rls122 6. leadership styles+ethics

ethics

the study of moral values and conduct.

• what we believe to be morally right/correct and fair. SUBJECTIVE

• how do my ethical values come out in judgements of others?

epistemology

The branch of philosophy that studies the nature, sources, and validity of knowledge. Roughly translated, epistemology means “ways of knowing”

• how we developed our values, ethics, shapes what we know and what we expect of others, school, hobbies, travelling, everything we have experienced! how do i know what i know, and where did that come from?

• direct and inditectly!! changes over time, important to keep track of when looking at your leadership and how your ethics can change your judgement

views of ethics in leadership

• ethic of justice

• ethic of care

• ethic of critque

ethics of justice

• based on societal rules, which are reinforced by bureaucratic organizational systems, as the basis for decision making.

  • what is LEGALLY wrong? rules, policies, procedures. leads to punishment by govt.

  • very black and white. “if you break this room there is consequences”

• Operates on the principles of fairness and reciprocity.

• Emphasis on objectivity and logic and moves beyond the sphere of actual human activity.

• this does NOT take context into consideration.

ethics of care

• based on relationships and context.

• Emphasis on how our connections with one another and the situation or context influences ethical decisions.

  • Ethical decisions are context dependent.

  • more wiggle room because you are looking at context

• Considers not only relationships and context, but the impact of decisions over time.

  • if we give someone leiniency what will that mean for the decisions after that? e.g, its okay that someone is late for 5 minutes, but what will that mean for everyone else who is late for the same reasons ? how can accommodating for their lateness impact others who are working?

• giving leniency this time but not really changing the rule

ethics of critque

• based on confronting entrenched assumptions about the status quo.

  • looking at rules and consequences for something you would say, “well why is that a rule? that doesn’t seem fair? why is that the way it is?”

• Must consider how owns beliefs, values, and perspectives influence how a situation is approached.

• Actively questioning aspects of programs, policy, and service.

  • looking at situation, context, and questioning why the rules/law/policies are the way they are. PUSHES FOR CHANGE AND ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE FUTURE. we NEED to recognize that not everyone will have issues with the way things are as well!

  • question punishment + push for change

judgements lead to…

better decision making

judgement

An informed opinion based on past experience.

decision making

The process of choosing the best option from a collection of possible options.

considerations for decision making

• dual processes

• situational factors

• analytic approaches

considerations in decision making: dual processes

• Considers two features of cognitive processes:

  • Conscious and deliberate

  • Unconscious and automated

• Decision making involves rules of thumb based on past successes.

• Past experiences and intuition help to inform decisions.

  • what has or hasn’t worked in the past? how will that impact the decision i am making right now?

• as leaders, we need to recognize there are some things that we are not aware of (unconscious and automated) that impact decisions and that our conscious and deliberate thought processes also impact the wa we make decisions

conscious and deliberate

recognize we have reasoned, hollistic thoughts. we are more aware of these

unconsciousness and automated

recognize we have automatic thoughts when seeing things. these are kinda just one time light thoughts.

• "automatic thoughts" act as immediate, knee-jerk reactions to stimuli, influencing emotions, behaviours, and decisions without deliberate intent. They are essential for efficiency, pattern recognition, and habitual actions

considerations in decision making: situational factors

• Involves a variety of practices based on the situation.

  • The leader may decide without consulting group members

    • e.g., on a hiking trip the leader tells the followers to not go there. they lead, no consultation from followers. when something is dangerous or immediate action is needed.

  • A pros and cons list may be developed

    • helps visually see what direction we should take. used if there is time or things to do

  • A consensus decision may be required of the leader determines that full agreement is desired

    • used where EVERYONE has to be on the same page in order to make a decision, not just the leader.

  • Voting may help if pure consensus is not required

    • used when majority needs to agree on something, but not everyone. e.g, what do most of you guys want to do today!

  • Flippism involves leaving the decision to simple chance

    • used if everyone is split on a decision. flipping a coin / generator is used to decide for everyone

  • Compromise may be used if there is a lack of consensus

    • if the group is split on a decision, accomodating for both is used. e.g, instead of just choosing one activitiy, we will do this activity first and this after!

  • An external expert may make the decision

    • an outisde opionion is needed. used when opinions are split, or if someone who is not participating is a good opinion (maybe someone who will think more logically. “ because of the weather, i choose inside sport”

• when in leadership, we might have to take different approaches than what you want to do but rather what is the best approach

considerations in decision making: analytic approaches

• A more linear, step-wise approach to decision making.

  • May follow questions like:

  • What is the problem?

  • Why is it a problem?

  • When is it a problem?

  • Where is it a problem?

  • How is it a problem?

• Basically: How can we approach this?

• Can propose a solution based on response to these questions.

  • need to know that we are asking questions as to why this is a problem, what are some barriers we have, how can we approach this and what decisions could possibly be made ?

  • usually dealing with one question at a time