It is not a secret that a good leader makes an organization function efficiently. Due to excellent leaders, business companies get higher incomes with minimal risks. How do ethical leadership and decision making relate to education? It is not a simple task to be a good teacher or a good student. There are many ethical rules one needs to keep.
What is Ethical Leadership in Education?
Ethical principles deal with morality. Today, a person is tempted to present the merits of others as personal. Students copy papers on the Internet and send them to tutors thinking that nobody will guess. Others are smarter and ask professional essay writing agencies like EssayLib.com to help online without cheating. Teachers are tempted to give lower or higher grades, depending on personal likes and dislikes apart from college requirements. In other words, both participants of the educational process do not follow the rules of academic integrity.
One can find leaders in every educational institution. These are principles, class teachers, deans, and, of course, some students. Who do people usually follow? What do people expect to see in an ethical leader?
1. Desire to satisfy the demands of others
Leaders are to consider the points of view of the community and adapt their personal beliefs to them. In this case, followers know that their ideas and considerations are valuable to this person. Consequently, they can trust him or her.
2. A sample of honesty
People hate liars. They promise one thing but do the opposite one. True leaders must not lie unless they do it for the sake of something. For example, one of the team members has family problems and keeps that secret. Naturally, this person can have difficulties with the excellent performance of the task. A good leader will create a suitable condition instead of telling the truth to others and hurting a person. Nevertheless, such things are to be rare.
3. Justice in all actions
There is no place for favorites. A leader must consider all pros and cons before making a decision that must be fair for everyone. It concerns all spheres of education, including punishments, rewards, assignments, and grading.
4. Manifestation of respect to others
An ethical leader never disrespects people because of their race, gender, family background, religion, and unlike points of view. A good leader will always respect each team member.
5. Ability to build a well-organized community
It is important to be task-centered. Each community (classes, teaching staff, college football teams, etc.) has a goal. A leader must be goal-oriented and lead a team to that goal. Consequently, one distributes tasks honestly and guarantees the perfect cooperation of the team. Everything is to be logical and coordinated.
6. An example of morality
An ethical leader knows the difference between good and bad things. Besides, such a leader never does immoral things and does not welcome such actions in his or her team.
7. A talent to see weak and strong sides of everyone
If a person cannot see what others can or cannot cope with, there will be no chances to become a leader. A leader must know the talents of each member of the staff and benefit from them. It will be a mistake to charge a person with a task he or she cannot perform because that will hurt the whole team. It is better to give this task to someone else or provide a partner who will become a perfect teacher.
8. An ability to be a leader and a partner at the same time
It is better to be beside the team than to stay in front of others. An ethical leader knows when it is time to give orders and when it is better to let others make decisions independently and just give hints or monitor the situation. This talent says, “I am not better. I am just like you!”
Decision Making in Education as an Integral Part of Successful Leadership
Besides ethics, a leader is to be ready to provide clever decisions. Many colleges include a subject about decision making into their curriculum. It means that this feature is valuable and demanded in the contemporary world. A modern person has to be a manager who can plan things to cope with the speed of life and become successful.
As a rule, a person has several alternatives. It is necessary to select the best way to provide the right decision. Eventually, each participant of the educational process should cope with four basic things: to organize, to plan, to coordinate, and to control.
The success of a university, college, school team, and teaching staff depends on the decisions made by separate leaders and each member of the educational process. Every participant should be ready to:
- evaluate the situation;
- consider all possible alternatives to solve the problem;
- consider time limits;
- organize something and perform one’s duties efficiently;
- communicate with others;
- predict the possible outcome of various decisions;
- cooperate with other members instead of standing aside from the decision making process;
- become flexible to changes and tolerant to other viewpoints;
- see the whole process and regard each its detail.
A good education is a complex notion. It involves a well-composed curriculum, smart, ethical leaders, and active participants who are ready to cooperate with the leader to achieve the desired goal. Everything is interrelated and demands high moral standards and proper decision making to satisfy modern society’s diversity.
