Leading Others

Managers need to lead their team

Leadership is the process of providing direction, influencing and energizing others, and obtaining follower commitment to shared organizational goals. Managers need to lead their team, setting ethical boundaries for them to follow, developing a power base for influencing them to change in positive ways, and helping them improve through coaching and mentoring.

Few of us would be likely to steal or cheat, but how principled would you be, or should you be, when faced with a routine business situations involving ethical choices? As a leader, you need to have a clear understanding of your ethical principles and set a consistent example for your team.

Ethics refer to the rules or principles that define right or wrong conduct. In the workplace, acting ethically is not just an abstraction, it is an everyday occurrence. Consider the dilemma; an employee, after some pressure from you, has found another job. You are relieved because you will not have to fire him; his work has been substandard for some time. But your relief tuns to dismay when he asks you for a letter of recommendation. Do you say no and run the risk that he will not leave? Or do you write the letter, knowing that you're influencing someone else to take him on?

ACTION POINT: Establish ethical boundaries for the guidance and operation of your team.