Ethical Leadership and the 21st Century CEO

Ethical leadership and principle-centered leaders apply moral and ethical standards of "right" and "wrong" -- values and virtues -- to policy development and decision-making in business, government and the non-profit sectors. Principled leadership happens when men and women of good character and integrity take the helm of an organization or enterprise and let their principles drive their actions. 

Some, like business executive John Beckett, invoke Judeo-Christian principles to guide corporate decisions and policy-making for his company and its employees. Beckett is chairman and CEO of the R.W. Beckett Corporation, the world's largest producer of oil burners, located in Elyria, Ohio. Beckett established three "enduring values" -- each based on Scripture -- to guide his company's decision-making about everything from product development and marketing to people management and compensation:

Ø  Integrity

Ø  Excellence

Ø  A Profound Respect for the Individual.

The American public is in a schizophrenic quandary over principled leadership. Many people wonder if they can really trust those who put themselves forward as ethical leaders. In moments of honest reflection we realize an inner desire for competent leaders who display moral rectitude. Not only is this a desire, it is also for many of us fundamental in our understanding of leadership.

This desire and expectation for morally driven leaders is too often crushed by those who present themselves as such, and yet prove to have a reckless disregard for a consistent, principled lifestyle. At a time when many believe we are in desperate need for persons of high ethical standards to lead us, we become immediately suspect when such persons step forward..

Our suspicions sometimes arise from hurts or wrongs that we have received as a result of placing our trust in disingenuous leaders and their misguided endeavors. Human hopes and efforts can be crushed when leaders prove themselves to be mere images of the virtues that they espouse. This breach of trust often results in an unwillingness to believe the best about any leader again; others express skepticism toward principled leaders because of a general fear of losing control. These persons see "follow ship" as an untrusting arena in which no one is to be trusted. For those who view "follow ship" in this way, even the most moral leaders are viewed as suspect and possibly threatening. Regardless of the leader’s ethical track record, the fear of losing control can often greatly tinge how others view them.

At the foundation, the cynicism that many have toward our contemporary leaders is a result of the erosion of the meaning of values in our country. Simply put, in our country, values are not near what they used to be. Whereas at the time of the founding of our nation, values were based upon universal, moral absolutes, they have gradually lost this foundation. Values have become individualized preferences that are determined by the circumstances and contexts within which one operates.

Noted historian Gertrude Himmelfarb, in her book The Demoralization of Society, puts forward the argument that there is a categorical difference between the concepts of values and virtues. She argues that "values" are based upon the "assumptions that all moral ideas are subjective and relative, that they are mere customs and conventions, that they have a purely instrumental, utilitarian purpose, and that they are peculiar to specific individuals and societies."(The Demoralization of Society, page 11).

Ms. Himmelfarb contends that the concept of "virtues" of the late 18^th and early 19^th century meant "fixed and certain standards against which behavior could and should be measured … And when conduct fell short of those standards, it was judged in moral terms, as bad, wrong or evil – not, as is more often the case today, as misguided, undesirable or ‘inappropriate’." (The Demoralization of Society, pages 12-13).

When values have been separated from a foundation of morality, they come to mean nothing because they mean everything. In a culture where all values are deemed to be equal, the notion of being a values-driven leader comes to mean very little. The basis of cynicism toward principled leaders today is a result of the diminished meaning and authority that today’s values have in our lives and in our choices.

Leadership in a society that has separated values from morality requires clear and reflective thinking. Before a leader puts him forward as an ethical leader, he would do well to determine his basis of understanding ethics and morality. Does he understand his behavior as being molded by standards of virtue and thereby evaluated by these standards? Are his life and leadership based upon moral absolutes or upon cultural and managerial expediencies?

The cynicism toward credible and ethical leaders places these leaders in a quandary of their own. How is it that one wins the trust and respect of their constituents in this age of cynicism? These leaders affirm the importance of taking time to evaluate the character, competence and commitment of those that you follow and support. And yet they also realize that in its essence, the process of leadership and "follow ship" is a process of trust.

Three thoughts that will guide those who desire to be moral and credible leaders are:

• Virtuous leadership must be demonstrated in speech and actions, publicly and privately, 24 hours a day. No leader will ever become a spotless moral paragon. And yet each must be committed to doing what it takes to do what is right. What a leader does in private does matter, and will decrease or increase his scope of influence.
• The test of time is compelling; it also builds patience and in some, a rich humility. Time proves both the value of one’s virtues and the consistency with which they are displayed. Time is the acid test that determines the credibility and morality of any leader.
• Media exposure is of limited value in putting forward and establishing one’s virtue. The establishment of one’s moral authority is a result of building a credible reputation in a relatively small culture. From this culture there is the chance of multiplied influence as one’s reputation becomes legendary.

The antidote to cynicism is reality. It is the challenge of every leader today to put forward the reality of a life that is built around virtuous standards. This will be a lifelong process of personal and spiritual reckoning. And in this process there is the possibility of becoming the kind of leader that we so desperately need.