ARE YOU ETHICALLY FIT?

Questions for you: Are you an ethical leader? How do you know that you’re an ethical leader? Is your way of measuring whether you’re an ethical leader accurate? Could you be wrong? Is there a more accurate way of checking whether or not you’re an ethical leader? Is there a connection between being an ethical person and being a good leader? If so, what’s the connection?

What is the goal of this class? To critically evaluate the following statement: Regularly evaluating your level of “ethical fitness” is essential for you to succeed as a leader.

How will we get to this goal? Defining “ethical fitness” Understanding why it is important to be ethically fit as a leader Analyzing the potential limitations to assessing your own ethical fitness Learning three workouts that will help you accurately assess your ethical fitness

Fitness Defined Fitness: An ability/skill that you work at regularly to obtain and/or sustain

Ethics Defined Defining your “ought to” between “have to” (law) and “want to” (freedom) FREEDOM ETHICS LAW

Integrity Defined VALUES Integrity ACTIONS WORDS

“Treat others as you would want them to treat you.” Golden rule “Treat others as you would want them to treat you.”

America’s Founding Documents Declaration of Independence Value statement… “All men are created equal” U.S. Constitution Separation/decentralization of powers

Navy Core Values Prepared in War and Peace

Ethical Fitness Defined Regularly defining and doing what you ought to do. VALUES Integrity WORDS ACTIONS FOUNDING DOCS VALUES IN CORE VALUES GOLDEN RULE

Define ethics, integrity, and ethical fitness in your own words. Review Define ethics, integrity, and ethical fitness in your own words.

Importance of Ethical Fitness 30-year nationwide study (1,500 responses) “Integrity” is the #1 personal trait/value/characteristic looked for in their leaders. - Kouzes & Posner Credibility

Importance of Ethical Fitness(Cont) Being “ethically unfit” (lacking integrity) makes you a less effective leader! Lack of integrity = unpredictability Unpredictability = loss of trust Loss of trust = inability to lead effectively

Importance of Ethical Fitness(Cont) “If you want to develop trust in others, you must be more than competent. You must also be credible and consistent . . . to make sure that what you say, what you do, and what you say you do all match.” - John Maxwell The 360-Degree Leader

Importance of Ethical Fitness(Cont) “In order to be a leader, a [person] must have followers. And to have followers, a [person] must have their confidence. Hence, the supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.” - President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Just ONE ethical failure can severely damage your ability to lead! Bathsheba Syndrome Just ONE ethical failure can severely damage your ability to lead!

Review What’s the connection between being ethically fit (having integrity) and being an effective leader?

Self-Assessment Limitations “I’m in shape! ROUND is a shape!”

Self Assessment Limitations(Cont) “The natural tendency is to not face ourselves as we really are.” - Dr. Henry Cloud Integrity

Self Assessment Limitations(Cont) Ancient Hebrew Proverb: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” - Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)

Seepage “Leaders not only embed in their organizations what they intend consciously to get across, but they also convey their inner conflicts and the inconsistencies in their own personal makeup.” - Edgar H. Schein Organization Culture and Leadership

Review Do you agree or disagree that you may be limited in your ability to accurately assess your ethical fitness?

Workout “Wake” Assess the “wake” of past relationships Assess the “wake” of past performance

Workout “Core” Monitor for reoccurring negative emotions or over-reactions Decipher! Don’t ignore, don’t be controlled! “EQ” and leadership

Workout “Shipmate” Seek out 360 evals from honest brokers Allow close friends to ask you tough questions about your “internal world”

Review Which of the three workouts do you think would be most helpful for you to implement?

Assessing your Ethical Fitness Further Study Assessing your Ethical Fitness Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud (amazon.com) The Bathsheba Syndrome: The Ethical Failure of Successful Leaders by Dean Ludwig and Clinton Longenecker (internet) YouTube General Peter Pace’s “Moral Courage Lectures” (Part I-III)

1st Final Thought “A few years ago, a group of senior citizens, all at least ninety-five years old, were asked this question: “If you had life to live all over again, what would you do differently?” They weren’t given multiple-choice answers but allowed to say whatever they were thinking. The responses varied, of course, but the three themes that dominated the replies were as follows: ‘If I had life to live all over again, I would reflect more.’ ‘If I had life to live all over again, I would risk more.’ ‘If I had life to live all over again, I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.’ - Kyle Idleman Gods at War

2nd Final Thought “Leaders shed light or cast a shadow on everything that they do. The more conscious the self-awareness, the more light leaders bring. The more limited the self-understanding, the more shadows leaders cast.” - Kevin Cashman Leadership From the Inside Out

“An unexamined life is not worth living.” 3rd Final Thought “An unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates

Questions / Comments