Elements Of Ethical Leadership

Ethical leadership is a general leadership process that transfers ethical leader behaviour into follower behaviour through the general mechanisms of social learning, exchange and identity (Trevino, Brown. &Hartman, 2003). Besides underlying mechanisms, communication of moral cues is the central aspect of the definition of ethical leadership (Brown, Trevino & Harrison, 2005). Most contemporary perspectives on ethical leadership (Brown, Trevino & Harrison, 2005) comprise both the quality of leaders to consistently make decision and act in accordance with relevant moral values, norms, rules, obligation and ability to cultivate.

Ethical leadership contains two elements. First, ethical leaders must make decision and act ethically, as well as ethical

The first concerns is about the personal integrity of leader, which also termed as moral person. Ethical leadership mostly grounded on leaders’ moral values (Kaptein 2003) and moral courage to uphold values and principles in the face of external risks or pressures (Van Wart 2005). Ethical leaders have special interest in others’ well-being, enduring the needs of followers and broader common good (Van Wart 2005). Besides, ethical leaders committed higher purpose (Khuntiar and Ssuar 2004) embrace altruistic values (Brown,Treviño, and Harrison 2005). Ethical leaders are able to recognize the moral elements of the decision and able to predict the moral impacts of their decisions, the goals they set and the methods used to achieve them (Treviño, Brown, and Hartman

It can be perceived through three elements, which are role modelling, reward and punishment, and also reinforcement. ethical role modelling necessitates that the decision-making and behavior of the leader is sufficiently visible and salient to be observed by followers (Brown and Treviño 2006). It is essential that ethical leaders are aware of how their decisions and behaviors might be interpreted by followers, make efforts to avoid conduct that could be perceived as inconsistent with moral norms, values, and rules, and explicate the reasoning behind their decisions and behaviors if needed (Van Wart 2005). For reward and punishment, it is considered as key to be a moral manager. People are more likely to refrain from unethical conduct when that behavior will result in punishment, especially when the punishment outweighs the reward that one would get from committing the unethical behavior (Kaptein and Wempe 2002). Rewarding behavior that supports and upholds ethical standards fosters followers’ ethical decision-making and behavior and helps create a stronger ethical culture (Grojean et al. 2004). Reinforcement can be formal as well as informal. However, it is suggested that too much emphasis on formal rewards might lead people to sacrifice the overall desired outcomes for the sake of the rewarded behavior (Bartol and Locke, 2000).

In order to become a strong ethical leader, there are some habits to practise. First,