{"id":266,"date":"2012-05-08T12:07:58","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T16:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/?p=266"},"modified":"2012-05-08T12:07:58","modified_gmt":"2012-05-08T16:07:58","slug":"ethical-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/2012\/05\/08\/ethical-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethical Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is ethical leadership?\u00a0 What does it mean day-to-day in a nonprofit organization?\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All organizations, nonprofits, for-profits and governmental can face ethical challenges.\u00a0 Some result in criminal violations.\u00a0 The news is full of stories ranging from a large corporations misappropriation of retirement assets to a town clerk who has embezzled tax payments.\u00a0 Most ethical problems, however, fall into gray areas \u2013 activities that are on the fringes of fraud such as conflict of interest, misallocation of resources and\/or a lack of accountability and transparency.<\/p>\n

For example, a nonprofit organization in your town has raised a million dollars through a capital campaign to build a new clinic.\u00a0 One of the largest donors to the campaign sits on the board of directors and in exchange for her donation she requires that her spouse\u2019s construction firm be awarded the contract to build the building.\u00a0 The nonprofit agrees.\u00a0 This is a clear conflict of interest and by accepting the conditions of the donation the organization\u2019s leadership demonstrates questionable ethics.<\/p>\n

Another example, which is a frequent occurrence in human service nonprofits concerns donated goods.\u00a0 Imagine a large\"\"<\/a> retailer donating brand new fashionable clothes to an organization that serves people who are homeless.\u00a0 The director decides that since her staff works hard they should be given first pick of the clothes, clearly not what the retailer intended.\u00a0 The result is questionable moral and ethical leadership which, if known by the public will discourage future donations.<\/p>\n

Leaders are the ones who uphold the shared values of the organization and set the cultural tone.\u00a0\u00a0 Ethical leaders have a high capacity for moral judgment, meaning that they are more able to recognize and analyze moral issues, and in prioritizing moral values for the organization.<\/p>\n

Organizations, led by their leaders signal their priorities in multiple ways, including the content and enforcement of ethical standards; the criteria for hiring, promotion, and compensation; and the fairness and respect with which they treat their employees. People care deeply about \u201corganizational justice\u201d and perform better when they believe that their workplace is treating them with dignity and is rewarding ethical conduct.<\/p>\n

A strong organizational culture that supports high ethical standards will have tremendous influence – in the community and on employee behavior.\u00a0 Although no set of rules or organizational structures can guarantee ethical conduct, nonprofits can take steps that will make it more likely.<\/p>\n

1. Be a Visible Role Model:\u00a0 employees will look to the behavior of top management as a benchmark for defining appropriate behavior. When senior management is seen as taking the ethical high road, it provides a positive message for all employees.<\/p>\n

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2.\u00a0 Communicate Ethical Expectations: develop adequate ethical codes and effective compliance programs. It should state the organizations primary values and the ethical rules that employees are expected to follow. If widely accepted and enforced, codes can also reinforce core values, deter misconduct, promote trust, and reduce the organization\u2019s risks of conflicting interests and legal liability.<\/p>\n

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3.\u00a0 Promote Effective Financial Management: use resources in a socially responsible way, and be transparent about how you allocate your resources.<\/p>\n

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4.\u00a0 Provide Ethical Trainings:\u00a0 set up seminars, workshops and similar ethical training programs.\u00a0 Use these training\u00a0\u00a0sessions to reinforce the organization\u2019s standards of conduct, to clarify what practices are and are not permissible, and to address possible ethical dilemmas.<\/p>\n

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5.\u00a0 Institutionalize an Ethical Culture:\u00a0 nonprofit executives and board members should be willing to ask uncomfortable questions: Not just \u201cIs it legal?\u201d but also \u201cIs it fair?\u201d \u201cIs it honest?\u201d \u201cDoes it advance societal interests or pose unreasonable risks?\u201d and \u201cHow would it feel to defend the decision on the evening news?\u201d Not only do leaders need to ask those questions of themselves, they also need to invite unwelcome answers from others.<\/p>\n

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6.\u00a0 Provide Protective Mechanisms:\u00a0 The organization needs to provide formal mechanisms so that employees can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand.\u00a0 This might include creation of ethical officers, counselors or ombudsmen.<\/p>\n

Remember, as leaders you set the moral tone for the organization, and regardless of your style of leadership you can create an ethical culture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is ethical leadership?\u00a0 What does it mean day-to-day in a nonprofit organization? All organizations, nonprofits, for-profits and governmental can face ethical challenges.\u00a0 Some result in criminal violations.\u00a0 The news is full of stories ranging from a large corporations misappropriation of retirement assets to a town clerk who has embezzled tax payments.\u00a0 Most ethical problems, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":613,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/613"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions\/283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}