Ethically Influencing Followers
Once a leader develops in inner ethical maturity, how does he or she influence followers to pursue ethical living? Marcy, Gentry, and McKinnon (2008) note that often times within organizations there is a disconnect between what the leader says he or she will do compared to the reality of their actions. During the authors’ research, it was found that the disconnect was most prevalent when faced with ethical dilemmas. As mentioned earlier in the paper, the organizational climate is facing a crisis of trust between leaders and their respective followers.
Moreno (2010) addresses the issue of the trust crisis within the research. The author states that even a small gap between what a leader says versus does creates ethical dilemmas for followers. Therefore, the author notes that an ethical leader is one who has no gap between actions and words. Ethical leaders can influence followers by consistent conduct, proper actions, moral way of being, and doing what one says.
Therefore, Marcy, Gentry, and McKinnon (2008) recommend that a leader develop a specific strategy as it relates to ethically influencing followers and gaining trust. This strategy identified by the authors include the following: “look within, assess one’s emotions, question one’s judgment, consider other’s perspectives, assess situation demands, define a best case course of action or implementation, anticipate consequences, weight competing considerations, and recognize one’s circumstances” (p. 5).