Leaders and Ethic

[Martha L. Ayerdis, MBA]

Why do leaders fail ethically when it is so obvious to the rest of us how they should act?

[Judie Fouchaux]

Perhaps it is because they have separated at some time from their humanity. By this I mean that they no longer see themselves as part of a whole...one with all other humans...and therefore on a deep level feel lost and separate. Their unconscious fear needs to be calmed. The need to protect themselves at any cost leads to the unethical behavior. If you no longer see yourself as one with all humans you'll want to watch out for "number one". This is less likely to happen to women who are naturally predisposed to care for the group.

[Martha L. Ayerdis, MBA]

Thank you Judie for your answer. It is true that sometimes those Leaders separate themselves from their humanity to react without any ethical value but also, it is true that they react with the real behavior is inside themselves, being the real unethical human being they are.

[Seema Ganesh]

Good topic-and I agree with below...it could also be because they see there goals differently in a more greedy way, then to consider there moral values.

[Martha L. Ayerdis, MBA]

Great answer Seema! Sometimes around us are many leaders with different type of leadership but without any ethical values that can teach others you can reach your goals with honesty and keeping your moral and ethical values up. Probably those leaders need more time to reach their goals but they will have thousands of followers. Moral and Ethical values are the flags all people involve in the political arena need to have and keep all the time in their offices.

[Julie Vruggink]

This is a great question, but regardless of how high up the ladder a person gets they are still human, and the higher they climb often the individual will become influanced by those who surround them. Power and money often can compromise personal ethics. As I was taught, without strong personal and/or religious values, a person can be swayed to bend their ethical beliefs. An example would be the business that wants to start business in a country that requires bribes to obtain the paperwork to get started, or a bribe to get the power turned on, does an ethical business person pay these bribes because it seems required, or do they wait out the system at the cost of possible years to set up the business? Sometimes what should be black and white becomes gray and decisions are made based on things other than personal ethics and what is acceptable in the new position.