Role of Ethics and Spiritualism in Corporate

Leadership

Dr. Deepanjali MishraKIIT University

• “Unlimited Power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it”

• -- William Pitt, former Prime Minister of• Britain

Concept of Leadership• Leadership is a process of

social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the attainment of a goal set and an effective leader is the one who provides the vision and motivation to a team so they work together toward the same goal.

• It also means understanding the talents and temperaments of each individual and effectively motivating each person to contribute individually their best toward achieving the group goal.

• He / She is someone who stands up willingly at the forefront to be either the target or the hero to take responsibility for the success or failure of a given goal. Though many leaders are competent yet few qualify as being remarkable.

ATTRIBUTES OF LEADERSHIP• Awareness• Decisiveness• Empathy• Accountability• Confidence

AWARENESS

• They organize themselves in a way that sets them apart from their employees--not in a manner that suggests they are better than others, but in a way that permits them to retain an objective perspective on everything that's going on in their organization.

DECISIVENESS

• The leaders must make tough decisions which goes with the job. They understand that in adverse situations, difficult and timely decisions needs to be taken in the best interests of the entire organization, decisions that require a firmness, authority, and finality that will not please everyone

EMPATHY

• A good leader is the one who has the ability to step into another's shoes, and compassionate towards the sufferings of his employees. Extraordinary leaders praise in public and address problems in private.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Extraordinary leaders take responsibility for everyone's performance, including their own. When things are going well, they praise. When problems arise, they identify them quickly, seek solutions, and get things back on track.

CONFIDENCE

• Employees are naturally drawn to them, seek their advice, and feel more confident as a result. When challenged, they don’t give in too easily, because they know their ideas, opinions and strategies are well-informed and the result of much hard work.

OPTIMISM

• The very best leaders are source of positive energy. They communicate easily. They are intrinsically helpful and genuinely concerned for other people’s welfare. They always seem to have a solution and always know what to say to inspire and reassure.

HONESTY

• The leaders are extremely ethical and believe that honesty, effort, and reliability form the foundation of success. They embody these values so overtly that no employee doubts their integrity for a minute. They share information openly and avoid spin control.

INSPIRARTION

• A leader inspires his followers in attaining the goal. Put it all together and what emerges is a picture of the truly inspiring leader: someone who communicates clearly, concisely, and often, and by doing so motivates everyone to give their best all the time

Ethics and Leadership

Role of Ethics in Leadership• Ethics consists of

judging by an individual about right and wrong from moral point of view. Decisions taken within an organization may be made by individuals or groups,

contd

• but whoever makes them will be influenced by the culture of the company. Attract customers to the firm’s products, which means boosting sales and profits

• Make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labour turnover and therefore increase productivity

• Attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees

• Attract investors and keep the company’s share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover.

• Maintaining ethics is extremely beneficial for the investors because knowing that the company they deal with has stated their morals and made a promise to work in an ethical and responsible manner allows investors’ peace of mind that their money is being used in a way that arranges with their own moral standing.

• When working for a company with strong business ethics, employees are comfortable in the knowledge that they are not by their own action allowing unethical practices to continue.

Spiritualism and Leadership

Role of Spiritualism in Leadership

• Spirituality has been defined as, “That which is traditionally believed to be the vital principle or animating force within living beings; that which constitutes one’s unseen intangible being; the real sense or significance of something”

• Spirituality in the workplace is about people seeing their work as a spiritual path, as an opportunity to grow personally and to contribute to society in a meaningful way.

• It is about learning to be more caring and compassionate with fellow employees, with bosses, with subordinates and customers. It is about integrity, being true to oneself, and telling the truth to others.

• In-order to gain a systemic understanding of how workplace spirituality—through transcendence and value congruence among organizational, team, and individual values—impacts organizational effectiveness, one must focus on the interconnectedness and interplay across these levels.

Guidelines for leading from a spiritual perspective

• Know Yourself• Act with Authenticity• Respect and Honor the Beliefs of

Others• Winning trust of your employees• Spiritual Practice

Balance Between Ethics and Spiritualism

• Many people today are finding that there’s more to life—and business—than profits alone.  Money as the single bottom line is increasingly a thing of the past.  In a post-Enron world, values and ethics are an urgent concern.  The hottest buzz today is about a “triple bottom line,” a commitment to “people, planet, profit.” 

• Some people say it’s all about bringing your spiritual values into your workplace. A poll published in USA Today found that 6 out of 10 people say workplaces would benefit from having a great sense of spirit in their work environment.

• Workplace ethics is harnessing the characteristics of the “spirit” in the work environment and conducting business in a socially responsible manner which promotes internal and external co-creation and development.

• Marglis and Walsh clearly demonstrate the positive correlation between an organizations 'socially responsible behaviour' and its financial performance throughout their study.

Conclusion

• The sustainable business, social investment and spirituality in business movements are one of the hopeful signs that business, as the most powerful institution in world today, may be transforming from within. What is emerging is a new attitude towards the workplace as a place to fulfil one’s deeper purpose.

• The transformation process may take time, but at the end of it the reward of 'Increase in Sustainability' awaits the organization in terms of societal support, enhanced brand value and enthusiastic investors waiting to invest in the or organization.