Organizational Leadership & Ethics

Organizational Leadership & Ethics

Summer02 Session (May - June 2012)

Scott M. Walsh, P.E.

Running head: INTERVIEW OF AN ETHICAL LEADER 1

An Interview with:

MG Michael J. Walsh

Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, Corps of Engineers

Scott Walsh, P.E.

LEAD505 – Organizational Leadership & Ethics

June 6, 2012

Ms. Dorothy Cunningham

Southwestern College Professional Studies

An Interview With An Ethical Leader 2

Abstract

Leadership is “the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come

to find desirable” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). To effectively influence people the leader is

required to adapt their behavior to the situations that they are presented with and the individuals

that are in the situation with them. This paper will highlight the type of leader and leadership

style of an ethical leader that is exceptional at influencing people and “creating a moral

environment for the organization” (Ciulla, 2004).

An Interview with:

MG Michael J. Walsh

Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, Corps of Engineers


Leadership History

MG Walsh is my father and a great military leader. He has “commanded two (2) Districts

with two-hundred to one thousand one hundred people in them and also three (3) divisions with

three thousand to five thousand five hundred people assigned” (Walsh, 2012). “Maj. Gen. Walsh

has held a wide variety of Army command and staff assignments, to include: project

management officer for Engineer Branch, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe

(SHAPE); Environmental Task Force Leader, Fort Stewart, Ga.; Executive Officer, 92nd

Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart, Ga., and Saudi Arabia; Project Engineer and Assistant Area

Engineer, Baltimore District; Construction Officer, 18th Engineer Brigade, Darmstadt, Germany;

and Commander, Company B, 94th Engineer Battalion, Darmstadt, Germany” (MRC Current

Members, 2008). MG Walsh is currently “the Deputy Commanding General for Civil and

Emergency Operations for the Corps of Engineers responsible for the nation’s civil work mission

of navigation, flood risk reduction and eco-system restoration with a budget of $5 billion a year

and thirty three thousand people assigned” (Walsh, 2012). He has a significant amount of

leadership knowledge is one of my mentors and is a person I chose to emulate my career after.

Leadership vs. Management

Leadership is social. “Leadership is an interaction between two or more members

of a group that often involves a structuring or restructuring of the situation and the perceptions

and expectations of the members” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). Leadership is situational.

“Leadership depends as much on the situational favorableness as it does on the individual in the

leadership position” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). Leadership is relational. “The leader’s

behavior will be motivational” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). The inherent relationship between


leaders and followers goes beyond what the leader states. The followers take their cues for both

positive and negative action from the leader’s actions. Due to this fact, it is imperative that the

leader be constantly aware of their statements and actions.

MG Walsh states that, “Leaders deal with change; managers deal with complexity. To

change an organization is a human function that requires leadership. Organizing data, structures,

processes are a manager’s task. The better leaders I have known do both well. The best leaders

are great followers” (Walsh, 2012). It appears that MG Walsh has the same view point as John

Kotter when it comes to the quintessential difference between management and leadership.

Kotter states in his article What Leaders Really Do, “Management is about coping with

complexity; Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change” (Kotter, 1990).

Leadership vs. Followship

“Leadership operates within opportunities that are presented by followers” (Pierce &

Newstrom, 2011). “Thus it is those who would follow, not those who would lead, who are the

ultimate power in any leadership relationship” (Ciulla, 2004). MG Walsh also agrees that “to be

a great leader you must be a great follower. To study one side of the coin would be restrictive of

what can be learned” (Walsh, 2012).

Leadership Styles

“Vroom and Jago (2007) defined leadership as “the process of motivating people to work

together collaboratively to accomplish great things” (p. 18)” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). Ciulla

states, “Leaders must create high levels of transparency in their organization for their followers

to fully understand the intent underlying their actions” (Ciulla, 2004). How do leaders

communicate their vision to their followers? MG Walsh utilizes his ability to paint a picture of


his vision when communicating to his organizations. He sees this ability as “Tremendously

important! People sometimes cannot remember narratives but can relate to a “well told story”.

Being able to think about and articulate a vision into stories allows many people to see

themselves attaining the vision/goal” (Walsh, 2012).

One of the many key leadership traits is initiative. Organizations and countries cannot

sustain change without leaders that are “not only full of drive and ambition, but want to lead

others” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). If the individuals that are assigned the leadership roles are

unable to “develop subordinate commitment and responsibility” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011) as

well as “group drive (or motivation)” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011) and a “need to achieve a group

goal” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011) then the leader will be ineffective in completing change and

moving towards the end result. MG Walsh was able to recall several leaders that exemplify

initiative and subsequently are people that he also learned “calmness, gentleness, firmness”

(Walsh, 2012) from. The list of leaders that have influenced MG Walsh’s leadership style and

why are as follows; “President Lincoln – leading a country that was torn and in strife while there

were no clear ways forward. President Teddy Roosevelt – leading/moving our country from a

regional power to a global power. LTG Van Antwerp – a deeply religious man who recruited the

young men and women for our Army while at war. General Petraeus – leading a country,

president and military structure to change the method of war in Iraq and Afghanistan from a

kinetic war to a counter insurgency action” (Walsh, 2012). All of these men are prime examples

of leaders that were full of drive and wanted to lead others.

“Traits alone are not sufficient for successful leadership. Leaders who possess the traits

must take certain actions to be successful (e.g. formulating a vision, role modeling, setting


goals)” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). “Achievement-oriented leadership will cause subordinates

to strive for higher standards of performance and to have more confidence in the ability to meet

challenging goals” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). Organizations are always looking for individuals

that have leadership traits, are ready to take action, and are looking to lead others to strive for

higher standards and meet challenging goals.

Leadership Development

“Leadership is not a static thing and changes with the situation” (Pierce & Newstrom,

2011). Leadership also changes as the leader develops over time. “Every person’s development

begins with family” (Zaleznik, 1977). When asked to discuss how his early childhood and career

influenced his leadership style, MG Walsh responded, “My leadership style has changed over

time. So early upbringing did have effects on my social ability, teamwork, and work ethics along

with values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage; but I

have learned leadership traits from everyone I have worked with who was in a leadership

position both the good ones and the poor ones” (Walsh, 2012).

Kotter stated, “One way to develop leadership is to create challenging opportunities for

young employees” (Kotter, 1990). When MG Walsh was asked about leadership development he

had the following to say. “To become a “master level” at any task, action, or function one must

have the education, training and experience. I tell young leaders to put themselves into a

position that affects one of these” (Walsh, 2012). Kotter also states that “leaders almost always

have had opportunities during their twenties and thirties to actually try to lead, to take a risk, and

to learn from both triumphs and failures. Such learning seems essential in developing a wide

range of leadership skills and perspectives. It also teaches people something about both the


difficulty of leadership and its potential for producing change” (Kotter, 1990). To solidify this

statement MG Walsh believes “young leaders learn by observing how others lead. Observing

how the senior leaders address these challenges will help him/her strengthen their abilities. I

think reading about historical leaders and how they addressed deep stress will also help put

issues into context” (Walsh, 2012).

Leadership Implementation

Mumford & Connelly state that “a leader’s performance is a function of whether he or

she can identify goals, construct viable goal paths, and direct others along these paths in a

volatile, changing socio-technical environment. They must be able to coordinate the activities of

others motivating them to meet mission requirements and must circumvent or resolve issues

impeding progress towards accomplishing organizational goals” (Mumford & Connelly, 1991).

“Transformational leaders use their personal values, vision, commitment to a mission, and

passion to energize and move others (Burns 1978). This form of leadership produces an

admiration of and trust in the leader that results in followers’ going above and beyond

expectation and accomplishing the extraordinary” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). Change requires

a transformational leader as many within the organization are concerned about their personal

self-interests and are not focused and see the new organization as improbable. Individuals will

have beliefs that are contrary to the vision of the organization and these beliefs will need to be

understood and transformed if the organization is to fully reach their goal. “True

transformational leaders identify the core values and unifying purposes of the organization and

its members, liberate their human potential, and foster pluralistic leadership and effective,

satisfied followers” (Ciulla, 2004).


“Leaders are credited or blamed for outcomes over which they alone had little effect”

(Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). Curious as to what a distinguished leader thought of this statement,

especially with regards to some of his recent actions during the flooding of the Mississippi River

last year; MG Walsh was asked what does the phrase “to be a leader is to be responsible” mean

to you. He responded, “As a military leader it is something taught from our first day in a

leadership position – “you are responsible for all that happens or fails to happen”. That means

mission success or failure is in my hand. There is no one else. Look inward for “who is

responsible” when you are the leader” (Walsh, 2012).

Leadership Ethics

Rewording a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote; MG Walsh was asked what does the phrase

"to leave a path for others to follow" mean to you in terms of leadership. This was asked as a

follow up question to his previous answer about how to develop moral character in young

leaders. His response was “to me it means to be a mentor to other upcoming leaders. Help them

learn, observe and be challenged. Give them varied experiences to hone their skills” (Walsh,

2012). Knowing that “leaders are particularly susceptible to ethical failure” (Ciulla, 2004) and

“leaders typically can be expected to know the moral status of their behavior” (Ciulla, 2004);

MG Walsh was asked if he thought there should be times where a leader is exempt from those

rules or standards he/she holds others to obey. His response was, “No. People respond more to

what they see than what they hear. If they see you breaking the rules; they will also” (Walsh,

2012).


Conclusion

Two final questions were asked during the interview that clearly summarizes how MG

Walsh agrees with the two thoughts on leadership that were defined during this paper; leadership

is change and transformational leadership is effective in influencing your organization. When

asked how he would describe his leadership style; MG Walsh responded, “Open and

participatory. Lots of open, disciplined dialogue followed by decisions, goals and metrics”

(Walsh, 2012). MG Walsh uses a participatory style of leadership inside of the overall

transformational leadership style. A participative leadership style allows the “followers to trust in

the leader” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). “Trust in leadership mediates the relationship between

past team performance and future team performance” (Pierce & Newstrom, 2011). The crucial

point to smooth change management is trust in leadership. “Because change can be extremely

disconcerting to members of an organization; one of the change agent’s most important

techniques is consensus building” (Farkas & Wetlaufer, 1996). “Change agents focus not on

where their organizations will end up but on how they will get there” (Farkas & Wetlaufer,

1996). When asked what would you like your subordinates, peers, and fellow leaders to

remember most about you and your leadership style; MG Walsh responded, “That I was a change

agent who moved organizations towards clearly defined visions and goals with vigor and grace”

(Walsh, 2012).


References

MRC Current Members. (2008, February). Retrieved from Mississippi River Commission:

http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/mrc/about/bio.php?b=1

Ciulla, J. B. (2004). Ethics, the Heart of Leadership. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Farkas, C. M., & Wetlaufer, S. (1996). The Ways Chief Executive Officers Lead. Harvard

Business Journal, 115-146.

Kotter, J. P. (1990). What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review, 37-60.

Mumford, M. D., & Connelly, M. S. (1991). Leaders as creators: Leader performance and

problem solving in ill-defined domains. Leadership Quarterly, 2, 289-315.

Pierce, J. L., & Newstrom, J. W. (2011). Leaders and the Leadership Process. New York:

McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Walsh, M. M. (2012, 05 29). Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations.

(S. Walsh, Interviewer)

Zaleznik, A. (1977). Managers and Leaders: Are They Different? Harvard Business Journal, 61-

88.


Appendix A

1. Could you first give me an overview of your work history that has led you to the position

you are now occupying? Please include your current duty as it relates to your leadership

position i.e., how many people do you oversee, your responsibilities, etc.

I have commanded 2 Districts with 200 to 1100 people in them and also three

divisions with 3000 to 5500 people assigned. Currently I am the Deputy Commanding

General for Civil and Emergency Operations for the Corps of Engineers responsible

for the nation’s civil work mission of navigation, flood risk reduction and eco-system

restoration with a budget of $5 billion a year and 33,000 people assigned.

2. You have a very effective way of “painting a picture” or articulating a vision of

something very complicated in a simplistic fashion that everyone understands. Can you

comment on the importance of a leaders’ ability to articulate a vision and why that is so

important to followers and organizations?

Tremendously important!!. People some time cannot remember narratives but can

relate to a “well told story”. Being able to think about and articulate a vision into

stories allows many people to see themselves attaining the vision/goal.

3. How would you describe your leadership style?

Open and participatory. Lots of open, disciplined dialogue followed but decisions,

goals and metrics.


4. What does the phrase “to be a leader is to be responsible” mean to you?

As a military leader it is something taught from our first day in a leadership position –

“you are responsible for all that happens or fails to happen. That means mission

success or failure is in my hand. There is no one else. Look inward for “who is

responsible” when you are the leader.

5. Can justifying ones action lay aside unethical behavior? For example, the unethical

actions of a leader are justified because the outcome was beneficial to all.

There is no example to justify unethical behavior.

6. Many leaders lean on past behaviors and teachings to create their own leadership style; to

what extent does your early childhood upbringing bear on your leadership style?

My leadership style has changed over time. So early upbringing did have affects on my

social ability, teamwork, work ethics along with values of loyalty, duty, respect,

selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. But I have learned leadership

traits from everyone I have worked with who was in a leadership position both the

good ones and the poor ones.

7. Do you believe there is a difference between a leader and a manager? If so, what are the

major differences? Do you believe you can have one without the other in an

organization?

Leaders deal with change; managers deal with complexity. To change an

organization is a human function that requires leadership. Organizing data,


structures, processes are a managers task. The better leaders I have known do both

well. The best leaders are great followers.

8. Do you agree that the study of leadership requires the individual to focus on the followers

as much as the leader?

Of course. Again to be a great leader you must be a great follower. To study on side

on the coin would be restrictive of what can be learned.

9. What recommendations do you give young leaders to continue to develop themselves and

not become complacent?

To become a “master level” at any task, action, function one must have the education,

training and experience. I tell young leaders to put themselves into position that affect

one of these.

10. How do you continue to challenge young leaders so they develop moral/ethical strength?

I think young leaders learn by observing how others lead. Observing how the senior

leaders address these challenges will help him/her strengthen their abilities. I think

reading about historical leaders and how they addressed deep stress will also help put

issues into context.

11. What does the phrase "to leave a path for others to follow" mean to you in terms of

leadership?

To me it means to be a mentor to other upcoming leaders. Help them learn, observe

and be challenged. Give them varied experiences to hone their skills.


12. Name a few people whose ethical leadership practices you admire and tell me why you

selected those individuals. If you have had mentors in the past whose leadership style

you have emulated, what qualities have you valued?

President Lincoln – leading a country that was torn and in strive while there were no

clear ways forward

President Teddy Roosevelt – leading/moving our country from a regional power to a

global power.

LTG Van Antwerp – a deeply religious man who recruited the young men and women

for our Army while at war.

General Petraeus – leading a country, president and military structure to change the

method of war in Iraq and Afghanistan from a kinetic war to a counter insurgency

action.

The mentors I have used taught me calm, taught me gentleness, and taught me

firmness.

13. Given the “power” of certain leadership positions, do you think there should be times

where a leader is exempt from those rules or standards he/she holds others to obey?

No. People respond more to what they see than what they hear. If they see you

breaking the rules; they will also.


14. When all is said and done, what would you like your subordinates, peers, and fellow

leaders to remember most about you and your leadership style?

That I was a change agent who moved organizations towards clearly defined visions

and goals with vigor and grace.

15. Thanks for being a great leader in my life, and thanks for taking the time to answer these

questions. Any final remarks or comments?

You are on the right path with you recent changed experience further enhanced by

additional education. Broaden your network with people outside your sphere of

influence.

1. Out of all of the reading you've done for this class, which essay was the most instructive for you? Which made you think the most, had the most value to you as a leader/potential leader? Why or why not? Be specific.

Answer

The Work of Leadership was the essay that was the most instructive for me, made me think the most, and had the most value to me. I am currently tasked with having to institute adaptive change within my organization and several of the teachings were very insightful. I noticed that majority of the effort of our team has been spent on "the dance floor" and not "on the balcony". We have focused so much on how we need to realign ourselves within our section that we have missed the vision on how our section interacts with the entire organization.

The question becomes why we are instituting adaptive change in the first place; our business environment changed. We no longer are able to operate in an unconstrained fiscal environment. This change caused our business process and focus to change. When that occurred we were no longer able to operate utilizing the same model and needed to realign ourselves to fit the new operating model.

“Solutions to adaptive challenges reside not in the executive suite but in the collective intelligence of employees at all levels, who need to use one another as resources, often across boundaries, and learn their way to those solutions” (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). Fortunately our executive team understood this and created a cross functional team made of individuals from across the section and tasked them to work together to find the solution to a new organizational model that matched the new operational model. We also needed to provide the process flow diagrams and reference material to go along with the new organizational model.

How is the team going about creating the new organizational model? We followed the executive’s lead in understanding that “businesses that cannot learn quickly to adapt to new challenges, are likely to face their own form of extinction” (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). We stood up a small task force type team chartered with operating within the current organization but utilizing the new operational model. By doing this we can experiment and learn what the pain points are and we can “listen to the ideas and concerns of people inside the organization” (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). The team will use these “conflicts as clues – symptoms of adaptive change” (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997) and help create a plan for resolving the conflicts when the entire organization is tasked with operating in this type of environment. We are still in the beginning stages of this plan and therefore have not progressed further; however, this essay is effective in laying out a roadmap to follow to effectively bring about adaptive change to the organization.

http://learn.sckans.edu/webapps/assessment/take/launch.jsp?course_assessment_id=_8633_1&course_id=_3865_1&content_id=_195963_1&step=null

Bibliography Heifetz, R. A., & Laurie, D. L. (1997). The Work of Leadership. Harvard Business

Journal, 171-197.

1. What are the most important ethical issues facing leaders in today's organizations? Why is it important for leaders to study ethics?

The Ethics of Respect. It is important to understand that leadership is a relational

interaction between individuals. Each individual is trying to influence the other to act or

react in a way the leader wants them to act. It is very important for every leader to

understand that “human interactions should be governed by rules of respect” (Lawrence

M. Hinman, 2002). Just as there is a fine line between undercover law enforcement

officers and the actual individuals they are trying to capture; there is a fine line between

respectfully influencing followers and playing your followers for fools. When the leader

loses sight of the respect their followers are naturally due their influence because

distasteful, rude, and inconsiderate. By doing this, leaders run the risk of losing their

followers and without followers there is no leader.

The Ethics of Self-Interest or Ethical Egoism. “Leaders are particularly susceptible to

ethical failure” (Ciulla, 2004); especially the leaders who believe they are above the

ethical standards they set for their followers. “Power can insulate leaders from the

contingencies that force self-interest and morality together” (Ciulla, 2004). What does

this mean? As leaders progress through the workforce gaining more and more

responsibility it is easy to believe oneself is above ethical failure. “Individuals in

leadership positions can think they have less reason to expect the setbacks to self-interest

that most of us associate with immoral behavior” (Ciulla, 2004). Why should the leader

continue to understand the importance of self-interest and immoral behavior? This lapse

in understanding is the start down a slippery path. The more a leader becomes self-

interested the more they believe they are acting morally; however, the outside world sees

that behavior as immoral. The problem is the leader is too close to the situation and

cannot see the big picture that as a leader you are held to an even higher ethical standard

because you are the face, voice, and epitome of what is acceptable to your organization.

Bibliography Ciulla, J. B. (2004). Ethics, the Heart of Leadership. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Lawrence M. Hinman, P. (2002). Basic Moral Orienations Overview. (P. Lawrence M.

Hinman, Performer) San Diego, California.

1. Discuss five specific things you've learned in this class that impact your understanding of the relationship between leadership and ethics. Explain what impact this new learning will have on your professional life. What behaviors will you change, if any, as a result of this new learning?

Ciulla's argument that "when power is truly shared it changes the rights, duties, and

responsibilities of both leader and follower" is one to be remembered throughout my

leadership career. I agree with this statement and that "When leaders really empower

people, they give them the responsibility that comes with that power" (Ciulla, 2004). If an

organization's leaders are unable to give up the power and responsibility; they are not

truly empowering their employees. My organization is currently going through a

transition from a very hierarchical structure to a more cross functional flattened

organizational structure. Our business has rapidly changed and we "require a flatter

organizational structure and employees willing to learn and change with the changing

depends of their job, the market, and technology" (Ciulla, 2004). As a member of the

team helping to reshape the organization, we know "power decreases in organizations

because of flattened organizational structure"; (Ciulla, 2004) however; we also know that

a flattened organizational structure provides more opportunities for advancement,

productivity, and flexibility at the employee level. Currently within the organization there

are individuals in leadership positions with the job title "Unit Chief" (UC) that have

Assistant Unit Chiefs (AUCs) that are supposed to be empowered to make decisions;

however, the UCs are unwilling to completely relinquish their power and responsibility to

the AUCs. The problem this presents for the organization is twofold. First, the AUCs are

misled to believe they have power to make decisions and become frustrated with the lack

of trust from their UCs and begin to shut down in their own leadership capacity and

advancement. This sets a poor example for their employees and makes interaction with

them on decisions difficult. The second problem prevents the organization from adapting

to the changing conditions around it. The organization knows it needs to become flat and

in order to do that it needs to empower those at the "second tier" level. This

empowerment allows the "top tier" leaders to focus more on strategic planning and focus

on where the organization is headed; while, the "second tier" focuses on the day-to-day

activities. If true empowerment is not provided by the "top tier" they cannot completely

focus on their new tasks and ultimately prevents the organization from changing in a

timely manner.

The total quality management (TQM) theory and how it "puts workers together in teams

to produce quality goods and services" (Ciulla, 2004) is a theory I was unfamiliar with;

however, I have been implementing this daily because it is the management theory that

my organization is currently realigning towards. We are redesigning our office spaces,

furniture layouts, procedures, organizational structures to be more collaborative and team

oriented. We believe that working in teams "keeps everyone in line and pulling his or her

weight" (Ciulla, 2004) and we also want to "reinstate a craft ethic in workers, which

includes pride in workmanship and the intrinsic value of a job well done" (Ciulla, 2004).

We work in an environment that is constantly changing and employees could be working

hard and doing a good job; however, they may not always be seeing the value their job is

bringing to the entire work product. When employees cannot see how they fit into the

"big picture" they tend to be less productive. We are looking to reverse this course of

action and bring everyone back to our previous work standard and surpass the benchmark

that was previously set.

The following quote from Robert C. Solomon, "leadership is not just instrumentality -

"getting things done." It is also moving people, in both sense of that term. It involves

stimulating their emotions and it involves motivating them" (Solomon, 1996). As

previously stated, my organization is going through realignment and it is requiring a

significant amount of effective leadership strategies to implement it smoothly. I think

going through an organizational realignment is something that helps to bring out the

various different leadership styles and theories as it plays out. The organization’s senior

leaders cannot force individuals to change; they need to motivate them to change. They

need to get everyone to trust them to believe that change is a good thing and it's going to

make them better and the organization better. They need to build relationships within the

organization to help sell change and the processes that are happening. They need to

involve the employees in coming up and executing the plan for the realignment. It's one

of the few actions that an individual can see almost every type of leadership style played

out over the course of the realignment.

"The ultimate proof of commitment is not what you give up but what actions you take to

achieve the value in reality" (Ciulla, 2004). I really do believe that this is a true statement.

I will make the broad assumption that the individual takes moral actions to achieve the

value and by doing so motivates the followers to join the leader in the value. For

example, I have been working on a new initiative at work where I am working with a

cross functional team. These individuals do not directly report to me; however, I am the

lead on this project and we work together as a team. The initiative is causing an

organizational cultural shift and some of my team members are from the "old guard" and

were very hesitant about the project and where we were headed. I stayed late and worked

diligently crunching numbers and putting together slide decks. I went out of my way to

communicate how the rest of industry is headed in the same direction we were heading

and how this was going to be a good thing in the end for the organization. Eventually the

"old guard" came around to agree with the initiative and we had a successful

implementation within the larger organization. I personally don't believe my team came

around to see the benefit of the initiative because they saw me sacrificing my personal

time with my family for work by staying late, or the fact I sacrificed working on other

more impressive projects for this one, but more that I took those actions and additional

ones to win over the team and to get behind the initiative. I believe it was my actions not

my sacrifices that built trust within my team and helped us move forward.

"If leadership is transformational, its charisma or idealized influence is envisioning and

confident, and sets high standards for emulation" (Ciulla, 2004). In my opinion a leader

should always strive to be emulated by his/her followers. I see this at the heart of

transformational leadership. A leader trains followers to be leaders and eventually to take

his/her position. A former mentor of mine told me, you should always teach someone to

take your spot because it means you get to move on to bigger and better things. So I was

young and ambitious so he made it more of a selfish pep-talk, but the logic is still sound.

You want to teach your followers to follow in your footsteps so they can become leaders

within your organization or outside your organization. The idea is to continually help

invest in individuals because they are an organization's best asset. Also, if those

individuals grow and leave your organization they will remember what you did for them

and either speak highly of you (as a side note you'll expand your network or sphere of

influence) or negatively of you (potentially lose business and negatively affect your

reputation). I also liked the quote towards the end of the reading which ties back into this

discussion; "The inspiration is simple: virtue is its own reward" (Ciulla, 2004).

Bibliography Ciulla, J. B. (2004). Ethics, the Heart of Leadership. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Solomon, R. (1996). Ethical leadership, emotions and trust: Beyond "charisma.". Kellogg

Leadership Studies Project: Ethics and leadership, working papers, 83-102.

Documents

Organizational Leadership & Ethics