Being a leader is a challenging task because it implies guiding and inspiring others. That is why an effective leader should have specific qualities and skills that can help affect subordinates. Some situations provide such a person with challenges that require unique responses, but it is still possible to state that some universal qualities of good managers also exist. Thus, agreeableness and consciousness characterize ethical leaders and contribute to their moral development, which is expected by followers, while unethical managers rely on narcissism and manipulation and find many justifying factors of their behavior.
People tend to align specific personal traits with ethical and unethical behavior. On the one hand, a leader is ethical when they have emotional intelligence. This quality refers to the fact that a manager controls their own emotions and is able to understand others’ feelings, which is a part of agreeableness (Lussier and Achua 37). Consciousness is another essential quality because it denotes that a person is honest and trustworthy (Lussier and Achua 38). On the other hand, Blair et al. clarify that unethical leaders refer to narcissism, manipulative communication, control of power, and others (333). These qualities make it easy to distinguish between ethical and corrupt managers.
The information above demonstrates that ethical leaders should follow a particular behavior when they face various challenges, and moral development applies to this situation. This term refers to understanding what actions and decisions are right or wrong (Lussier and Achua 52). People can decide on what is good or bad based on three levels, and the conventional one is the most widespread because it implies that individuals rely on their duties and obligations (Lussier and Achua 53). It is necessary to invest in moral development to minimize the number of wrong decisions.
Even though many people tend to understand the consequences of their wrong actions, unethical decisions are still frequent because leaders can justify them. Typical explanations include stipulating that an improper action was necessary to achieve a higher purpose (Lussier and Achua 55). Simultaneously, displacement and diffusion of responsibility are also widespread because these phenomena allow individuals to estrange themselves from wrongdoing (Lussier and Achua 55). Finally, finding a person who is in a worse position also contributes to justifying unethical behavior (Lussier and Achua 55). Consequently, leaders have many options to explain why they made a wrong decision.
Even though the findings above demonstrate that unethical decisions are common, it does not mean that followers expect and accept such behavior from their leaders. Instead of it, subordinates want their managers to be predictable. This condition denotes that individuals appreciate it when a leader behaves in the same way in different situations. Simultaneously, followers will be happy if their leaders have agreeableness and consciousness because the positive outcomes of these traits have been discussed above. Finally, subordinates will benefit if a manager is not narcissistic, which will spread the environment of cooperation and mutual support in the workplace.
In conclusion, it is an essential task for every leader to follow ethical behavior. This goal can be achieved if a manager has specific qualities, including emotional intelligence, honesty, trustworthiness, and others. Even though it is challenging to overestimate the positive outcomes of being ethical, many managers tend to behave unethically, and they have many reasons to justify it. Thus, it is necessary to promote moral development, which will help leaders make the right decisions and meet followers’ expectations. Finally, why do you think leaders tend to justify their unethical behavior by placing responsibility on others?
Works Cited
Blair, Carrie A., et al. “Leaders Behaving Badly: The Relationship between Narcissism and Unethical Leadership.” Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 38, no. 2, 2017, pp. 333-346.
Lussier, Robert N. and Christopher F. Achua. Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. 6th ed., Cengage Learning, 2015.