ETHICS AND LEADERSHIP IN TEAMS

1. Why are judgments about ethical leadership important when different stakeholders are likely to view situations differently?
It is common knowledge that so many men, so many mind. It goes without saying that people always appreciate the same things in different ways, as they have different background, different knowledge and experience, different life guidelines and views. What is more, they are different by character and psychological characteristics, and thus they react in different ways. Without control these different reactions and opinions cone into conflict and may create serious obstacles on the way to cooperation and ultimate achievements. Therefore, there is a strong need for a leader to interfere and to assist in looking for a solution. But in no way it does mean that he should force his own opinion on them. Dictatorship is sometimes effective, but more often there is a need to find a compromise, which would take to account everyone’s wishes and views. Here is where ethical leadership is needed, which puts the value of respect to person and mutual support on the first place. Ethical leadership principles help to assess the situation in more diversified way and to be tolerant to make everyone express their views without quarrelling and direct conflicts.

2. Efforts to balance competing values and interests involve subjective judgments about rights, accountability, due process and social relationships.
In spite of a wide range of theories, strategies, tactics and methods concerning successful leadership, it is impossible to work out a single system of solving all the problems which appear in a team with different values and interests inside of it. That is why, to balance them the leader needs to be adaptive and flexible, and be ready to hear everyone’s subjective judgments on their rights and obligations, on due process and social interaction. On the one hand, it is important to consider different views, because it is difficult to know where the truth will be found. What is more, it is difficult to keep personal passions away from the process of discussion. On the other hand, it is not rational to encourage chaos and turmoil within a team. Too much time can be spent to assess the views of the members on all the questions, which are normally to be solved by professionals. Even when there is a distribution of broad rights to the members of a team, sometimes it is better to divide decisions among teams according to their competence.

3. Success of a team depends in part on its capacity to learn from experience. Comment on how this learning might occur.
Today many organizations, with their employees facing problems of successful interaction and problem-solving, prefer to choose a strategy of “learning organization”. It means that for their teams learning becomes a systematic process, not an occasional one. The first and foremost goal is to motivate each member of the team to learn and to share the knowledge, skills and experiences with others. The procedures that can facilitate team learning include dialogue and discussion strategy; conflict leadership techniques applied for defensive routines, and finally practice encouragement. The main procedure is to develop an open approach to questioning. Intelligence and good leadership qualities are revealed not in correct answers, but in correct questions. Asking questions helps to understand lack of knowledge and gaps in communication. Another hallmark of team learning is diversity of thinking laying at the basis of the Team Management Wheel model, intended to raise awareness of each other’s individual work preferences. Finally, it is useful to use learning reviews, which means to review and discuss the process, achievements and drawbacks of each meeting. “Three position process” is often included

References
Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97, 117-134.
Reilly, E. C. (2006). The future entering: Reflections on and challenges to ethical leadership. Educational Leadership and Administration, 18, 163-173.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in Organisations. Global Edition (7th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice-Hall Inc.



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