Affiliated University
Introduction
The Catholic Action is a group of young people who come together to interact, share issues concerning the youth and do their share of service to the church. It is a society with so much potential to produce quality leaders. Through interacting with their peers, youths get to understand what society considers okay and what it sees as not alright. Ethics are an integral part of modern day society. Without them, the harmonious state in which society operates would turn into one of chaos. Whether through religious teachings or simply from one's conscience, the ethical choice is always the right one to pick. It is, therefore, important to understand what ethics entail.
Body
The actions of leaders do not only affect their lives, but also the lives of those people whom they are mandated to take charge (Rowe, 2007). For instance, in the church, the actions of a reverend have great significance to the lives of the congregation. It is, therefore, necessary for leaders to take great care when deciding what they should do. Ethical leadership, therefore, entails guiding people into doing the morally correct deeds.
There are six elements that define an ethical leader, honesty, their objectives, the power, their values, character, and actions. A careful evaluation of a person's deeds concerning the six parameters above in an effective way of determining a person's ethical standing.
Regarding character, Aristotle defines a strong leader as one who is honest, generous, courageous, sociable, self-controlling, modest, fair and lastly just (George & Ghere, 2005). Having all the qualities above in an individual is difficult to ask of someone, but it is not entirely impossible. One is not necessarily born with these attributes, and they need to be developed over a period of years. By observing fairness, being trustworthy and other virtuous acts, a leader becomes an inspiration to his people to do the honorable acts. A leader's character describes his or her beliefs and consequently, what his people believe. Being of strong character according to Aristotle's description is a way to become an ethical leader.
The actions of a leader are also an integral part of determining their ethical standing. Actions deal with the means that leaders use to achieve their objectives. An ethical leader should always use morally correct means to achieve his objectives. The end does not always justify the means, so a leader should not use good results to justify some questionable actions. Also, a leader should not use his good intentions as an excuse for some horrible action or results. It works both ways. For instance, the violation of regulations by the United States Army in extracting information from terrorism suspects amounted to unethical behavior. Good actions by a leader can be narrowed down according to respect to other people, being of service to others just like Christ defined leadership in the Bible, and being just in all decisions regarding those who are below you (Zsolnai, 2004). Any form of bias by a leader is an indication of how unethical they are.
The goals of a leader also tell people how ethical he is. If a leader's ambitions are focused on self-fulfillment and domination over people, it is an indication of how unethical he regards a character. A good leader should identify worthy goals to pursue. These goals should be focused in making the lives of other people better than they currently are. For instance, Mother Teresa, who many consider being a good example of ethical leadership, had the goal of showing the plight of the poor people in the world. That was an example of ethical leadership. Adolf Hitler, on the other hand, had the objective of achieving world domination and proves that people of a given race were better than those of another race. This was an attempt of self-gratification rather than the good of all people. Hitler's objective is evidence that he was an unethical leader.
Honesty is also an important attribute for a leader. An honest leader can gain the trust of his peers and that of the people below them (Fredrickson, Ghere, 2005). Dishonesty in a leader eventually makes people lack respect for them. People will not want to get into deals or contracts with a dishonest leader. If leaders cannot deliver on the promises that they made, it is an indication of dishonesty on their part. The outcomes of dishonesty are always negative for both the leader and the people that they preside over. Dishonesty destroys relationships between people and it is difficult to regain a bond that has been broken by a dishonest person. Telling a lie with good intentions behind the deed should not be an excuse for one to be dishonest. Therefore, whatever is said by a leader needs to bear authenticity so as not to break people's trust.
The power of leaders entails their ability to influence people's course of action concerning their beliefs and attitudes. A leader should, therefore, be very sensitive in what they do to inspire the actions of their people. A leader's power can be both beneficial and destructive depending on how it is used. If a leader inspires his people to be tolerant of others and to foster integration, that leader is positively using his power and can be said to be an ethical person. An unethical leader, on the other hand, may use his power to build tensions and spur violence in people. Ethical leaders, therefore, use their power to achieve mutually positive objectives together with their subordinates.
Values of a leader also tell people how they are. Ethical leaders apply ethical values in completing assigned tasks. If a leader is of strong character with the parameters indicated by Aristotle, they observe ethical values. Ethical values come down to the personal values of an individual. A leader who believes in doing the right thing for the good of their people will obviously observe ethical values.
Leadership Communication Concepts Relevant to this Group
Being a church-based group that share diverse issues and have distinct interests, it is ideal for the leadership to channel its communication towards the right direction. Therefore, the following leadership communication concepts are applicable to this group; creation of constructive climate, ostensible ability to create a vision and spur it among the group members, and conflict resolution ability (Northouse, 2015). The first concept relates to creating a sound and ethical environment up which every group member will be able to give his or her views with regards to the objectives put forth. Besides, this leadership concept is critical since it will invoke each group member to make a meaningful contribution to the group, rather than vesting the sole mandate for decision making on just a few individuals. The second leadership communication paradigm positively applies to this group, since it must have clear guidelines that steer it to the right direction. Vision objective manifestation that such a group would set its mandates; the vision offers guidelines and direction to what is right and within the realms of the group. Finally, the last communication concept refers to conflict resolution capability, which irons out fallouts and disagreements, which are accustomed to any group of such size.
Conclusion
References
George F, H,G.&,Ghere, R,K.(2005). Ethics in Public Management. Armonk, N.Y : M.E. Sharpe.
Northouse, G, P. (2015). Introduction to Leadership; Concepts and practice. West Michigan University.
Rowe, W.G. (2007). Cases in Leadership. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Zsolnai,L.(2004). Spirituality and Ethics in Management. Dordrecht ; Boston, Mass. : Kluwer Academic.
