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At the Siegel Institute we believe leadership, with an understanding of ethics, produces leaders who take responsibility and hold themselves and others accountable. Ethics, with leadership, provides the necessary tools, knowledge, and skills to develop and implement vision and forward thinking. Thus, ethics and leadership must be viewed as interlocked and intertwined partners which exemplify "character in action."
The Siegel Model of character, ethics, and leadership is based on our core beliefs of respect, trust and honesty, optimism, intentionality, and service. It serves as the foundation for all Siegel Institute programs. This Model was developed by the Institute through collaboration with representatives from KSU faculty and staff, and used in classrooms and leadership programs campus-wide.
 The core of the KSU Model of Ethical Leadership is character – that quality of knowing and developing oneself. This achievement is a prerequisite to becoming what others might describe as an “ethical leader” – one who embodies in attitude, behavior, and action the five core beliefs: respect, trust, optimism, intentionality and service.
We define character as understanding and knowing one's values, beliefs, strengths, skills, and personality. Individuals who possess a defining concept of who they are and what they stand for have the best opportunity to be ethical leaders. Character is the core foundation on which individual leadership is based. Character is formed throughout a lifetime, while the elements of character can be discovered and developed at any time. We believe that the best leaders willingly examine their own strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs.
For character development, individuals must begin by understanding their personal value system and learning how those values and beliefs impact their behavior and decision making.
An "ethical leader" is one who builds relationships with others while serving the common good. The ethical leader embodies in attitude, behavior, and action the five core beliefs: respect, trust and honesty, optimism, intentionality, and service. We explain our core beliefs here from a leadership perspective:
- Ethical leaders treat each member of their departments and organization as important, contributing members who become entrusted with leadership roles that strengthen their leadership skills. Nothing pleases a leader more than when others take initiative to move forward on their own.
- Ethical leaders set the standard through words and actions that are consistent and hold the same expectation for all members of their team.
- Ethical leaders inspire others by looking for positives in all situations, believing there are more possibilities than obstacles, and embracing change as an opportunity for growth.
- Ethical leaders exemplify loyalty through reliability, generosity, strength, and keeping commitments.
- Ethical leaders serve their institutions and not themselves. They are "other-centered" versus "self-centered." They lead at the request of others. They do not distribute favors to just a few, but provide benefits to many. The ethical leader has a tremendous ability to affect society and therefore must choose to serve for the common good.
Skill building is also a vital component of leadership. Leaders must be trained to hone a wide range of skills that will allow them to navigate the challenges of organizational life.  Motivation, team building, leading change, mentoring and coaching, communication, negotiation, delegation, and conflict resolution are just some of the skills leaders need to master in order to perform effectively in their roles. For leaders to develop their own leadership style, they must be exposed to models and theories of leadership from a wide range of academic disciplines.
Finally, leaders need to develop and have access to feedback systems that will hold them accountable for their performance and provide them opportunities to further capitalize on their strengths and to address or compensate for their weaknesses.
Ethics, or character in action, requires critical thinking and an understanding of moral development, the ability to analyze competing pressures, and an understanding of their social environment.
 Individuals from all walks of life need tools to help them identify, understand, and process the vast range of competing pressures that can be present in organizational decisions or actions. All leaders should be encouraged to examine various conceptual views on ethics to make informed and responsible decisions-especially in regard to organizations may be facing difficult situations and circumstances.
Ethics requires leaders to reflect upon the competing pressures they face at various levels of their personal and organizational life. At the personal level, leaders must understand the importance of balancing self-interest and the interests of others. At the organizational level, leaders must understand how organizational roles and contexts can compel leaders to make ethical decisions both for themselves and for their organizations. While organizations are the mechanism that makes possible efficient and effective collective action, organizational contexts also can lead individuals to act without sufficient attention to accountability and responsibility.
Ethical leaders are required to understand how an organization's social environment can have a tremendous influence on individuals as well as the organization, and at the same time, how stakeholders in the social environment are affected by the actions and decisions of leaders within the organization. Ultimately, the social environment of an organization is a source for opportunities as well as threats, and must be understood and processed in order to consider the greater implications of one's actions and decisions.
The ethical leader has a tremendous ability to affect society and therefore must chose to serve for the common good. |
