Ethical Leadership is the moral connection of people to each other and their work through the development of common interests, principles, values, and community building. Leadership is characterised as a social influence process in which one individual may enlist the help and support of others in the completion of a common mission. Leaders have the most significant and influential impact on an organization's community, and they are responsible for building an atmosphere of integrity and confidence. Over the last decade, leadership has taken on a variety of shapes and styles. Furthermore, indicates that one aspect of this transition has been leaders' actions and how a leader's ethical behaviour can affect organisational culture.
An organization's culture is characterised as the collection of values, beliefs, assumptions, principles, myths, legends, and other things that determine how people actually think, decide, and function in an organisation. Culture is often defined as the “unseen hand” that profoundly influences how we see ourselves, our organisations, our leaders, and the world around us, both individually and collectively.
Culture is socially acquired and transmitted by members; it establishes the ground rules for organisational action. Organizational culture is described as the belief that can direct employees in knowing what to do and what not to do, including habits, beliefs, and expectations about their work. An organization's core values begin with its leadership, which evolves into a leadership style. Subordinates would be led by these principles and the actions of representatives, so all parties' behaviour can become more consistent. A strong organisational culture develops when strong cohesive behaviour, values, and beliefs are established. Leaders must recognise their role in preserving an organization's culture. This, in turn, would ensure consistent actions among company members, reducing tensions and creating a safe working atmosphere for employees.
Nurses who view their supervisors as compassionate and loving have higher levels of job satisfaction. A positive manager shares beliefs, believes in a balance of authority, and encourages open dialogue with nurses, which decreases the likelihood of internal disputes. This form of leader is effective in his or her position and is compassionate and attentive to clinical nurses, allowing him or her to maintain power and status within the hospital system. Such leaders are respected in the company and have the authority to do whatever they deem appropriate to foster a safe atmosphere for nursing. As a result, they have a measurable impact on nurse morale and work satisfaction.
Scholars of leadership have attempted to construct a broad theory of ethical leadership from a variety of perspectives. Learning occurs when followers infer important messages based on observations of leaders' attitudes, emotional reactions, beliefs, and preferences. As a result, a leader may become a symbolic character, a model, and a symbol that encapsulates the way people in a given social context organise and give meaning and direction to their lives in a single distilled picture. Behavioral science research also supports this viewpoint, with more companies engaging in ethical leadership training and encouraging leaders to model the desired behaviours.
According to workplace studies, beliefs are the behaviour and choices that people make when they believe no one is looking. As a result, when workers accept organisational principles and have good ethical leadership, upholding the rules and standards of expected conduct can become an inherent incentive that does not rely on supervision, identification, or fear of punishment. For example, leadership entails using authority to assist followers in dealing with competing principles that arise in rapidly evolving work environments and social cultures. It is an ethical viewpoint because it responds directly to worker values.
Leaders must connect with their followers and assist them in their personal challenges with contradictory beliefs. In the end, the bond between the leader and the follower increases the morale of both. Leadership ethics is founded on three pillars:
(a) the leader's moral character;
(b) the ethical principles inherent in the leader's vision, articulation, and initiatives, which followers accept or reject; and
(c) the morality of the social ethical decisions and acts that leaders and followers participate in and pursue collectively.
In transformational leadership, leaders and followers work together to achieve higher-level goals that are shared by all. Such leadership happens when one or more people interact with others in such a way that leaders and followers motivate and moralise one another. Ethical leadership is a combination of ethical decision-making and ethical action that occurs in both a person and an organised context. A major obligation of a leader is to help exemplify the corporate understanding of how to exercise and live the ethical code by making ethical choices and behaving ethically.
Organizational culture reflects common assumptions, values, and beliefs and serves as the social glue that holds a company together. A strong culture is a set of rules that govern how people should act. A company with a strong culture has shared principles and standards of ethics for its workers, which can help them achieve their missions and goals. Employees can gain work appreciation and job satisfaction when they accomplish the tasks assigned to them by the company.