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moral leadership

What is Moral Leadership?

When moral leadership is missing in a group, organization, or company, its people end up disaffected and alienated, productivity suffers, and unethical behavior becomes more likely.

A key component of moral leadership is motivating others to live up to their personal ethical standards and those of your organization, even in the face of temptations to behave unethically. Women are generally less accepting of unethical behavior than men are and tend to behave more ethically than men in a wide variety of contexts, past research has found. Overall, women have been found to be less tolerant than men of a wide array of unethical negotiating strategies. In a study by Michael P. Haselhuhn and Elaine M. Wong of the University of California, Riverside, for example, 25% of men used deception to negotiate a deal as compared with only 11% of women.

However, when following principles of moral leadership, it would be a mistake to assume that male employees are more likely to behave unethically than female employees. No matter a person’s gender, financial incentives can tempt them to take ethical shortcuts. To encourage more ethical behavior, highlight the ethical concerns that surround upcoming negotiations and reduce financial incentives to behave unethically.

The following items are tagged moral leadership:

Ethical Leadership: Create More Value in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Leadership Skills.

In our negotiations and beyond, all of us engage in behaviors that create value—as well as actions that destroy it. Ethical leadership requires us to become more aware of the harm we cause in the world, work to reduce it, and to encourage those we lead to do the same.  Consider the Sackler family, which owns … Read More

Moral Leadership and the Role of Unconscious Bias

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Many organizations strive for moral leadership; too many fall short of that goal. When moral leadership is lacking in an organization, employees ended up disaffected and alienated, productivity suffers, and unethical behavior becomes more likely. Moral leadership doesn’t require perfect behavior, but it does require a willingness to do better. In her book, The Person You … Read Moral Leadership and the Role of Unconscious Bias

Responsible Leadership in Times of Crisis

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We often think of responsible leadership in terms of how decision makers help steward their organization and its employees through challenging times. But as is becoming increasingly evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, responsible leadership can also mean going above and beyond to help society at large. In a recent New York Times article, David Gelles … Read Responsible Leadership in Times of Crisis

Collaborative Leadership: Managing Negotiators

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Organizational leaders, from middle managers to heads of state, often face the difficult task of overseeing mission-critical negotiations and managing individual negotiators and negotiating teams. Collaborative leadership—a focus on giving employees autonomy and a voice in key decisions—is often key to managing negotiators effectively. We often overlook the important role of leadership in negotiation. But as … Read Collaborative Leadership: Managing Negotiators