I’ve chosen to write about ethics and leadership today. I think some people see it as a bit of a taboo subject, so I want to demystify it. Leadership ethics is something that plays on my mind as I see, hear and feel decisions made by leaders who are not acting ethically. And yes this does happen across leadership, Boards and Committees in Australian agriculture. I want you to know that if you ever feel like I do, then there are things you can do about it.
Leadership isn’t just about what you achieve — it’s about how you achieve it. For leaders, ethics can sometimes feel like a big, abstract concept. In reality, your ethics show up in everyday decisions: what you say when someone isn’t in the room, whether you speak up when something doesn’t feel right, how you treat and work with people with less power than you, and whether your actions match your values. As your leadership influence grows, people will watch what you do more closely than what you say. And this is where it gets interesting!
Your reputation is built through hundreds of small choices, particularly the difficult ones where there isn’t an obvious right answer. So your reputation is often based around what you do and how you behave rather than the position you hold or what you say.
“Ethical leadership means having the courage to act with integrity, even when doing so is inconvenient, slow, unpopular or even comes at a personal cost.” – Jo Eady
It also means recognising that you won’t always have all the answers or know what to do. Welcome to the world of leadership. In these situations, I encourage you to ask questions, seek different perspectives and stay open to changing your mind when new information emerges. This is definitely not the time to withdraw or close down.
Here are 5 ways you can become more aware of ethics in leadership and use these to develop yourself as well as those you lead.
1. Know what you stand for – Identify three or four values that genuinely guide your workplace / organisation leadership decisions. When things get complicated, your own values and that of your organisation and team become your compass.
2. Pause before making the easy / faster choice – Ask yourself: Is this right, or is it simply easier / faster? That small pause can change the quality of a decision. This is really important and the pause may be a day or a week rather than just a moment. Ethical decisions can and should take time to make.
3. Consider who isn’t at the table – Before making an important decision, think about who will be affected but may not have a voice. Seek their perspective where possible. Or at least take time to think about how this will impact them and what this means for them, the team and or organisation.
4. Make your actions match your words – Trust is built through consistency. If you expect accountability, demonstrate it yourself. If you value respect, show it — especially when you disagree. Truth and trust are connected at the hip, you can’t have one without the other.
5. Have the courage to speak up – Ethical leadership isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being willing to ask the uncomfortable questions, challenge poor behaviours and acknowledge when something isn’t right. It’s about doing hard things and not taking the easy way through or bowing to a colleague / friend or family member. Many of you will already know that I often use language around what’s OK and what’s not OK. In fact this is how I first learned to be able to question things that I didn’t find ethical.
Leadership in Australian agriculture is built on trust. Every decision you make as a leader affects others. Responding to competing interests is when ethical leadership is required the most. It all starts when you know or are privy to something you know is not OK. It’s incumbent on you and all of us to have the courage to see beyond how something is being presented to what is being presented.
Over To You
Do any of these resonate for you? Could any be helpful to support your leadership ethics as well as those you lead?
