As the school year begins and scores of
students (and teachers) experience both anxiety and excitement, let’s review
some clichés and the applicability to ethical leadership development. Clichés have a bad wrap. They’re mainly regarded as shallow,
trite and meaningless. I believe the
power of the cliché is that it contains a great deal of meaning in a nutshell. Just as a shortened URL transports us to vast
amounts of knowledge, the cliché should be viewed as the tip of the iceberg and
gateway to a storehouse of potential wisdom.
“Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” This statement has a tremendous amount of
emotion attached to it as I think about the millions of Syrians displaced from
their homes trekking to other lands to escape war. Often with little more than the clothes on
their backs, makeshift shanty towns across borders serve as temporary homes. The meaning of temporary in this case is
anyone’s guess. Those of us privileged
enough to live in stable and peaceful countries should pause and be thankful. Ethical leadership development is not only a
personal endeavour but it also seeks to improve the lives of others. When we take time to consider the perspective
of our employees, spouses, family members, friends and colleagues, we make progress in meeting the needs of those around us.
“A few bad apples ruin the bushel.” I was reminded recently of how one employee
with a negative attitude can influence others (and not in a good way). Just as those bad apples will not remove
themselves from the bushel, it is management’s responsibility to ensure staff
embody the culture and vision necessary for success. Petty in-fighting, jockeying for position and
gossiping have no place in the workplace.
Ethical leaders must weed out the problem right away. More and more evidence suggests that
corporations are hiring just as much for attitude and values as abilities. Corporations train staff to sharpen their
abilities but attitude is almost impossible to change. If you want to be part of a high-performing
team, don’t be a bad apple.
“Honesty is the best policy.” This could really replace a big chunk of an ethics
course. Although I suspect most would
agree with this statement, most do not adhere to it religiously. But isn’t this the point of a good policy? Honesty is crucial for ethical leadership development. We need those around
us to be honest in assessing our strengths and weaknesses; we also need to be
honest with those we mentor about developing their abilities. Honesty must be demanded in corporate culture:
It comes from the top down. When Alan
Mulally took the reigns at Ford Motor Company, he quickly fostered an
environment of openness with his executives.
The existing culture did not give enough credence to serious concerns
and the picture painted was far rosier than reality. When Mulally was informed at a meeting with
his top brass that the launch of the Edge would be postponed by a week to
address a quality issue, he applauded.
The message was loud and clear: honesty is the best policy. Other department heads followed suit and more
issues arose to the surface where potential problems could be reviewed and
fixed.
The cliché itself merely scratches the surface
of insight. Like many things in life, it
is vital to dig for the meaning and its applicability to developing oneself as
an ethical leader. As teachers prepare for a whole new academic year, let’s
remember that ethical leadership development is a life-long pursuit. As I remind college students that they’ll
only get out of my courses what they put into them, it’s a good thing for all to
acknowledge that learning doesn’t stop when formal education ends. Each of us is responsible for getting out of
life what we put into it.
