Most definitely, leadership style is defined in part by how ethical one is. But what is ethics? How does one make ethical decisions? Tough questions, huh? Just wait until you see the case question….
First, I believe ethical behavior is the ability to do what’s right. I believe there are several values one might hold which would contribute towards ethical behavior. Some of these values might be: honesty, respect, trust, integrity, accountability, fairness, professionalism, competence, responsibility.
Also, I believe ethical decisions cannot be based on religion, nor laws, nor society’s standards, not even our own personal feelings. They must be based on treating everyone fairly, supporting human rights, creating more good than harm, and based on what’s best for the whole, the most, the community.
Following is an ethics case our instructor presented in class. What we agreed upon, both in small groups and as a whole, is that we weren’t in agreement. Many of us, myself included, couldn’t help but let personal feelings interfere with a truly ethical decision.
Try debating this over the dinner table tonight:
You are the mayor of a city. You are at work at your office in city hall. There are about 100 city hall employees in the building with you. All are civilian, none are police, fire, security, or military. You hear a rukus, come out of your office to find a commando force has taken over the building. They have already exhibited life-threatening force to your employees. They’ve spotted you, beat you up to barely consciousness, and begin with demands. They want a helicopter and $10 million dollars. They tell you they have the building completely under control, if it is stormed by police, everyone will die. Not only that, you are told that they will be killing one employee to make their point clear, and you must choose that employee. If you do not, they will randomly kill six instead. They insist that the one employee cannot be yourself and any further negotiation is not an option. They tell you that you have exactly five minutes until the killing begins…………what do you do?
Hmmm…….next week our instructor has assigned us to write our own eulogy………is he trying to tell us something………….
A Journey in Leadership 
Ethical situations are interesting topics to discuss.
Having one’s own personal emotions impacted is hard to avoid. Especially given the scenario described above. You find in some cases where new information is brought into the situation in question, and your decisions begin to change/evolve based off new information.
Glad this extended beyond the class time.
Thank you, Ted, for taking a moment to leave a comment. I think you are right that as a situation broadens, decisions can change. I used to think of ethics as more cut and dried, right or wrong. But I’m beginning to see ethics in the context of beauty, in the eye of the beholder – ethical, in the eye of the beholder.