Ethics & Leadership in Business Development
The world of startups and entrepreneurship is one that's fraught with potential ethical dilemmas. Building a successful business often means making tough decisions about how to prioritize the interests of various stakeholders.
This post will give you an overview about what ethics and leadership in business development can mean for your career, and how to navigate some tricky territory before it even starts to become problematic. We'll cover everything from industry environments, to work culture and strategy, to compensation models. And we'll talk about what it takes for a company founder or leader – someone who has significant influence over the company’s culture –to implement good ethical practices before they are needed.
Ethical issues are a part of life, but they are no less important in the start-up and entrepreneurial space. In this article, I will introduce you to some of the most common ethical dilemmas that startups face, and how you can steer clear of some potential pitfalls. Before diving into what to do if your company violates an ethical code, let’s first take a look at the principles that are generally accepted as guiding principles for ethical leadership in business.
Integrity – Do what is right.
Honesty – Always be true to yourself and others.
Civility – Be respectful at all times towards others by treating them with dignity and respect.
Integrity
For any organization, integrity is the corner stone of good ethical leadership. It’s the most important quality – it leads to all other virtues.
Ethical leaders understand that their primary responsibility is to act in an honest and sincere manner at all times. It means that they will always avoid conflicts of interest, and make decisions with only the organization’s best interests in mind. They understand that they aren’t the smartest person in the room at all times, and will do their best to look outside their own worldview for appropriate decision-making. But at a base level, ethical leadership requires putting your own interests last – it means putting your organization first, or even ahead of yourself.
Honesty
Honesty is defined as loyalty to the truth, whether it concerns oneself or others. Honesty in business means having a transparent and honest relationship between yourself and other stakeholders. It means being straight with your employees, clients, and customers, especially when promises are made. It means remembering that you need to carry out your duties in a timely manner and honoring deadlines. Honesty also means speaking the truth even if it is difficult. You need to be resolute about this because it is what will create positive growth for your company.
Civility
Leaders who have a positive brand image are more likely to use civility when interacting with other people, especially clients or coworkers who they have authority over. Civility is defined as the quality of being polite and kind.
Ethical leaders ensure that they reflect civility in their interactions with others, while maintaining a level of dominance if necessary. This is especially important when discussing other people’s ideas or plans, and also when working with people who may be more junior to you. You need to make sure that the right amount of respect can be shown at all times when you are communicating with others.
The Need for Code of Conducts
In addition to these core principles, there is generally an ethical code that any company must abide by. This could be a set of guidelines or standards published online or a formal set of rules that are implemented by the company leadership team.
Ethics policies are an important part of any company’s development. These statements communicate the expected standards of behavior, serve as a reminder to employees if they are in violation of their responsibilities or mission statement, and may be required if you ever exchange services with another company or partner.
CEO's have a huge influence on a company’s culture and code of conduct. This means that it is also their responsibility to ensure that the right standards are followed throughout all levels of the organization and at all times.
The first step in ensuring the success of your organization is to invest time and effort in creating ethical leadership. This can help you avoid many issues later on. It may take some time to build a strong foundation, but the results are worth it.
If you are ever faced with a situation where ethical leadership has failed within your company, you need to be prepared to address it and do what is right for everyone involved. That’s why it is imperative that you start off on the right foot by implementing a code of conduct and sticking with it throughout the life of your business.
Don't Let Ethical Leadership Fail
Today’s startup environment has created some new challenges that we have not had to deal with before. It can be difficult to stay on top of the right and wrong ways to run your business. But ethical leadership will help you build a strong foundation for your startup, and set a precedent for the future.
Here is what you should do:
1. Find an appropriate code of conduct for your business model. You'll need to address some basic issues, like how you treat customers and employees, but it’s also important to make sure that everyone understands their responsibility with regard to the company’s operations, finances, and intellectual property.
2. Choose an ethical leader to manage and communicate your code of conduct. Make sure that you choose someone who is professional, experienced, and well-respected in the community. It is important to invest time in hiring someone ethical – they will be your point of contact if there is ever a potential issue with the way that you are running your business.
3. Create a space for discourse. You must make sure that there are some open lines of communication between the leaders and all members of the team – this will help you avoid any potential issues down the line. You should find a way to discuss potential ethical dilemmas before they arise, so that everyone knows how to handle themselves when it happens to them personally.
4. Implement new code of conduct policies. Remember, you will need to advertise them so that all employees know and can adhere to the rules. You also need to make sure that employees are trained and informed about the code so that it does not cause confusion or conflict later on.
5. Engage in proper dialogue. Your employees’ opinions about ethical leadership will be the most valuable asset you have when it comes to acknowledging actions or situations that may be deemed inappropriate, or when making new rules for your business model going forward – especially since they are under no obligation to share their ideas with you if they aren’t comfortable speaking up in public forums.
6. Use proper procedures for growth. You need to ensure that things are being handled ethically during any important growth periods – whether it is hiring a new employee, acquiring a new partnership or client, or dealing with some type of crisis. You should constantly evaluate the state of your company so that you can make sure that your original code of conduct is still valid, and means something now compared to when you first wrote it.
7. Be transparent and civil. The best way to build trust and maintain the integrity of your organization is to be trustworthy and honest with everyone who has a stake in your business – especially if they are customers, vendors, investors, or other partners.
8. Implement changes as necessary.
Conclusion
Ethical leadership can help your company survive and thrive. Failing to follow ethical leadership standards will lead to either the demise of your business or its transformation into something that is not in line with the original vision.
Ethics and integrity go hand in hand when it comes to building a strong, ethical organization. There are a lot of ways to define them, but they are both essentially a commitment to do what’s right – no matter what.
You may also be interested in: Best practices for ethical leadership (http://www.yourstorychangeis.