In a Nutshell
Doing
the right thing is its own reward, but being a person of high
ethics and strong character also helps you lead others. While many
pseudo-transformational leaders are able to exert control over their followers,
their lack of character and ethical behavior ultimately bring harm to their
followers and/or others. Authentic transformational leaders, by acting
on a core set of benevolent values, bring out the best in their followers
and do great things for society. That's why I believe any discussion
of effective leadership should start with character!
In This Issue
Lack of Integrity -> Lack of Trust -> Another
CEO Bites the Dust!
How many high-profile executives
have been involved in business scandals within the last year? Ebbers
of WorldCom (in the photo above), Lay of Enron, Kozlowski of Tyco, Rigas
of Adelphia, Waksal of ImClone, and Winnick of Global Crossing come to
mind. Wow!
A LeaderLetter subscriber
passed along this story.
I'm sure ousting that CEO was a difficult, stressful, risky process. But, it was necessary. Too many times recently we've seen leaders who aren't worthy of our trust remain in their positions until they have caused great destruction. We shouldn't let people we do not trust lead us.My executive team has just finished the process of forcing our CEO's resignation. We composed a letter of no confidence and presented it to the Board of Directors. There were several serious issues, but the main theme through all of them was integrity (or lack thereof). I think this illustrates that, not only do people respect and follow a leader with integrity, but we won't tolerate a leader who lacks it. And people who are thinking about being in positions of authority and power (not necessarily just CEOs) can't wait until they're in that position to develop credibility and integrity. They have to practice and demonstrate integrity all through their careers, or else they will have a really tough time being accepted as true leaders.
Transformational Leadership
The most challenging times
for leaders are when they are leading a group "into the unknown."
When leaders communicate a vision and give direction to their followers
that involve pushing them out of their comfort zones and taking risks,
it's natural for the followers to resist the change. Managers find
that it's far more difficult to lead change than it is to continue business
as usual. Nonetheless, managers are increasingly responsible for
leading change. With the rapid pace of innovation and growth of international
competition, managers who simply maintain the status quo are an endangered
species.
Transformational leaders
are able to persuade their followers to step out of their comfort zones,
take a leap of faith and follow their leaders into the unknown. In
other words, transformational leaders build trust. Trust is a willingness
to take a risk and make oneself vulnerable. We are more inclined
to trust people when we understand their values and observe that their
actions are congruent with those values because we can reliably predict
how they will act. Leaders of high character instill trust.
Not all charismatic leadership
is authentic transformational leadership. Pseudo-transformational
leaders are also persuasive. Leaders such as Adolph Hitler and Osama
bin Laden have been able to inspire their followers. However, they
violate trust and ultimately bring harm to their followers. They
lack character and act immorally. While not morally equivalent to
bin Laden, the business leaders who are responsible for the collapse of
investors' confidence are usually identified as charismatic or visionary,
but their lack of morality has led to great destruction.
Moral
Analysis of Leaders, Their Actions and Their Values
Moral analysis can be applied
to leaders, to their actions and to their values. A leader is praiseworthy
as a moral agent if he or she possesses a developed conscience and acts
in ways that are kind, charitable and altruistic rather than selfish or
maleficent. Pseudo-transformational leaders often show that they
do not have a well-developed conscience and take actions with self-serving
or destructive intentions.
Similarly, leaders' actions
are judged in terms of their ends sought, means used and consequences achieved.
Moral actions have purposes that are aligned with core values, employ moral
methods to achieve those ends, and result in fair treatment of affected
parties.
To a great degree, values
are culturally relative. However, there are some values that transcend
cultures. Values that reflect an intention to maintain and even enhance
the well being of society are held in esteem in any culture. The
core values of authentic transformational leaders respect other's rights
and dignity, and demonstrate a genuine concern for others. For business
managers, core values that show concern for all organizational stakeholders
are respected by society.
The
Behavior of Authentic Transformational Leaders
It should also be noted
that not all good, moral people are transformational leaders. Transformational
leaders engage in idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual
stimulation and individualized consideration as they lead their followers.
Finally! An Example of Leadership
I Can Trust!
How about an example of
good corporate citizenship? A recent article in the Dayton Business
Journal describes the honest, proactive approach that YSI Inc. took
in dealing with a groundwater contamination problem. Many years ago,
YSI employees apparently dumped a chemical that's harmful to animals in
a gravel parking lot, and it eventually polluted the groundwater in Yellow
Springs, Ohio. While the community has been aware of the contamination
for years, YSI only recently discovered that they played a role in the
pollution. In the meantime, YSI had worked with the village council
to extend city water lines to residents whose wells had been affected.
Once YSI discovered their role in the contamination, they notified the
community and formed a group of employees and residents to help develop
a clean-up plan.
Even trustworthy leaders
make mistakes, but they handle them differently than leaders of lower character.
When a violation of trust occurs, a trustworthy leader (a) acknowledges
that a violation of trust has occurred, (b) determines, from the victim's
perspective, the exact nature of the violation and what event caused it,
(c) admits that the event destroyed trust, (d) accepts responsibility for
the violation, and (e) offers to make reparations. That's how trust
is repaired. Shredding documents, on the other hand, doesn't maintain
a sense of trust.
A Final Thought
In this LeaderLetter,
I've argued that personal character is a resource for leaders because we
are inclined to trust leaders with character, and so it helps them influence
others. This is tantamount to saying that "good ethics is good business,"
which I believe it is. Nevertheless, I want you to know that the
bromide that best fits my philosophy (and should fit my conduct) is that
"doing the right thing is its own reward."
Ethical conduct, particularly on the part of those in positions of power,
is critical to the well being of a society. I am devoutly Roman Catholic,
so I also believe in a God who loves us and wants us to treat each other
and this planet with respect and consideration. I am deeply troubled
by the tremendous number of recent leadership scandals in the institutions
that are so important to me. Positive examples of leadership, like
YSI's, are refreshing and encouraging.
Sources
Bass, B. M. & Steidlmeier,
P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational
leadership behavior. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2): 181-217.
Womack, B. (2002,
June). YSI open about contamination. Dayton Business Journal,
June 14, pp. 3, 37.
Photo Credit
REUTERS/Jeff
Christensen: E-mailed to me from Yahoo! News (news.yahoo.com)
on June 29, 2002.
About the Newsletter
and Subscriptions
LeaderLetter is written
by Dr. Scott Williams, Department of Management, Raj
Soin College of Business, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
It is a supplement to my MBA 751 - Managing People in Organizations class.
It is intended to reinforce the course concepts and maintain communication
among my former MBA 751 students, but anyone is welcome to subscribe.
In addition, subscribers are welcome to forward this newsletter to anyone
who they believe would have an interest in it. To subscribe,
simply send an e-mail message to me requesting subscription. Of course,
subscriptions to the newsletter are free. To unsubscribe,
e-mail a reply indicating that you would like to unsubscribe.
E-mail Your Comments
Whether you are one of my
former students or not, I invite you to share any insights or concerns
you have regarding the topic of this newsletter or any other topic relating
to management skills. Please e-mail
them to me. Our interactions have been invaluable. Let's keep
the conversation going.
Good, Clean
Joke
The Arthur Andersen partner
was on his cell phone when he said, "Ship the Enron documents to the feds,"
but his secretary heard, "Rip the Enron documents to shreds." It
turns out that it was all just a case of bad cellular.
