Our Ethics as Leaders are created through life...

Today I met up with Dr Helen Paige, Founder and Director at The Paige Group.

Helen approached me after learning about Responsible Leadership 2010 as Helen has a strong interest in this area after completing her doctorate in leadership ethics which commenced nine years ago.

Her studies followed the concept of leadership from an individuals point of view and the ethics of leadership in organisations, including bureaucracies.

What was of immense personal interest was what happens when a leaders personal ethics are tested by their work.

There was obviously a lot of reviewing literature, values, ethics and attitudes in Helen's doctorate as Helen followed the works of many well known writers.

What Helen learnt was if leaders personal ethics were disabled through work, it lead to many disruptions in their work life and leadership - even to the point of resigning from the position due to the inability to align with personal beliefs.

Helen believes responsible leadership is where a leader takes personal responsibility with the leadership they want to take affect. It begins with an individual responsibility - to themselves and the values and ethics they believe in.

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When someone enters a position within a workforce they bring with them their own package of ethics that have been developed throughout their life in;

• Home life
• Church or spiritual beliefs
• Educational Resources - school. etc
• Community

If people do not have connections with values, ethics, behaviours and boundaries through their experiences in the four areas above - then it is likely they will not know what these mean and will not be truly sure why they act the way they do.

To put it another way, if you missed out in learning about ethics and values in the areas above, there is a good chance you are living life as a lost soul with behaviour responding negatively as you lack your life purpose.

If you have not developed a barrier in expectations of society and determined your measurement of the parameters to live your life within - then what is the test of appropriate behaviour?

Helen believes there are a large number of people within our populations around the world who struggle with this problem.

If you are going to be a responsible leader, then your responsible leadership should begin with good leadership of yourself, before you begin to lead others.

We are what we are and how we are perceived by others.

We can model leadership based on what we believe in.

Every person should be responsible for their actions. Responsible leaders should understand this and model accordingly.

Leaders work in so many environments, so each model needs to be customised for the environment you are working in.

For example, as Helen talks to me from her garden, they are building a pool next door. Now someone at some level will be responsible for the building of that pool. They ensure the customer is looked after and gets what they want.

They also look after the trades people, taking responsibility for their work. They lead the process to an outcome that others are satisfied with.

Leadership happens around us in so many ways every day.

Leadership is not purely for those given the mantra of authority like a Lord Mayor. Leadership helps everywhere in society.

Responsible leaders will look beyond the leadership of authority. They will look to where leadership helps everywhere in society and business. They will put leadership in place where all involved develop skills and knowledge and share that knowledge. They will consider ethics and values in what they do.

People often think though ethics and honesty are often included in organisations values, they are often not aired at all levels of business. Many when asked say they have learnt what they have learnt through osmosis - absorbing what goes on around them.

Helen believes it is not like that. All the time we are impacted by events around us. At the end of the day the essence of each one of us and the decisions we make comes down to our personal measurement of values, beliefs and ethics which in turn determine what style of leader we can be.

The greatest leaders may not be the biggest influencer's during their time as leaders due to circumstances beyond their control at the time. However, responsible leaders will always look long term, beyond their term as leader to how they can have impact on those they lead and society, through the ethics and values they believe in.