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Leading with Integrity: Overcoming Ethical Challenges in the Workplace

Leading with Integrity: Overcoming Ethical Challenges in the Workplace

In today’s business world, organisations are held more accountable than ever before for their ethical practices. Companies must demonstrate their commitment to integrity if they want to earn the trust of their stakeholders, customers, and employees. Ethical challenges in the workplace can come in many forms, from daily dilemmas to more complex issues that require a comprehensive approach. 

There are numerous examples of failures of leadership as evidenced by the number of royal commissions and inquiries we’ve had in the last few years (such as those in aged care, use of police informants, and hotel quarantine around COVID-19). Perhaps one of the most significant examples is that of Rio Tinto who destroyed two rock shelters in May of 2020 that demolished 46,000 years of continuous human occupation in Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara, Western Australia. While Rio Tinto did take accountability for breaching the trust placed in them by the Puttu Kunto Kurrawa and Pinikura people, shareholders said an apology and stripping bonuses wasn’t enough. This is an example of ethical failure where the organisation’s actions showed no regard for Indigenous cultural heritage, and highlighted the need for better corporate governance.

As a leader, it is your responsibility to identify and overcome these challenges to build a culture of integrity within your organisation.

Set the Tone from the Top

Integrity must start at the top of the organisation, with senior leaders setting a positive example for the rest of the company. Employees will take their cues from their leaders, so it’s important to set a clear expectation that ethical behaviour is non-negotiable. Make sure your code of conduct is clear and comprehensive, and that employees understand the importance of ethical practices in everything they do. Encourage open communication and provide employees with a safe space to raise concerns or report any breaches of the code of conduct.

Effective leadership development programs can be critical for cultivating ethical leaders. This ensures that everyone in the organisation has an understanding of what is expected of them and provides training to help them navigate ethical dilemmas. Through such training, effective leaders are able to better guide and coach their teams through ethical decision making.

Foster a Culture of Trust

Trust is essential for a culture of integrity to thrive. Encourage open and honest communication throughout your organisation and strive to build strong relationships with your team members. When a leader demonstrates honest, transparent, and consistent behaviour, it establishes an environment of trust and respect. This encourages employees to be open and honest with one another, which in turn fosters a culture of ethical behaviour within the team.

When team members trust their leaders and each other, it provides the foundation for greater collaboration and problem solving. This allows everyone to come together and work towards a common goal, while also making sure that all individuals are held accountable for their own actions. Senior leadership training can be a great way to foster trust and respect by teaching effective communication skills and developing strong relationships with team members.

“Creating a culture of integrity in the workplace requires a proactive leadership style and commitment to setting a high ethical standard throughout the organisation.”

Identify and Address Ethical Challenges

Ethical challenges can arise in a variety of situations, from issues related to conflicts of interest to concerns around data privacy and security. As a leader, it’s important to identify potential ethical challenges before they become problems. Conduct regular risk assessments and create a plan to address any issues that are identified. Make sure your employees understand how to handle ethical challenges and are equipped with the tools and resources they need to make ethical decisions.

Effective leadership should also involve actively engaging with employees to understand their ethical perspectives. Assessment and profiling tools can be useful in helping to identify the values that resonate the most deeply with individuals within teams. These insights can be used to guide leaders in creating an ethical framework that is tailored to the organisation and its unique values.

Provide Ongoing Training and Education

Ethical challenges can be complex, and employees may need ongoing training and education to understand the best practices for addressing them. Regularly provide training on ethical issues, laws and regulations related to your industry, and your company’s code of conduct. This will help ensure that ethical behaviour is always top of mind and that your employees know how to respond to ethical challenges.

Both formal and informal training is necessary when helping teams to overcome ethical challenges in the workplace. Formal training should involve interactive seminars and workshops that focus on ethical decision making. In addition, leaders should be encouraging ongoing dialogue about ethical challenges so that team members can learn from each other’s experiences and insights.

Creating a culture of integrity in the workplace requires a proactive leadership style and commitment to setting a high ethical standard throughout the organisation. Building trust among employees, identifying potential risks, and providing ongoing training and education are all key components of a successful ethical program. With the right approach, organisations can create a culture that is built on integrity and trust.

Key Take-Aways

1. Anticipating and adapting to change requires vigilance, flexibility, and learning.

2. Planning for change involves evaluating potential changes in relation to goals and objectives, building high performance teams, establishing succession plans, and communicating expectations clearly.

3. Preparing for the unexpected involves equipping teams with the knowledge and skills needed to identify new opportunities quickly and react to unexpected changes.

About the Author: The Leadership Sphere

The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and  high trust organisation.

Leading with Integrity: Overcoming Ethical Challenges in the Workplace

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