Ethical Leadership Society

We live in turbulent times, times which demand leaders who can bounce back with their values and their ethical integrity intact. People want more meaning from their working lives; people want more responsibility from the organisations to which they relate, whether as customers, suppliers, or as employees; people want accountability, sustainability, transparency and fairness; people can more easily hear the voices of the exploited, and the calls of their own consciences; people want change. People want to be inspired by ethical leadership.

‘We’ve already moved from management to leadership – and we’re about to go beyond leadership to inspiration. In the 21st century, organisations have to achieve peak performance by creating conditions that allow them to unleash the power of their people –not leading them, not managing them, but by co-inspiring them’

Kevin Roberts, Saatchi and Saatchi

Let’s just clarify who we mean when we talk about ‘ethical leaders’ – we’re talking about people at all levels in organisations who want to respond to the challenges presented in the world of work and the world around them, with justice, charity and generosity; with respect for the well-being of others; and with a will to reinforce a culture of trust and possibility, but with a healthy disregard for the status quo – with a willingness to question and discard old patterns of thinking and behaviour where necessary. We’re talking about people who recognise that too many organisations have failed to measure up to their role as corporate citizens, and who recognise the many organisational benefits which ethical leadership can bring. People who recognise also that the quality and style of leadership sets the tone of the organisation and can extend far beyond its boundaries. People who want to embrace change and make a positive difference.

So, we believe that ethical leadership will allow a better future to emerge, but we can see that, in some organisations, it can be a lonely place to be, and it’s always a demanding role to fill. Ethical leaders need to balance personal, societal, professional and organisational values and the challenges inherent of each of those. They need to develop an egoless approach towards building a great organisation which values people and planet, which gives away credit for success whilst retaining responsibility for poor results. They need to be: open-minded and keep themselves and others learning at all times; determined in getting rid of poor behaviour; considerate and cautious in managing expectations; independent and challenging to received wisdom; and they need to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.

They will be successful only if they can see, appreciate, and integrate a wide range of perspectives and thrive on diversity. They must also reach out to and connect with all key stakeholders, including supply chain members, customers, the community, investors, innovators, and the stakeholders that are marginalised or voiceless in the current system.

‘We must find room for all the key players in any given eco system
if we are to gather and co-create our futures – to begin to lead from the emerging future’

C.Otto Scharmer

Why have we launched the Ethical Leadership Society (ELS), what’s it about, who’s it for? Let’s try to answer those questions without getting too grandiose, but without being too shy about the strong sense of higher purpose which has brought us to this point. Put simply, we want to share that sense of higher purpose with a diverse group of professionals who we know are out there, and we want us all to connect, professionally and personally, to create space for an inspirational professional future together.

We want us together, to change the landscape of our working environments, our working relationships, the nature of our professional partnerships, and we want to demonstrate the impact that our collective awareness can have for individuals, groups, institutions and the world around us. We want us to engage with open hearts and minds and to help each other be leaders who care as much for people and planet as for profit, and yet be leaders who, day by day, minute by minute, demonstrate that ‘being bothered’ not only doesn’t hinder, but, in fact, promotes, the objectives of our organisations, whether public, private or third sector.

‘…never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed. It’s the only thing that ever has’

Margaret Mead

This isn’t some airy fairy initiative, created to spend time in abstract contemplation of our working lives or the deficits of those around us. The ELS is born out of a clear recognition of the global, institutional , and individual pressures we experience in our daily lives, and the need for clarity of purpose, practical action, innovation across silos, and mutual support, if we are to do anything to alleviate them.

It’s a tall order. We want you to do what you love and love what you do and we want us to help each other keep doing it. To answer our opening questions, then, that’s why we’ve launched the ELS and it’s for you – providing, of course, that any of this makes sense to you. It’s about helping each other understand what it means to be an ethical leader; supporting each other in our professional development; and seeing where our collective engagement can take us. Initially it will be a virtual space for us to share and populate, but after that….who knows? It’ll become whatever we choose to make it.

‘To learn to act from our heart in a more intentional, conscious, and collective way,
to act from the power of our emerging authentic self – to fly on the wings of those around us’

Martin Kalungu-Banda