Definition and Basic Principles of Ethical Leadership
“Ethical leadership involves leaders and managers making decisions based on what is right for the common good, rather than just what is best for themselves or financial outcomes. While profits are important, ethical leaders consider the needs of customers, communities, and employees, in addition to business growth and revenue, when making business decisions.”
“Although ethical leadership can be difficult to define, there is consensus among researchers that it involves ‘demonstrating morally appropriate behavior through personal actions and interpersonal relationships and promoting such behavior among subordinates through two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making.'”
“Ethical leaders should behave appropriately and credibly within the context in which they operate, while also engaging in ethical discussions and drawing attention to ethical issues within their organizations.”
“The six main attributes of an ethical leader include character and integrity, ethical awareness, a focus on community/people, motivating, encouraging, and empowering, and managing ethical accountability.”
The Impact of Ethical Leadership on Organizational Outcomes
“Ethical leaders encourage their team members to model this behavior. They help build an organizational culture that values transparency, collaboration, and inclusivity, where everyone feels safe sharing their voice. They can also help organizations recruit and retain the best talent. Professionals are increasingly seeking companies whose leaders strive to do the right thing.”
“Studies have shown a link between ethical leadership and task performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, and other productive work behaviors.”
“Additionally, we know that servant leadership fosters organizational justice and trust in the leader and the organization. Also, through trust, procedural justice, and organizational engagement, a helping culture, and organizational citizenship behaviors, servant leaders support an ethical organizational climate.”
“Research has shown that ethical leadership reduces employees’ tendency to morally disengage, which ultimately affects unethical decisions and deviant behaviors in employees.”
“Organizations with a strong ethical culture achieve 40% better results than their competitors.”
Factors Affecting Ethical Leadership
“Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) states that subordinates learn from the leader’s behavior how to act in a given situation, thus engaging in unethical pro-organizational behaviors (UPB) when they observe their leader engaging in such actions or believe that the leader(s) would be willing to accept such behaviors through reinforcement or punishment.”
“Organizational behavior can influence ethical decision-making by shaping an individual’s values, beliefs, and attitudes toward ethical behavior.”
“Extraversion reduced the negative indirect impact of the span of control [on the variability of ethical leadership].”
The Role of Ethical Leadership in Preventing Unethical Behavior
“Ethical leadership has been described as an antidote to unethical employee behavior (including UPB), because ethical leaders not only model ethical behavior in the workplace, but also do not tolerate unethical employee behavior as acceptable.”
“Working under ethical leadership reduces employees’ tendency to morally disengage and/or increases their moral awareness, thus reducing the chances of employees engaging in UPB [Unethical Pro-Organizational Behaviors].”
“We expand on this research by examining how ethical leaders influence how employees interpret morally problematic decisions, ultimately affecting their behavior.”
“The ethical role of a subordinate mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and the subordinate’s unethical behavior. The ethical voice of the leader moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and the ethicality of the subordinate’s role in such a way that the relationship is stronger when the leader’s ethical voice is high (vs. low).”
“According to a Gartner study conducted on 1,012 employees in December 2023, uncertainty is the most frequently experienced situation leading to employees’ non-compliance with regulations. In the survey, 87% of respondents stated that in the past 12 months they found themselves in situations where they didn’t know how to follow regulations, then 77% experienced rationalization situations, and 40% experienced situations involving malice.”
Leadership Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
“Research shows that the more ethical the leader (supervisor), the more likely the organization is to be socially responsible. The strength of this relationship is moderate.”
“It was also observed that in 14.7–16.1% of cases, the leader does not act ethically, although the organization may be presented as socially responsible.”
Variability in Perception of Ethical Leadership
“In this two-stage study, we examined the role of variability in ethical leadership, defined as differences in how subordinates perceive ethical leadership from the same leader.”
“Building on the concept of leader distance and social exchange, we developed a model in which the span of control of the leader positively predicted variability in ethical leadership, which in turn negatively affected job satisfaction in the unit by decreasing the subordinate’s trust in the leader.”
Empatyzer – The Ideal Solution for the Discussed Problem
Element 1: Chat AI as an Intelligent Coach Available 24/7
The chat knows the personality, character traits, preferences, and organizational context of the user and their team. This allows it to provide hyper-personalized advice tailored to both the inquiring person and the realities of their team. Recommendations are provided in real time, helping managers solve problems here and now, instead of waiting for training.
Element 2: Micro-lessons Tailored to the Recipient
Twice a week, users receive short, condensed micro-lessons via email, which can be absorbed in three minutes. The lessons are personalized—either focusing on the manager themselves (e.g., their strengths and weaknesses and ways to leverage them) or on relationships and communication with the team. Practical tips include real-life scenarios, ready-to-use techniques, and even specific phrases that can be used in a given situation.
Element 3: Professional Diagnosis of Personality and Cultural Preferences
The tool analyzes the user’s personality, their strengths and weaknesses, and their unique traits in the context of the team, company, and population. It enables understanding one’s position within the organization, identifying talents, and determining the best course of action.
Empatyzer – Easy Implementation and Immediate Results
Quick implementation – the tool requires no integrations and can be launched in a company with 100–300 employees in less than an hour. Zero additional burden for HR – users do not generate additional questions or work for the HR department, which significantly saves their time. Immediate value for the business – the tool is designed to be fast, easy to implement, generate immediate results, and be cost-effective.
Why “Empatyzer” is Unique?
It understands not only the inquiring person but also their organizational environment—providing solutions relevant to
