Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership, Essay Example

Establishing communication ground rules and principlesto guide myself as well as others is a challenging task, thus, it is important to allocate considerable time resources and efforts to creating the strategy. Anyone who is given the responsibility to create communication policy should be aware of his/her personal biases and also acknowledge the shortcomings he/she may have in certain knowledge areas. In addition, such an individual may also benefit from possessing certain characteristics such as self-awareness, humility, courage, integrity, and self-monitoring (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013). Personality behaviors are very much related to self-estimates of intelligence rather than being the actual measures of intelligence (Fleenor, Smither, Atwater, Braddy, & Sturm, 2010).

This paper focuses on my personal values, principles, and opinions that would establish ground rules in ethical communication. The first principle is openness which refers to the degree of sensitivity to differences with others(Johnson, 2012). Being sensitive and open to differences with others is one of the earliest steps in ethical communication. It ensuresfree flow of ideas and inputsby encouraging others to express themselves (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013).

It is also encouraged to be open so that one recognizes his/her biases or preconceived ideas and not let these biases negatively affect the communication process (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013). One of the reasons openness is so important is that it encourages individuals to gain additional knowledge and not reach premature conclusions without looking at different aspects of the issue on hand.

The next rule is to recognize the fact that other people have value. This rule requires listening to others with care and concern and also inviting outsiders to join the conversation or dialogue (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013). This rule implies others are more than welcome to participate in any dialogue and also sends the messages that their input is important, valued, and appreciated.

Leaders that support ethical behaviors and attitudes as well as positive communication do not only ensure creative cultural collaboration but also conducive social relationship among followers, group members, and peers (Kramer & Crespy, 2011).

Listening with caring concern is one of the best promoters of growth and change among groups with dissimilar ideals and point of views as well as groups with similar ideal and opinions. Recognizing this reality means understanding others and being willing to give and take to recognize others’ values(Johannesen, Valde, & Whedbee, 2007). Leaders affect change within the organization and they are advocates of influencing behavioral changein others (Porter, 2010).

The next rule is humility. This rule, though seldom observed in communication, requires acknowledging the fact that no one is perfectand humans are capable of making errors, possess flaws, and may become the victim of misunderstanding. Leaders who resist abuse of power, fraud, or putting their self-interests before followers are more likely to resist temptation (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013) because everyone responds differently to conflict. For instance, some may respond with resentment, withdrawal, or sulkiness which is why humility is important in dealing with conflict (Laroche, Ayoko, & Callan, 2010).Thus, it is clear humility assists with ethical communication. Humility allows organizations to build trust among collaborators who are willing to admit they don’t have all the answers and are willing to take input from others. Followerstend to approach leaders or supervisors who exhibit humility which paves the way for new innovative ideas within the team, group, and organization (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013).

The next rule iscourage communication which refers to speaking during hard and trying times in a respectful and effective manner and with humility to solve situation or problem without harming or compromising ones belief or values (Bennis, 2009). In courage communication, leaderstry to ensure their motive or agenda are pure at heart, and seek truth from within as a guide to self-actuation. In courage communication, one must be able to purge any and all ill intent, prejudice, deviant behavior, and manipulation of other which take lots of time, hard work, and courage(Bennis, 2009).  When leaders display ethical behavior to follower, there is a decrease in deviant behavior and an increase in organizational behavior citizenship (Stouten, Dijke, Mayer, Cremer, & Euwema, 2013). The first step in purging is to work on short comings, limitations or weaknesses to gain ethical courage communication enlightenment(Bennis, 2009).

The next rule in the ethical communication process is inclusiveness which means the communicator should never exclude, devalue, or diminish any group, population, or segment based on differences of religion, age, ethnicity, gender, orientation and race(Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013).  When it comes to inclusiveness, one should always honor and recognize differences among people and be mindful all individuals have value which is a key critical process in inclusive ethical communication(Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013).

Conclusion

Openness is the process of being sensitive to differences with others and having self-awareness in areas of humility, courage, and personal integrity(Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013). Recognizing value of others requires to listen to others with concern and to invite other individuals to a meaningful dialogue. Listening with concern is one of the best promoters of change among groups with dissimilar ideal and points of views(Johannesen, Valde, & Whedbee, 2007).

Humility is to acknowledge that no individual is perfect and as humans we are capable of making errors, possess flaws, and may become the victim of misunderstanding (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013). Leaders who resist abuse of power, fraud, or putting their own self-interests before followers are more likely to resist temptation and exercise humility.

Courage is having the ability to speak during hard and trying times in a respectful and effective manner while displaying humility to solve a situation or problem without harming or compromising ones beliefs or values(Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013). In courage communication, one must be able to purge any and all ill intent, prejudice, and manipulation of others.

Inclusiveness means the communicator should never exclude, devalue, or diminish any group, population, or segment based on differences of religion, age, ethnicity, gender, orientation, and race (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013). Inclusiveness requires one to honor and recognize differences among people and be mindful that all individuals have value (Ballard, Kyros, & Oliver, 2013).

References

Ballard, T., Kyros, S., & Oliver, P. (2013). Courageous Communication. . Web.

Bennis, W. (2009). On Becoming a Leader (4 ed.). Basic Books. Print.

Fleenor, J., Smither, J., Atwater, L., Braddy, P., & Sturm, R. (2010). Self-other rating agreement in leadership: A review. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(6), pp. 1005-1034. Print.

Johannesen, R. L., Valde, K. S., & Whedbee, K. E. (2007). Ethics in Human Communication (6 ed.). Waveland Pr Inc. Print.

Johnson, C. (2012). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Organisation Management Journal, 3, pp. 202-205. Print.

Kramer, M. W., & Crespy, D. A. (2011). Communicating collaborative leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(5), pp. 1024-1037. Print.

Laroche, H., Ayoko, O. B., & Callan, V. J. (2010). Teams’ reactions to conflict and teams’ task and social outcomes: The moderating role of transformational and emotional leadership. European Management Journal, 28, pp. 220-235. Print.

Porter, L. (2010). Communicating for the good of the state: A post-symmetrical polemic on persuasion in ethical public relations. Public Relations Review(36), pp. 127-133. Print.

Stouten, J., Dijke, M. v., Mayer, D. M., Cremer, D. D., & Euwema, M. C. (2013). Can a leader be seen as too ethical? The curvilinear effects of ethical leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 5, pp. 680-695. Print.