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Ethical Leadership in
dealing with
Complex Dilemmas
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Introduction
What is ethical Leadership
Why does ethical leadership matter?
Who decides what’s “ethical?”
Applying Ethical Frames.
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Ethical Leadership in dealing
with Complex Dilemmas
 Ethical Leadership
What ethics do leaders model?
Ethics are the principles, values and beliefs that
define what is right and wrong behavior.
Leadership is the process of influencing others
to achieve goals. Ethical leadership is the
process of influencing people through
principles, values and beliefs that embrace
what we have defined as right behavior.
Jane A.Van Buren, Vermont University
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Ethical Leadership in dealing
with Complex Dilemmas
 Ethical Leadership as Relationship Building
The ethical leader understands that positive
relationships are the gold standard for all
organizational effort. Good quality relationships built
on respect and trust, not necessarily agreement,
are the single most important determinant of
organizational success.
Desmond Berghofer and Geraldine Schwartz, Institute for
Ethical Leadership
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Why does Ethical Leadership
matter?
 Civic mission of schools
“For democracy to flourish, public education
must play a central role in promoting
responsible moral action that serves the
common good.”
–Charles Haynes, First Amendment Center
 “To educate a person in mind and not in
morals is to educate a menace to society.”
–Theodore Roosevelt
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Why does Ethical Leadership
matter?
 Dealing with ethical issues in education leadership is
not necessarily a legal issue but a necessary approach
for several reasons
1. Governance

It provides a consistent approach in dealing with ethical issues as a
critical part of good governance
2. Upholding an organization’s mission and values

Putting the institution’s mission and values into action and effectively
monitor their success
3. Guidance for Staff
 Ensuring that all members of staff are aware of how they are expected
to conduct themselves
4. Legislation
 Helps to interpret educational laws by focusing on the letter and the
spirit of the laws
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Why does Ethical Leadership
matter?
5. Risk and Reputation
 By Addressing ethical issues, this can help to identify
potential risks, prevent future problems and safeguard the
reputation of the institution.
6. Recruiting Staff and Attracting Students

Establishing a clear ethical stance will contribute to the quality of
staff and students that the institution attracts.
7. Encouraging funding, sponsorship and business
involvement
 Companies are interested in institutions that are committed to
ethics and transparency and by addressing ethics it may result in
the institution being more appealing to potential business partners
Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE)
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Summary
Why does ethical Leadership
matter?
 Part of our leadership code
Standard 5: An education leader
promotes the success of every
student by acting with integrity,
fairness, and in an ethical manner.
Source: Educational Leadership Policy Standards:
ISLLC 2008 as adopted by the National Policy Board
for Educational Administration (NPBEA) on December
12, 2007.
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Summary
Why does ethical Leadership
matter?
 Make us more effective as leaders
“Ethics is ultimately about relationships. …No
matter what definition of ethics you examine, ethics
is not primarily about standards, rules, and
sanctions in isolation from society. Ethics is about
people and their relationships with one another.”
“What brought down Anderson [Accounting] was not
law. It was ethics…or more exactly, a lack of public
trust. When Anderson could no longer be trusted to
resist unethical behavior… it effectively lost its most
important resource: credibility. …Negative ethics
equals negative business.
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Who decides what’s
ethical?
 Educational leaders come to the job with personal
values that they have developed because of
different influences. The challenge has always been
how to balance these values with those existing in
the institution.
 Rushmore Kidder’s research identified 5 core moral
values
 Honesty
 Respect
 Responsibility
 Fairness
 Compassion
Rushmore Kidder, in Shared Values for a Troubled World: Comversations with Men and Women
of Conscience (1994 ) and Moral Courage (2005)
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Applying Ethical Frames
 The use of ethical frames provide an
opportunity for educational leaders to
examine their ways of thinking about
complex dilemmas.
 To consider actions outside their normal way
of thinking and behaving
 These frames give a holistic approach to
resolving issues and engaging in reflective
practice
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Applying Ethical Frames
Ethical paradigms
Ethic of Justice
Ethic of Critique
Ethic of Care
Ethic of Profession
Personal Code
Shapiro & Stefkovich, Ethical Leadership and Decision Making in
Education, LEA 2005
Shapiro & Gross, Ethical Educational Leadership in Turbulent Times,
LEA, 2008
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Multiple Ethical Paradigms
Ethic of
Critique
Ethic of
Local
Community
Ethic of
Justice
Ethic of
Care
Ethic of the
Profession
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Applying Ethical Frames
 Ethic of Justice
 Rights
 Policies
 Law
 Ethical dilemmas resolved by rules, fairness,
equity, and justice
Equity and Equality
Right vs Right
What circumstances justify exceptions
Individual rights vs. community good
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Applying Ethical Frames
 Ethic of Critique
 Awakens educators to inequities in society.
 Who makes law?
 Who benefits?
 Who has power?
 Who is silenced?
 Ethical dilemmas resolved by asking how all
children can be enabled to overcome past
inequities to grow, learn and achieve.
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Applying Ethical Frames
Ethic of Care
 “The first job of schools is to care for our
children.” Noddings, 1992
 Who is hurt?
 What are long-term effects of the
decision?
 Caring, concern, connection
 Decision-making requires leaders to
consider multiple voices.
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Applying Ethical Frames
Ethic of Profession
Education, unlike law, medicine, dentistry
and business, require little or no formal
training in ethics.
Codes of Ethics authored by professional
associations have filled that gap somewhat.
Eg. JTA Code of Ethics and The Jamaica
Teaching Council Draft Bill
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Applying Ethical Frames
Ethic of Local Community
What does the community think about the
particular issue that affects the institution?
How does the community feel about the
issue?
Case #1
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An assistant principal in a rather conservative town completes a teacher performance appraisal on one of
the school’s master teachers. The only part of the evaluation that concerns the AP is the fact that this staff
member has never taken part in any of the schools extra curricular programs. The AP assumes that her
teacher’s family life must be taking up his spare time. Conflict arises when the AP decides to purchase a gag
gift from an unpopular adult fantasy store. In her hast while shopping, she notice her master teacher
emerging from the back room of the Adult Fantasy store. As it turns out, he and his wife run the lucrative
business and have preferred to keep their business enterprise a secret. They operate the business so that they
can afford to put their children through university as well as afford the extras in life.
Multi-paradigm questions to ponder:
1) Are teachers role models? If yes, then is it acceptable for a teacher to be part owner of an adult centre?
2) Could the teacher’s decision to take on this particular job be justified when one considers that his job as a
teacher is valued so little by society that he is unable to earn enough from it to support his family? To educate
his children?
3) What should the teacher do? What would be in the best interests of the students? Would you see this
decision differently if the principal were male? If the teacher were female?
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Case #2
Coach Alex and his wife were excellent substitute teachers who committed themselves to their jobs.
Coach Alex eventually obtained a permanent teaching position and his career was looking up. As
time passed, the community developed deep regard for such a visible and successful coach who
helped many young athletes gain scholarships and professional sport membership. On the home
front, Coach Alex was much different however. News began to spread that Coach Alex was
arrested twice for beating his wife and placing her in hospital. Both times his wife dropped the
charges and let her husband off the hook. As the news spread, many parents became outraged
and wrote letters to the board and signed petitions to have coach Alex fired. At the next board
meeting the oversized crowd became irate and shouted out commands for the board to take
action. After the president of the Parent-Teachers Association spoke on behalf of the crowd, she
turned toward Superintendent Brown and said, “What are you going to do about this?”
Multi-paradigm questions to ponder:
1) What is the fairest choice Superintendent Brown could make? The most caring?
2) Could it be argued that spousal abuse is a disease as alcoholism is a disease? Why or why not?
3) What advice would you give to Superintendent Brown?
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Case Sharing
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Questions and Answers
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Final Words
The importance of having an ethical administrator…is
inherent to the success of the school as a social entity:
Society or we do not invent principles; they are the
laws of the universe that pertain to human
relationships and human organizations. … To the
degree people recognize and live in harmony with
such basic principles as fairness, equity, justice,
integrity, honesty, and trust, they move toward
either survival and stability on the one hand or
disintegration and destruction on the other.
–Covey, 1992