Ethical Leadership: Utilizing The Five Timeless Questions


    When our ethics get in the way of what we want more than anything in this world, we have a conflict. There are many tools which experts recommend to help those of us in leadership roles navigate the gray areas and try to maintain our ethical compass. The one I would like to speak about is "The Five Timeless Questions'. I believe that when facing ethical and moral dilemmas one can use this construct as a baseline to make the best possible decision which meets the needs of the people that you lead and allows us to make decisions which help us as leaders put our best foot forward. 
     The first question one should pose when attempting to navigate a decision would be "What are the net consequences of the action?". When you begin to search for the correct path, taking a moment to examine what the consequences of each decision may be for you and others can really help to narrow the focus of choices down. I like starting with this question because as leaders we can typically dismiss some choices right away and we can begin to feel as if we are gaining some momentum toward a decision.   

     Next, as a leader we will then focus on "What are my core obligations?". Its at this point that as a leader we need to put our self in the position of any and all who may be affected by the group of decisions we now have to choose from. The rule of thumb here is to take a look at the group of decisions while thinking about the "Golden Rule" of do unto others as you would want done to you. In understanding this, its our obligation to go directly to those who the decisions may affect the most and gather feedback so that we may best serve the interests of all involved. We may garner a different perspective which could be valuable in the decision making process. 

    Now we move on to the next question we must answer as a leader in this decision making process. "What will work in the world as it is?". We ask this question because often there are conflicts within an organization which we are unable to resolve. By entertaining this question we make a conscience decision to take a look at our organization and better understand how the decisions will be received given the present structure and foundations of the organization in present day. Personally, I think that this question is the first stage in referencing what type of culture an organization has and how the decision a leader may make conflicts or coincides with that culture. This becomes a more indirect look at culture within the organization.  

     At this point in the process we move into asking "Who are we?" as we endeavor to make the correct decisions. This is a more direct look at our organizations culture. This begins a shift in how we are looking at our cultural organization what are the norms and values and how will the decision we will make as leaders fit the template that's been established through previous decisions which leaders have guided. This is often a better understanding of how those in the organization will react to the decision which you will make. 
    Finally, as decision makers we have to ask ourselves, "What can I live with?". The purpose of this question is to understand and study the fact that there is often no right or wrong answer when making decisions in gray areas.  As a leader the decisions that you make will most likely never be received by everyone in a positive manner. As a leader one must make a decision that they can be comfortable with even if the choice comes from several bad alternatives to choose from.  After considering all four previous questions along with the fifth, make the decision and communicate it and move on understanding that there may be some type of adjustment to the choice that was made if more information is presented. 

    To me,  "The Five Timeless Questions" feels like the ideal way to analyze and effort to make leadership decisions which are both fair to the organization you lead as well as the followers and stakeholders that depend on your decisions. I like this format because I think it provides a pragmatic way to look at the decision making process while also allowing one to consider other factors while critically thinking about the best fit. Please comment on your experiences using the "Five Timeless Questions" in leading your decision making process. Additionally, please comment experiences in using other forms of leadership decision making constructs.    

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ethical Leadership: Resisting Influence in the Form of Reciprocation

Image
      In order to lead from an ethical platform one of the issues which we as leaders must navigate when making decisions for our organization is the expectation of reciprocation. Or, the feeling that we are obligated to repay in-kind to help we have received from others. This can become a very slippery slope because obviously not all "favors" are equal and the expectation of returning the favor regardless of weight can become substantial.       One way that we as leaders can resist the dynamic of reciprocity is to decline the initial favor. I personally believe that this is the most effective and efficient way to avoid the possibility of the quid pro quo cycle. By rejecting the initial offer as the decision makers we avoid the uncomfortable feeling and position we would be put in to pay an equal or greater price than the one we received initially.       However, this does bring about an entirely different scena...
Read more

Leadership Privilege: Casting a Long Shadow

Image
             With great responsibility comes great privilege. At face value, there seems to be nothing wrong with that statement. Generally, most sensible people would agree to that balance. Where those lines seem to blur is when people in leadership positions begin to abuse those privileges. Most everyone has heard the phrase "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Certainly, power in itself could be the cause of the misuse of privilege.  However, what seems to be the more pressing questions are:  How do leaders begin to justify these actions?  Is abuse of privilege just the cost of doing business as a necessary evil?      We can't simply assume that all leaders who abuse privilege had the plan to do so at the beginning of their leadership journey. So, lets start by making the assumption that most people are generally and basically good human beings.  If that's the case, the "Shadow of Privilege" would appear...
Read more

The Importance of Ethics Training in Leadership

Image
      In order for an organization to establish and maintain an ethical culture that is both encouraging and educating to its new members, as well as reinforcing organizational beliefs to existing members, it is important for that organization to continue to cultivate ethical training. To accomplish this organizational goal of a continuing ethical education, leadership must adhere to certain principles.      During ethics training, leadership should focus upon the unique ethical problems that are typically present within the organization.   Regardless of the organization, it will have its own diverse mixture of groups that face challenges, which are unique to that specific organization. In this way, making members of the organization aware of potential ethical pitfalls, which others have encountered along with problems that could potentially present itself allows the members to mentally rehearse these situations beforehand and be better prep...
Read more