership highlights and low lights can help leaders and followers understand areas of improvement with respect to communication, tolerance and understanding peculiar sensitivities. Thus any change in team tactics may be effectively managed in the face of conflict or resistance.

REFERENCES

Bourda, F. (2013) Change Management Theories and Methodologies. Tate Consultancy Services, 1-7

Burnes, B. (2004) Kurt Lewin and the Planned Approach to Change: A Reappraisal. California: Wiley

Chapman, A. (2015) Change Management [online] available from <http://www.businessballs.com/changemanagement.htm&gt; [26 August 2015]

Grover, W. K. (1995) Special section: Toward a Theory of Business Process Change Management Journal of Management Information Systems, 9-30

Guy, G. (2005) Effecting Change in Business Enterprises: Current Trends in Change Management. California: Conference Board

Hiat, J. (2006) ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government, and Our Community. Colorado: Prosci Research

Kotter, J. (2012) Leading Change. USA: Harvard Business School

Leucke, R. (2003) Managing Change and Transition. USA: Havard Business School

Mullins, L. J. (2013) Management of Organisational Behaviour. Harlow: Pearson

Newcombe, T. (2013) Change management tops the agenda for HR departments in the financial sector [online] available from <http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1077912/change-management-tops-agenda-hr-departments-financial-sector&gt; [26 August 2015]

Rick, T. (2011) Top Twelve Reasons Why People Resist Change [online] available from <http://www.torbenrick.eu/blog/change-management/12-reasons-why-people-resist-change/&gt; [26 August 2015]

Root, G. (2013) Examples of Organisation Change [online] available from <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-organization-change-11694.html&gt; [26 August 2015]

Sirkin, H. (2005) The Hard Side of Change Management. Harvard Business Review, (10)83, 108

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT: TWO SIDES TO A BUSINESS COIN

Moving ordinary teams to extraordinary heights in any organisation involves acknowledging the disparity between leadership and management. Peter Drucker notes that management entails doing the right things while leadership involves doing things right (Drucker 2007). Both concepts involve different role components, though often used interchangeably. A manger’s leadership traits evolves based on his title while leaders strengths are independent of any conferment (Kotterman 2006). According to Mullins, management entails completing tasks through the efforts of subordinates (Mullins 2013). This could be achieved through applying the most efficient use of physical, human and financial resources (Mullins 2013). Leadership on the other hand involves exerting influence on subordinates in order to facilate mutual attainment of shared objectives (Yukl 2010). Effective leadership styles ought to be applied by every manager (Mullins 2013). Management styles on the other hand, effectively propels leaders into effectively creating objectives for the organisation, providing expertise information and shaping the overall culture of the business (Kotterman, 2006).

Figure 1

As shown in the video above, leadership styles could be autocratic, paternalistic, charismatic, laissez-faire, democratic (participative), transformational and transactional leadership styles may exhibited by leaders (Stacey 2012). The first blog already explains transformational and transactional leadership styles. Autocratic style basically involves exerting control through commands on subordinates (Eagly and Engen 2003). This could be relevant in situations where urgent decision making is required or where a large number of employees are unskilled (Eagly and Engen 2003). However, due to lack of communication, subordinates may become limited in thoughts and expression (Eagly and Engen 2003). Paternalistic leadership style may sometimes appear autocratic; however, decisions are made in the best interst of employees (Aronson 2001). Democratic leadership on the other hand involves an inclusive leadership style based on majority decision making (Aronson 2001). Notwithstanding that it may not suit urgent situations, the ability to effectively create a two-way communication with employees creates a better working relationship based on cordiality (Aronson 2001). Laissez-faire gives major decision making to the employees (Eagly and Engen 2003). Despite this freedom, it may lead to limited cohesion when the leader withdraws gradually from employees (Eagly and Engen 2003).

Figure 2

To effectively control the acts of his subordinates, a leader could commence by having a first-hand knowledge and a perfect understanding of the business (Lubit 2004). By so doing, he becomes a source of clarification in the event of confusion within his team. Applying Douglas Mcgregor’s leadership theories of X and Y, a leader could also be self-motivated as this may help shape his subordinates’ drive for focus (Dininni 2011). Ability to command respect and authority through creative thinking and problem solving skills may also help manage subordinates (Lubit 20014). With respect to Peter Drucker’s management theories, subordinates may be controlled when aggreeable tasks are mutually identified and evaluated (Drucker 2007). However, the manager should avaoid setting targets that appear unachievable (Drucker 2007).

One may question the most effective leadership style for subordinates. I reckon democratic leadership style may be the most effective style of managing subordinates. This is because it encourages higher productivity and better contributions from group members. For instance, Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft may attribute part of his finacial success and business growth to his Democratic leadership style (Rogers 2012). He is known to operate an inclusive decision making strategy with his employees. Direct relationship with customers and subordinates through meetings and regular e-mail responses ensures that he is fully aware of business events within his company (Rogers 2012). On the other hand, the major issues facing the financial service company, Royal Bank of Scotland has been attributed to poor decision making (The Guardian 2014). It is reported that errors on judgement and execution by the company’s executive management weakened the bank’s global capital position (The Guardian 2014). This may indirectly relate to the demerits of autocratic leadership and management styles by RBS’ executives. The overall consequence is the laying off of subordinates and resourceful staff.

Regardless, is it really appropriate to conclude that one leadership style is the most preferred or does it depend on individual peculiarities or circumstances? I may agree with the Chartered Management Institute that there is no perfect single ideal (CMI 2013). The best managers consistently create room for the emergence of strong leaders based on their strengths and ability to coach. Leadership ought to be situational, according to the objectives and needs of an organisation (Graeff 1997). This transforms a leader into a balanced manager as shown in figure 2 above. Sometimes, it may be ideal to be much focused, a bit laid back, or controlling depending on the vision and style of the organisation. Thus great leaders ought to select their leadership style with a firm grip of the current situation and end goal. For instance, to resuscitate a firm going into liquidation, a democratic leadership style may not be suitable as such decision may require paternalistic leadership style.

In conclusion, as a member of a team, it may be ideal for managers to first grapple with the situation at hand before deciding which leadership or management styles to adopt. Commencing with understanding individual peculiarities, strengths and weaknesses could help a manger understand and motivate his subordinates towards achieving the overall goal of the organisation.

REFERENCES

Aronson, E. (2001) Integrating Leadership Styles and Ethical Perspectives. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, (18)4, 244

CMI (2013) Understanding Management Styles Checklist 236,  Chartered Management Institute: London

Dininni, J. (2011). Management Theory of Douglas McGregor [online] available from <http://www.business.com/management/management-theory-of-douglas-mcgregor/&gt; [25 August 2015]

Drucker, P. (2007) The Practice of Management (M. Belbin, Ed.) Elviser

Eagly, A. and Engen, E. (2003) Transformational, Transactional, and Laissez-Faire Leadership Styles: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Women and Men. Psychological Bulletin (129) 4, 561-591

Graeff, C. (1997) Evolution of Situational Leadership Theory: A Critical Review. Leadership Quarterly, 153-170

Guardian (2014) RBS failure caused by ‘multiple poor decisions’ [online] available from <http://www.theguardian.com/global/2011/dec/12/royal-bank-of-scotland-fsa-report&gt; [21 August 2015]

Kotterman, J. (2006) Leadership Versus Management: What’s the Difference. Journal of Quality Participation, (29)2, 13-17

Lubit, R. (2004) Coping with Toxic Managers, Subordinates- and Other Difficult People. New Jersey: Pearson

Mullins, L. J. (2013) Management and Organisational Behaviour. Harlow: Pearson

Rogers, P. (2012). Bad Decisions In History: Cautionary Tales [online] available from <http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/bad-decisions-in-history-cautionary-tales.aspx&gt; [25 August 2015]

Stacey, R. (2012) Tools and Techniques of Leadership and Management: Meeting the Challenge of Complexity. Routledge: Newyork

Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organisations. Prentice Hall

TEAM DIVERSITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR ORGANISATIONS

Corporate leaders and management consultants currently face a global challenge of ensuring the efficient management of diverse teams or work force (Barak 2014). Within a team, there are cultural differences on what is considered as effective leadership (Day and Antonakis 2012). These differences between group members reflect diversity and thus underpin organisational behaviour (Rabelo and Gomes 2011). Therefore, the effective management of teams within an organisation require total sensitivity to individual needs and differences (Mullins 2013).

Figure 1

The benefits of this cross-cultural awareness cannot be over-emphasized. For instance, ignorance, prejudice and hatred could be curtailed (Caines 2015). However, Adler notes that such teams could face mistrust and miscommunication issues, which could lead to stress and limit team growth (Adler 2009). The basic question remains; do the risks associated with team diversity outweigh the benefits in an organisation? It is highly likely for one to feel uncomfortable working in a multi-cultural environment. In addition, among Hoftede’s four dimensions to culture, ‘uncertainty avoidance’, which reveals how individuals of a group could feel threatened by ambiguity and uncertainty, plays out well in this scenario (Mullins 2013). However, the writer is of the opinion that diversity is a double-edged sword. A manager should focus on leading ethically to achieve the goals of his company rather than weighing the pros and cons of leading a diverse team. In order to lead well, emphasis should be placed on group tolerance, listening and understanding the perspectives of each team member (Lourenco et al 2014). The company in the video above has already empasized the imprtance of diversity in their team.

Premised on the above analogy, one questions if the ability to manage a diverse team becomes the most important skill needed for the growth of any business. Perhaps considering the ethical leadership examples ofthe Chairmen of AT&T company and Master Card group of the financial services sector could help answer the question. The CEO of AT & T, Randall Stephenson has coordinated the company’s diversity goals since he created an official position for a Chief Diversity Officer (DiversityInc. 2015). He acknowledged that the company’s growth through the years has been basically due to its commitment to building an inclusive and diverse workforce (DiversityInc. 2015). This strategy has not only helped foster customer equity, but also contributed to developing a stable relationship with their neigbhours (DiversityInc. 2015). In additon, the CEO of Master Card, Ajay Banga attributed the success of the company to his commitment on diversity (Nielsen 2013). He stated that having employees from diverse backgrounds with different values and experiences complements his inability to view the business world from one prism (Nielsen 2013). He attributes the company’s innovative breathroughs to an empowered active and diverse work force (Nielsen 2013).

McKinsey research recently discovered that of 366 public companies analysed, ethnic and gender diverse companies are 50% more likely to have increased financial returns than other national industries (Hunt and Layton 2015). The research highlighted that more diverse companies are highly likely to acquire top talent, employee satisfaction, better decision making, customer orientation and an overall increasing yield (Hunt and Layton 2015). However, he noted that 97% of U.S companies lack top leadership teams that reflect the country’s diverse labour force (Hunt and Layton 2015). This is due to perceived increase in the cost of managing employees who share different beliefs and values (Hunt and Layton 2015).

Figure 2

How can a manager ethically pioneer his diverse workforce towards attaining the objectives of his firm? As shown in the figure 2 above, perhaps understanding Ed Hall’s ‘High and Low Context Culture’ framework could be a starting point. (Hall 1990). Hall posits that culture is akin to languages of time, space, things, friendships and agreements (Hall 1990). These languages which symbolize specific shared attitude should be bench-marked with whether an individual is a national of a either a ‘high’ context society or a ‘low’ context society (Hall 1990). ‘High’ context societies attach importance to past and tradition, have indirect communication styles, value trust and personal relationship in business, have shared group understandings and uncode information (Hall 1990). Examples include Africa, Asia and Latin American countries (Mullins 2013). On the other hand, ‘Low’ context societies communicate through coded information, direct tactics, place less importance on the past and value rules ad contracts (Hall 1990). Examples are USA, Britain and Austrailia (Mullins 2013). Spain, Greece and France are classified as ‘medium’ context (Mullins 2013).

On a practical note, a manager could adopt valuable lessons from the standard team building ‘Lego Tower Excercise’(Kearny 2009). To build a brick tower, this engaging activity propels efficient communication and trust in a team. Cooperation, guidance and team work are also enhanced to achieve the objective of the exercise (Wencang and Rosini 2015). By so doing, a manager not only adopts inclusive leadership to lead well, but also breaks barriers of cross-cultural collaboration in his company (Pierterse, 2013). More so, awareness and training programmes on benefits of working in a multi-cultural environment could be organised to enlighten all employees.

In conclusion, it is highly important for business managers to possess requisite skills to manage a diverse team. The skill set cannot function on its own without being augmented with ethical leadership skills. This is due to the inherent risks associated with team diversity. Therefore, notwithstanding the crucial role played by diversity, the overall success of an organisation requires integration of other business skills set to minimize the negative effects of cultural diversity.

REFERENCES

Adler, N. (2009) International Dimesnsions of Organisational Behaviour. USA: South-Western College Publishing

Antonakis, D. and John, D. (2012) The Nature of Leadership. Los Angeles: Sage

Barak, M. (2014) Managing Diversity: Towards a Globally Inclusive Workplace. London: Sage

Caines, M. (2015) Diversity Does not Always Mean Cost [online] available from <http://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2015/jan/13/rifco-theatre-pravesh-kumar-interview&gt; [25 July 2015]

DiversityInc. (2015) Top Fifty Companies for Diversity [online] available from <http://www.diversityinc.com/the-diversityinc-top-50-companies-for-diversity-2015/&gt; [25 July 2015]

Gomes, T. and Rabelo A. (2011) Conditioning Factors of an Organissational Learning Culture. Journal of Work Place Learning 23, 173-194

Hall, E. and Hall, M. (1990) Understanding Cultural Differences. Intercultural Press

Kearney, E. (2009) When and How Diversity Benefits Teams: The Importance of Team Members’ Need for Cognition Academy of Management Journal (52)3, 581-598

Layton, V. and Dennis, H. (2015) Why Diversity Matters [online] available from <http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/Organization/Why_diversity_matters&gt; [25 July 2015]

Lourenco, P. (2014) Effective Work groups: The role of diversity and Cultur. Journal of Work and Organizationla Psychology 30(3). 123-132

Mullins, L. (2013) Management and Organizational Behaviour. England: Pearson

Nielsen, B and Nielsen, S. (2013) Top Management Team Nationality Diversity and Firm Performance: A Multi-Level Study. Strategic Management Journal , 34, 373-382

Pierterse, A. (2013) Cultural Diversity and Team Performance: The Role of Team Member Goal Orientation. Academy of Management Journal (56)3 782-804

Wencang R and Zhou, E. (2015) Entrepreneurial Team Diversity and Performance: Toward an Integrated Model. Entrepreneurship Research Journal (5)1, 31-50

ETHICAL LEADERSHIP: THE WAY FORWARD

Leadership entails the ability to consciously pioneer actions towards the efficient attainment of set aims and objectives (Whetstone 2011). It is trite that ethical leadership is based on some moral and normative principles (Kanungo 2001). However, the validity of steps taken towards the enforcement of any organisation’s values or culture has been subject to debates between Transformational and Transactional leaders (Groves and Michael 2011). Transformational leaders share Kant’s deontological perspective to ethical leadership while Transactional leadership conforms to the Jeremy Bentham’s teleological opinion (Groves and Michael 2011). Deontology views ethical leadership as any rigid compliance to set rules regardless of its consequences while Teleology emphasizes on the consequences of decision making (Mullins 2013).

While deviating from either principles of ethical leadership, it is suggested that leadership is ethical if its validity or soundness is confirmed objectively by any third party follower. A manager’s conduct ought to be certified appropriate if all parties directly influenced by a two-way communication with him freely agree that a certain line of action best assists in the realization of the organisation’s goals. Premised on the popular quote that a good leader is a good follower, ethical leadership embodies collaboration and listening to followers (Hurwitz and Hurwitz 2015). By so doing, a leader indirectly influences and inspires others to be leader-like and flexible (Guillory et al 2012). This form of ethical leadership is unique because the future survival of any organization is highly dependent on leaders who are sensitive to the dynamic needs of the changing world.

One may be tempted to argue that this followership concept conforms more to the Deontological perspective of ethical leadership. This is because a leader strategically influences his followers norms and values to be in line with his (Guillory et al 2012). However, the writer posits that this concept is akin to the Teleological perspective because through active engagement, a leader transforms his follower’s self interest into collective concerns (Guillory et al 2012). The deontological perspective is unethical because it appears manipulative and self-absorbing (Vugt et al 2004). Regardless, to promote strategic focus, it is imperative that an organisation adheres to stipulated legal rules (Vugt et al 2014). The teleological perspective is ethical because it non-coercively extols mutual moral values of human conduct regardless of class or position (Vugt et al 2004). Keely however argues that the moral and ethical justification by teleologists is uncertain because the opinion of the weak minority may be dominated by the strongest majority faction where a leader fails to achieve absolute unianimous interest (Keely 2004).

Ethical leadership contibutes immensely to the exponential growth of any organisation (Mullins 2013). Primary focus on rules rather than consequences have in certain scenarios breeded bad decision making especially in the financial service and hospitality industry (Mullins 2013). An instance is the fall of a leading US mortgage company Taylor, Bean & Whitaker in 2011 (Protess 2011). Its founder, Mr Farkas was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for pioneering a fraudulent scheme that robbed investors and the government of $2.9 billion (Protess 2011). Sadly, his executives also fell with him as they were manipulated and offered bribes to execute Mr Farkas’ devious decision (Protess 2011). Perhaps they were scared of the consequences of disobeying a ‘leader’. On a brighter note, inclusive leadership values of Coca-Cola has strenghtened the company’s brand image as a highly reputable international company (Ernst and Young 2014). The CEO of Coca-Cola, Murtar Kent views a culture of rigidity and exclusion as detrimental to competitiveness and long term business development (Ernts and Young 2014). In addition, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks is said to be an ethical leader because among other sound reasons, he urged business men to desist from supporting governments unless their countries are run like successful businesses (Berghofer and Shwartz 2014). However, one questions if his decision not to pay UK income tax since 2009 due to his company’s contribution to UK economic growth, suffices as being unethical (Premaux 2014). The fall of Enron as shown in the video above explains why ethical leadership is absolutely necessary in every organisation.

Figure 1

Figure 1 above explains that understanding of individual core values, ethics, vision and virtue helps propel ethical organisational decision making. It is pertinent to question the influence of organisational values on ethical leadership. Some argue that leaders are either born or made (Locke 2014). The writer is of the opinion that individual human virtues are the foundation to developing good organisational values and by extension, ethical leadership principles. These virtues are intrinsic in the person, and as such ethical leaders may born with these traits (Freeman and Stewart 2006). However, everyone cannot lead if they neither possess the intrinsic leadership virtues nor take steps to acquire them through creation. For instance, in Africa, most politicians contest elections for the sole purpose of aquiring illegal wealth. Clearly, having a wrong vision for leadership does not make one an ethical leader. Therefore, it behoves on leaders and managers to take necessary steps to ensure that their actions are framed in ethical terms (Freeman and Stewart 2006).

In all, managers should be committed to re-evaluating their virtues and organisational values to determine if their actions conform to ethical behaviour. This could be augmented with organising leadership development programs to fill up any normative leadership gap (Freeman and Stewart 2006). Thereafter, the organisation can unanimously decide on how best to effectively apply existing ethical values to fulfil their aims and objectives.

REFERENCES

Berghofer, D. and Schwartz, G. (2014) Ethical Leadership: Right Relationships and Emotional Bottom Line, The Gold Standard For Success [online] available from <http://www.ethicalleadership.com/BusinessArticle.htm&gt; [22 July 2015]

Ernst and Young (2014) Leading Across Borders: Inclusive Thinking In An Interconnected World [online] available from <http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Issues/Business-environment/Leading-across-borders–inclusive-thinking-in-an-interconnected-world—Inclusive-leadership–for-Coca-Cola–its-the-real-thing&gt; [14 July 2015]

Freeman, L. S. (2006) Developing Ethical Leadership [online] available on <http://www.corporate-ethics.org/pdf/ethical_leadership.pdf&gt; [15 July 2015]

Guillory et al. (2012) How Ethical Theory May Enhance Corporate Social Responsibilities in the 21st Century? [online] available from < http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/ pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=364d62fc-ab99-4709-b86f-21c722bf9d00% 40sessionmgr111&vid =0&hid=116> [14 July 2015]

Hurwitz, M. H. (2015) Leadership is Half the Story: A Fresh Look at Followership, Leadership, and Collaboration. Toronto: University of Toronto.

Johansson, A. (2013) Five businesses sunk by poor leadership [online] available on <www.leader-values.com> [14 July 2015]

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