SLC 300 (601) Fall 2024 Leading with an Ethical Perspective

The Triangle Business Journal’s Guest Column, “Needed: Leaders Who Inspire, Listen” was especially eye-opening and inspiring. The newspaper wanted column format was the perfect vessel for explaining the way an authentic leader leads.

An authentic leader honors people. To me, this means that you should lead with the members of your group or company first. You should take the time to get to know who you are working with to help them be the most effective. An authentic leader also provides meaning. I understand this to mean that the leader can help to infuse every decision with passion and understanding. Providing meaning is also helpful when you need to defend a decision you have made. This applies to both business and personal decisions. An authentic leader also listens. This is the most important attribute to me. Listening is so simple, but often in today’s culture we fail to slow down and listen to each other before making a quick judgment. Building trust is another attribute of an authentic leader. This goes hand in hand with listening. To build trust you must get to know someone which starts with listening to them. A good authentic leader is also vulnerable. Showing vulnerability is not a weakness. Knowing when to ask for help is powerful. A strong leader knows when to ask for help and be vulnerable. This also helps to build trust and comradery. Acknowledging others is another key attribute of an authentic leader. Valuing and recognizing the hard work of others will not only continue to motivate them but it will also inspire others to reach their full potential. An authentic leader will also provide a stake or help give the people around them ownership of the organization to foster a “we” mentality. All in all, the article described how to be an authentic leader which will make you a better more effective leader. It was specifically helpful because each point can be applied to your personal and professional life.

https://moodle-courses2425.wolfware.ncsu.edu/pluginfile.php/654268/mod_resource/content/1/Needed_Leaders_Inspire_Listen.pdf

The Willy Wonka Experience event in Glasgow described in the BBC article is reminiscent of the Fyre Festival scandal we learned about earlier in the semester. Billy McFarland and ​​Billy Coull both were very good at marketing. They failed to plan safe, legitimate events, but they masterfully leveraged the marketing for the events. They oversold a fantasy-like dream event that would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. While Coull used artificial intelligence to create dream-like images of a false reality, McFarland did a similar thing, by inviting models to an unfinished beach. The viral marketing campaigns set the expectations of the events very high. With little regard for the safety and trust of the attendees, the two scammers proceeded to host the events without proper safeguards in place. McFarland used supermodels Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and Allesandra Ambrosio, flashy music videos, viral social media posts, and people with established names in the music industry to sell his event. Coull used the popularity of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Wonkathe film starring Timothée Chalamet, and artificially generated images to sell his event. Both men acted unethically and had to accept that they intentionally frauded people with the priority of making money. This violates virtue ethics and utilitarianism. Billy McFarland and ​​Billy Coull prioritized profit over people. Planning large festival-style events like the Willy Wonka Experience and Fyre Festival isn’t easy. McFarland and Coull had the opportunity to take a step back and plan legitimate events but chose to prioritize creating viral idyllic marketing campaigns instead. This is what led to the downfall of both events. The stunningly beautiful marketing campaigns created a higher expectation level which only increased the disappointment for attendees of both events.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-68431728

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/18/how-fyre-festivals-organizer-scammed-investors-out-of-26-million.html

I’m doing a connection to self by using the article “Leaders Who Inspire, Listen”. I made this type of connection with basketball, but I’m going to turn it around to my family. Being the oldest of 6, it comes with a lot of responsibilities and especially headaches. In the article it talks about the 8 things that make you an authentic leader which is honoring people, provide meaning, listens, open/ transparency, build trust, vulnerable, acknowledges others and provides a stake. Being the leader/ older sibling and being in a sports family everyone has their own gifts when it comes to sports or even love playing video games. Being able to truly listen to them when they are going through something, or they ask me questions of things they are curious about and understand them. Being open in showing them that doing the right thing is hard, but it’s worth it and understanding that being a leader in your own right is hard. Me and my siblings as all other siblings have gone through hard times in their relationship when things went wrong, but being able to take accountability and responsibility can help build that trust. Wanting to confide in my sister since she is close in age with me has helped build our relationship. Being able to acknowledge when my siblings do something well or does the right thing when no one is looking helps them understand that what they are doing is right and that I’m happy for them.

I’m doing a connection to self and I’m using the article “Strong Ethics Provide Guidance”. While reading this small reading about how effective leadership can help others seek guidance from you because of the same values or principles you may share. This reminds me of two different situations and one of them is how I’m a leader for the women’s basketball team, and being a leader can be hard. The characteristics I have of being a leader is putting the team goals before my individual goals, effort and energy when I play, making the right decisions on and off the court, being able to sacrifice for my team when they need me to and being able to help my teammates when they need me or when they need advice. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel that this helps my team understand that they can rely on me and that I’ll give them honest advice and guidance especially to the freshman. Another situation is how my mom is an ethical leader in my eyes because she raised me into the woman I am today. She raised me on these same values and principles to become a leader myself. So, for me and maybe for a lot of people and their parents, it’s easier to go to those that are close to you. She enforces her values and principles in her life daily like at her job, in our family, etc. and it made me look at her as an effective leader.

I would like to make a text-to-self connection between the article “Guest Column: Strong ethics provide guidance” and my personal experiences. I think that this speaks to my personal experience as I step into different leadership positions and have had to learn how to speak up, support others, collaborate and work through differences. I also think that this article speaks to the experiences I have had in the workplace and understanding how each person’s values lead them to make different decisions in their role. The article shares this idea in another way when it states, “We can remind ourselves that principles are immutable truths and that, like a lighthouse, they can guide our ship into port and safety.” I also think this article has a humble approach to acknowledging how ethics play a role in leadership when it says, “Ethical leadership reminds us no one is above these principles.” This creates a very relational perspective that allows me to look at ethical leadership as an objective experience rather than subjective. I think it takes a humble approach that acknowledges that ethical principles tie people together and create structure for work environments. I think as I take on new jobs, work with new people and learn new skills to use in my position, I do my best to take a humble approach and realize that the ethical values and principles in society and the company are what ties us together.

Strong_Ethics_Provide_Guidance.pdf

For this Dual Journal Entry Post #14 I decided to do my DEJ Post on Yellow Company Two’s Ethical Framework we developed for our final Group Project. “The Compass of Leadership Ethics” by Ryan Magee, Abbey Gaines, and Grant Wilson:

Text to Self: Quote: “The design of the compass prioritizes accessibility and actionability for decision-makers”. This resonates with my personal experience in leading group projects where accessible and actionable frameworks help make complex decisions way easier. CLE’s focus on actionable steps aligns with my need for practical tools to improve leadership and ethical decision-making in my future career in technology, especially with the rise of AI Integration.

Text to Text: Quote: “The Compass of Leadership Ethics (CLE) guides leaders in making values-based decisions by balancing personal integrity, organizational accountability, societal impact, and empathy for stakeholders”. This framework aligns with the Value-Based Leadership Paradigm discussed by Shatalebi and Yarmohammadian, which emphasizes harmonizing diverse values within organizations to achieve ethical and cohesive leadership. Both frameworks prioritize empathy and shared values as central components of effective decision-making, showcasing their universal application to leadership challenges​.

Text to World: Quote: “Real-world cases of unethical decision making such as the Boeing Scandal inspired the specific cardinal directions”. CLE’s emphasis on real-world scandals reflects the increasing global demand for ethical accountability in leadership. The Boeing example underlines how neglecting societal and stakeholder impact leads to catastrophic outcomes, emphasizing the need for frameworks like CLE in industries worldwide.

For this Dual Entry Journal Post #13 I decided to take a look at the reading article from this week’s module. I do an analysis on the “Value Based Leadership Paradigm” article by Bdri Shatalebi, and Mohammad Hossien Yarmohammadian.

Text-to-Self: This article reminds me of multiple things that we have learned over the semester. It divulges into a method and adequate model for using this paradigm in real life scenarios such as at universities. The biggest aspect that I liked from this model is how broad and well rounded the paradigm is in relation to ethics. As it primarily discusses Value based Leadership, but in diving into this topic shows just how important ethics are in values leadership.

text-to-text: “Value Based Leadership Paradigm” reminds me of Yellow Company two’s ethical framework that we developed CLE (the compass of leadership ethics). This framework embodies everything the authors want from leaders when making decisions. The key four pillars of CLE, Integrity, Social Responsibility, Empathy, and Responsibility are the key factors in this article. This shows that CLE does have good foundations but could be more well rounded.

Text-to-world: The article reflects broader global trends of prioritizing ethical leadership in response to increasing cultural diversity and complex societal challenges. This mirrors contemporary calls for transparency and integrity in global organizations, highlighting the universal applicability of value-based leadership frameworks. The article’s emphasis on harmonizing diverse employee values resonates with personal challenges I face in group projects, where balancing individual perspectives and shared goals is crucial.

Within the value based paradigm article, the employee diversity puzzle brings up a lot of issues within purpose, attitude, values, speech, and more. I like how this article emphasized the need of understanding and being there for employees needs. If a workspace is not built to support employees things like purpose and attitude, there will not be good culture around the building. To build purpose and attitude, I believe that leaders have to make employees feel as if they can bring a part of their identity into the company’s success. If there is success, they can know that they played a good role within that outcome. Additionally, attitude is built better within this because they know that they are working towards a common goal. Also, there is not as much individual work going on usually when there is team success being upheld. Finally, I believe that measurement is the most important aspect between building a culture like this. Accountability is only confirmed or denied when measurements can accurately portray how a group or an individual is doing. This reading made me realize that measurement should be held to the highest standard within any organization.

When reading about the need for fundamental inspiration in today’s leadership in, Needed: Leaders Who Inspire, Listen, I realized that many of the qualities exhibited in an inspired leader are centered around trust. Honors people, provides meaning, listens, is open, builds trust, is open are all qualities of a leader that inspires groups well. I think that this works well as a leadership strategy because your employees do not feel as at odds with leadership. If employees can feel comfortable bringing concerns or harder things going on that they need help with, and they feel that they can share their concerns because they are in an element of care, they will not have pent up bad feelings. I believe pent up bad feelings about the workplace can come up when the employee deals with their concerns at work themselves, or if they feel work is harming their personal life in some way. If a leader can create an environment where the employee feels like their work environment can be an asset in their life, it will increase function across all employees. On top of this, providing a stake is also one of the most important values of a good leader. As they are able to give meaningful work to their employees so they can be proud of the success of the company.

The article explores the concept of value-based leadership (VBL) and its importance in fostering organizational success and adaptability in today’s dynamic environment. Organizations face significant challenges in managing diverse workforces characterized by varied values, cultures, and experiences. Leaders must balance creating a unified organizational culture with respecting individual differences, emphasizing the need for shared values to promote cohesion and productivity. Core leadership values such as truthfulness, justice, commitment, communication, creativity, and meaningful work are central to this approach. Leaders must effectively communicate and act in alignment with these values to build trust and guide behavior across their organizations. The article introduces the idea of an organizational “value covenant,” a framework to align different groups within an organization toward shared goals and ideals, promoting unity over division. In light of rapid changes driven by globalization, technological advancements, and shifting social and economic pressures, the article argues that traditional management methods are inadequate. The demands of the modern era call for adaptable leadership styles rooted in shared values. To address these challenges, the researchers propose a five-part model of VBL, consisting of philosophy, principles, conceptual frameworks, processes, and appraisal systems, validated by university faculty members. This discussion of VBL is especially relevant today, as organizations increasingly focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. Stakeholders demand transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct, making value-based leadership essential for navigating these expectations. For example, companies like Google and Microsoft emphasize inclusivity, equitable workplaces, and sustainability, reflecting VBL principles in their strategies. However, challenges arise when actions, such as employee layoffs, appear misaligned with espoused values. Similarly, the shift to remote and hybrid workforces post-pandemic underscores the importance of shared values in maintaining cohesion and collaboration across geographically dispersed teams.