Fundamentals of Ethical

Leadership:Make your Department

“Grouse-Resistant”Ethical Leadership Series

Metro Fire Chief Officers AssociationSession 1

January 31, 2011

Agenda

• Introduction

• Our Real Goal: Engagement

• Ethical Leadership Fundamentals

• What’s Next?

ELA’s “Guidelines for Grownups”

• Confidentiality Expectations

• Engagement

• Respectful Candor

• Thoughtful Expediency

• Comfort and Fun

Empower others to improve the world

Among my teachers…

ELA’s Fire Service Paradox 1

Where can we protect more lives and property?

ELA’s Fire Service Paradox #2

Volunteer Public Employee

Night Gig Self-Identity

Team Member Individual

Peer SubordinateSeeks Direction Seeks Autonomy

SeeksFlexibility

Work isMission-Critical

Ethical Leadership can promoteengagement and performance

What drives employee engagement?

Source: Gallup G12 Summary

• Clear expectations for my performance• Materials and equipment• Ability to do good work in assigned

roles• A supervisor who cares about me• Co-workers committed to quality work• Opportunities to learn and grow

Source: Gallup G12 Summary

Gallup’s six key factors

Pre

ssu

re

LOW

HIGH

HIGHSupport

Adapted from Social Discipline Window - Paul McCold and Ted Wachtel - 2000

TO WITH

NOT FOR

punitive relational

neglectful permissive

authoritarianstigmatising

authoritative respectful

indifferentpassive

protectiveeasy/undemanding

Relational Leadership Model

TO WITH

NOT FOR

RelationalLeaders offer high pressure,

high support

Pre

ssu

re

Support

How do you lead?

We are most likely to trust and co-operate with individuals and

systems - whether we win or lose - when we experience fair

process.

“Process” includesanything

fromgiving

feedback toa single FFto setting

departmentalstrategy

Kim & Mauborgne, Harvard Business Review, July – August 1997

Why think about “Fair Process?”

• Engagement– Stakeholders invited to participate– Participants have an opportunity to be heard

• Explanation– Process and rationale are clearly explained, along with

decisions and outcomes.– Explanation is respectful – it is also often educational.

• Expectation Clarity– When decisions are made, implications for all

stakeholders are clearly articulated.– Everyone knows what to expect, and what is expected

of them.

FairProcess is

workingWITHothers

The Three Elements of Fair Process

Fair Process does not mean:

• Democracy• Consensus• Happiness or Contentment• Accommodation of individual wishes

or whims• Command relinquishing legitimate

decision authority or accountability

A good indication of a fair process is when people who do not“get their way” understand why and how a decision was made,

and acknowledge that the process was fair.

Talking about Ethics

• Authority or Traditions.• Conscience or gut feel.• Name-calling

OR

• Ethical frameworks• Analytical thinking • Constructive discussion

Prevailing Ethical Theories

• Virtue Ethics• Rights-Based Theories• Kantianism• Utilitarianism

J.S. Mill b. 1806

Immanuel Kantb. 1724

Aristotle b. 384 BCE

Think “OMAR”:Outcomes – Motives – Agent – Rights

3,000 years in 5 minutes

John Lockeb. 1632

Ethical Discussion Framework

• Articulate position (or competing positions). • Define disagreements or points of contention.• Clarify terms and concepts• Seek and clarify situation facts and objective data• Analyze positions

Outcomes Motives Agent Rights

• Past: What happened– Observable events and facts– First person and objective

• Present: Why it matters– Consequences of actions.– Implications

• Future: Required Changes, Directions– Changes in actions or behaviors– Reinforcement to repeat positive actions

FairProcess is

workingWITHothers

Giving Feedback

What does “Relational Leadership” teach usabout giving feedback?

What’s Next?

February: Deep Readiness: Virtues of EL in the Fire Svc.

March: Ethical Leadership Through Change

April: Mentoring, Managing, and Evaluating Performance

• Your goals for our time?

• What do you want to talk

about together?

• Other ideas?

We have plenty of room to customize!

Thank you for your attention!

Chad Weinstein

Ethical Leaders in Action, LLC

cweinstein@ethinact.com

651-646-1512

“We enable ethical leaders to achieve

extraordinary results”