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      KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
     ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
                 Volume 34, January 2004
    Publisher: © Key Associates, 2004
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com

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New contact info for Key Associates:
phone (615) 665-1622/fax (615) 665-8902
1857 Laurel Ridge, Nashville TN 37215

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This Issue: On "Ethics"

View Earlier Issues

Contents:

• What's Hot in Leadership
• Maintaining Yourself as a Leader
• Frequently Asked Questions from Leaders
• Educational Opportunities
• Useful Websites
• Articles/Publications

"Your ethical system is your map of the good life."
                                                         - M. Scott Peck     

"Only a human being is capable of being ethical;
not abstract things like companies, government, media."
          - W. Robert Thompson, Attorney and Ethics Specialist

"It is impossible for us to break the law.  We can 
only break ourselves against the law."
          - Cecil B. deMille commenting on his movie, 
            The Ten Commandments

The ideals which have always shone before me 
and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, 
beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort or 
happiness has never appealed to me; a system of 
ethics built on this basis would be sufficient 
only for a herd of cattle.
                                                        - Albert Einstein

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WHAT'S HOT IN LEADERSHIP
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LEADING BY PRINCIPLES, NOT DICTATING
PRACTICES.

ARTICULATING THE VALUES OF AN 
ORGANIZATION, AS A FOUNDATION FOR
PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS.

CREATING CONDITIONS FOR ETHICAL
REFLECTION--DIALOGUE ABOUT
"WHAT'S RIGHT."

CONDUCTING ONESELF WITH THE UTMOST
INTEGRITY: LIVING AT YOUR WORD AND
KEEPING AGREEMENTS YOU  MAKE.

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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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As a leader, you are the primary ethics teacher 
in your organization.  What you do, what you omit
sends signals to the observing.   And they
will remember what you do, long after they forget
what you said.  

Frequently, you must choose right over right, or
what is both right and good for your organization.
Ethical dilemmas are defining moments for your 
leadership.  By exposing how you make ethical
decisions, you reveal the content of your own 
character and renew what values are 
to be embraced by your organization.  

Make time for ethical reflection and consultation.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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When there is no clear right or wrong, how do
I proceed?  

Let me direct you to the writing of William D. Hitt.  
His typology of ethical principles categorizes the 
major schools of thinking.  He believes you should
test your dilemma from all four perspectives:

A. End-result Ethics: What are the expected 
consequences and what will produce the most 
good for the most people?

B. Rule Ethics: Are there laws, policies, codes
of ethics that guide this?

C. Social Contract Ethics: What are the norms
in our culture and the values of our organization?

D. Personalistic Ethics: What are our personal 
convictions and what feels like the right thing to do?

How do I maintain a workplace environment
that encourages honest and open communication
about ethical issues?

These are the conditions for ethical reflection:

- Dialogue (value learning over being right)
- Inquiry through open questions (what & how)
- Trust
- Involvement in decision-making
- Role flexibility
- Diversity of opinion
- Far-sightedness
- Focus on issues and facts, not blaming

The area that concerns me most is how our 
people treat each other.  Any suggestions?

Some organizations have developed ground
rules or principles or even a covenant, to
define how individuals will behave with each other.

For example, the management team at Shannon 
Health System in San Angelo, Texas developed these: