Developing Ethical Leaders, It's Everyone's Job!

PANEL SYMPOSIUM CONVENOR & SYMPOSIUM PANELISTS & CONTACT INFORMATION: Convener: • Trevor Heller, theller@glanbia.com Panelists: 1. Marie Di Virgilio, mdivirgilio@ben.edu 2. Deidre Barrett, deirdrebarrett@yahoo.com ... [ view full abstract ]

PANEL SYMPOSIUM CONVENOR & SYMPOSIUM PANELISTS & CONTACT INFORMATION:
Convener:
• Trevor Heller, theller@glanbia.com

Panelists:
1. Marie Di Virgilio, mdivirgilio@ben.edu
2. Deidre Barrett, deirdrebarrett@yahoo.com
3. Enrique Lopez, enriquelopez@icloud.com
4. Susan Sweem, ssweem@glanbia.com
5. Al Zucco, azucco@usg.com
6. Teresa Oliszewicz, tmoliszewicz@gmail.com

SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW
Leaders are the foundation of a sustainable and ethical society. Leaders who, when faced with tough choices, will make the right decisions and do the right things. Developing leaders who act ethically is not only the responsibility of academia, but of business also—in short, it’s everyone’s job! This symposium showcases the leadership development efforts and experiences of two academic institutions in the US, a leadership development firm in Mexico, a global nutrition group based in Ireland, a global building materials company based in the US, and a healthcare organization in the US. Together, the panelists help us understand ethical leadership development from the individual, organizational, sectorial, and global levels.

The panelists, who are scholar-practitioners themselves, will present relevant knowledge that is immediately useful for both scholars and practitioners. We will also hear from the audience and engage in dialogue to promote useful learning that participants can take home and put into practice in their respective organizations.

Procedures used to manage the discussion among panelists and with the audience during this 90-minute panel symposium are as follows:

• 5 minutes - Introduction of symposium.
• 60 minutes (10 minutes per) – Panelist discussion.
• 10 minutes – Dialogue with panelists.
• 15 minutes – Q&A.

SUMMARY OF EACH PANELISTS DISCUSSION

#1. Ethical Leadership Development: Pioneering Education Programs:
Leadership decisions made in the workplace shape the lives of individuals, economies, and societies more than any other institution in the world. When faced with tough choices, we need ethical leaders who will make the right decisions and do the right things. As leadership educators, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to help leaders reach their full potential, readying them to help individuals and organizations thrive, and societies flourish. Benedictine University offers two pioneering leadership programs with those specific goals in mind, a doctorate in Values-Driven Leadership and a Master of Science in Values-Driven Leadership. Panelist will discuss how these programs equip students to have a transformative impact at four levels; personal, interpersonal, organizational, and at the intersection of business and society.

#2. Reimagining Values Driven Ethical Leadership: Planning a University Consolidation:
On January 6, 2016, Georgia Perimeter College consolidated with Georgia State University presenting university leadership the opportunity to create a new model for a twenty-first century university embedded in an urban environment that balances the need for access, ensuring student success, research, and social good.

It is the role of a leader to define organizational systems that facilitate a culture of moral excellence. The challenge of ethical leadership at GSU is to develop a foundation of common values and align those values with the inherent interests of the stakeholders. Dr. Mark Becker, the President of Georgia State University, is recognized as an innovative president at the most diverse state university in the United States.

Transformative leaders have the ability to understand the core values and unifying objectives of organizations and its stakeholders. Dr. Becker empowered the Strategic Plan Committee to listen to the internal and external university community and create a ten year plan. Five years into the plan GSU has distinguished itself by winning national accolades for innovation, graduation rates, and commitment to undergraduate education.

#3. Developing Values-Driven Leaders in Latin-America, the Relevance of a Transdisciplinary Approach in Leadership Development Programs:
There is a well-defined trend in leadership studies connecting character moral strengths and effective and sustainable leadership. Following the Aristotelian – Nicomachean perspective of happiness and the transactional analysis construct of life script, Humanum believes that there is a close connection between the character strengths of virtues and personal happiness. There are significant differences in ethical leadership constructs such as; authentic, spiritual, and transformational leadership, but there are also many similarities; including concern for others, ethical decision-making, integrity, and role modeling. Recognizing and building from these similarities and differences, the Humanum leadership development model uses a five-perspective analysis to assess and build highly tailored development plans for leaders. Participants will learn how one company develops ethical leaders one at a time.

#4. Glanbia Performance Nutrition – A Case Study in a Global Value System
The increasing globalization of business can create cross-cultural clashes that prevent effective working relationships and increase the likelihood of a toxic work environment. So how does a global company with market presence in 23 countries and on 6 continents ensure it meets the basic ethical needs of all its stakeholders? The journey of Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN) is an ongoing case study of a defined value system that is culturally inclusive and individually empowering.

GPN’s culture is shaped and defined by its eight global values. These values embody the core DNA of the organization and allow the company to continue its entrepreneurial spirit with a focus on continuous innovation. When leaders champion these core values they create a culture that accomplishes the mission of GPN at the most local of levels. The success of the GPN comes from its people and their passion for:
• Hiring and developing the best people
• Teamwork – Growing together
• Passion for our brands
• Performance matters
• Customers’ champion
• Find a better way
• Showing respect
• Sense of fun

#5. Sustainability in Action – A Corporation’s Commitment to Values.
In order for any organization to sustain itself for over a hundred years ethical leadership must be the rule rather than the exception. I present a perspective from a vertically integrated, leading building materials manufacturer operating in the United States. From this perspective I am able to articulate ethical and moral dilemmas that have shaped the organization’s culture as well sustainable practices that have contributed to the organization’s continued success. Finally, my discussion will examine the essential link between strong ethical and moral performance and the ultimate sustainability of an organization.

#6. Influencing the Safety in Healthcare Through Leadership Development.
Multiple elements shape a culture of ethics within a healthcare environment. These factors include leadership behaviors, employees’ perceptions of the risk and reward of speaking up, business realities around reducing expenses and increasing efficiency, ingrained hierarchies, and employees’ lack of skill in speaking up effectively. Leaders are accountable for creating, shaping, and reinforcing this culture of safety while employees are accountable for speaking up when they see errors or lapses in care. However, both leaders and followers get trapped in competing priorities, mixed messages, and long-standing cultural norms that reinforce a culture of not speaking up. In this section, the presenter will examine this issue from a values-driven leadership perspective and offer thoughts on how leader behaviors and staff member education can contribute to a positive culture of safety.

REFERENCES
Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L., (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 16, 315-338.

Bass, B. M., & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. The leadership quarterly, 10(2), 181-217.

Bauman, D. C. (2013). Leadership and the three faces of integrity. Leadership Quarterly, 24, 414-426.

Brown, M. D., & Trevino, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions, Leadership Quarterly, 17, 6, 595-616.

Crossan, M., Mazutis, D., Seijts, G., & Gadz, J. (2013). Developing leadership programs in business programs. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 12, 2, 285-305.

Cianci, A. M., Hannah, S. T., Roberts, R. P., & Tsakumis, G. T. (2014). The effects of authentic leadership on followers' ethical decision-making in the face of temptation: An experimental study. Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 581-594.

Gardner, H. (2007). The ethical mind. A conversation with psychologist Howard Gardner. Harvard Business Review, 85(3), 51-6.

Gentry, W. A., Cullen, K. L., Sosik, J. J., Chun, J. U., Leupold, C. R., & Tonidandel, S. (2013). Integrity’s place among the character strengths of middle-level managers and top-level executives. Leadership Quarterly, 24, 395-04.

Langlois, C. C., & Schlegelmilch, B. B. (1990). Do corporate codes of ethics reflect national character? Evidence from Europe and the United States. Journal of International Business Studies, 519-539.

Mannion, R., & Davies, H. T. (2015). Cultures of Silence and Cultures of Voice: The Role of Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisations. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 4(8), 503–505.

McFadden, K. L., Henagan, S. C., & Gowen, C. R. (2009). The patient safety chain: Transformational leadership's effect on patient safety culture, initiatives, and outcomes. Journal of Operations Management, 27(5), 390-404.

Pless, N. M. and Maak, T. (2011). Responsible leadership: Pathways to the future, Journal of Business Ethics, 98, 3-13. doi: 10.1007/s10551-011-1114-4.

Swanson, D. L. (2004). The buck stops here: Why universities must reclaim business ethics education. The Journal of Academic Ethics, 3, 43-61.

Schaubroeck, J. M., Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B. J., Kozlowski, S. W. J., Lord, R. G., Trevino, L. K., Dimotakis, N., & Peng, A. C. (2012). Embedding ethical leadership within and across organizational levels. Academy of Management Journal, 55, 5, 1053-1078.

Ethical leadership, sustainability, transformation leadership, values-driven leadership. [ view full abstract ]

Ethical leadership, sustainability, transformation leadership, values-driven leadership.