Perhaps the initiation of a thought that involves within oneself, that I am better than others, is the first rung on the ladder towards climbing the stairway to arrogance. In behaving so, we indulge in continuous competition with others. This induces feelings of envy and jealousy. The seductive ego starts to then overpower the thought process followed by consequences of actions displaying the vice of behaviour that resides outside the ambit of acceptable ethical and moral standards. This manifestation is regardless of society, culture or a geographic entity proudly called a country and rarely a nation.
To deliver ethical leadership, one doesn’t have to expel or imprison the ego, in its totality; but it is to harness it towards greater good. Masking the possession of ego is the greatest deception of today’s world of management, of both business and politics.
In my quest to deeply study human behaviour in the context of management and leadership, I have come across management professors, practitioners and scientists who have relied heavily on their experience of having explored the Ashrams, the Bhagavad Gita, the pronouncements of Gautama Buddha, the Confucian thought, etc. I have not come across practitioners of management who would have seen any good in our Madrassas or even quote the holiest of holy books ie the glorious Quran. We shy from intertwining our religious based moral demands and inclinations, with everyday behaviour. This is true of all without exception to their professions. Even the religious leaders make mention of holy verses to suit political expediency.
It is doubtless that when relationship to the supreme being is recognised, ego simply melts away. In the Islamic teachings contained in the holy book, in the life of Prophets (PBU them), in the life of the saints, sufis and the righteous, it is comprehensively established, without any suspicion attending to the thought, that the suppression and taming of ego is fundamental to understanding life, and to remain harmonious to its environment only when the negative sentiments associated with ego are expunged.
Ethical and spiritual leadership brings light into the darkness of the business world. The word ‘leader’ conjures for us the characteristics of the possession of power; rarely do we see leaders who not only will alter and change themselves but also endeavour to change other individuals giving an element of self-importance. And this is the cause that may go towards helping the giant class.
As managers when we remark, “you can never do anything right”, we are not being healer, but we are certainly sowing deep unhealable wounds into a colleague’s future. When filled with spirituality, a manager would be representative of exceptional grace in his dealings with others.
One may ponder if there should be a fair distinction between management and leadership. Of late most of us have come to accept the notion that a state or nation is most akin to a corporate enterprise and hence anybody with a keen sense of business acumen can lead or should lead the country. But is that concept and notion true?
Many decades back, at the University of Southern California, Prof Warren G Bennis had coined, “Managers have as their goal to do things right, and leaders have as their goal to do the right things.” This distinction in the concepts over time has dissipated and now the roles of manager and a leader are considered synonymous. The casualty of this approach has been the disregard to maintenance of spiritual, moral and ethical, edifice of leadership. Richard Nixon, former President of USA, distinguished the elements beautifully, when he wrote “management is a process; and leadership is poetry.”
Poetry by implication is guided by emotions and hence carries a great quantum of the seeds of ethical foundation that go towards formation of regret or a positive action.
It is only when a manager develops that distinctive ability of leadership, to give and make a direction for posterity and history to remember; he assumes the mantle to attach the fine spirit of ethical standards to his work of getting both; doing the things right and doing the right thing.
Being ethical is being virtuous. Today we are all witness to political leadership who very painstakingly portray themselves as innocent in spite of the damning floating iceberg of evidence to the contrary. What is this mindset meant to represent? Nothing! except denial of truth, isn’t that akin to getting naked publically?
In the first and only authentic biography of Quaid-e-Azam, by Hector Bolitho, it is mentioned, “……..there was a client who was so pleased with Jinnah’s services in a case that he sent him an additional fee. Jinnah returned it with a note, this is the amount you paid me Indian Rupees…. this was the fee. Here is the balance Indian Rupees….” Mr Jinnah, the Quaid, an embodiment and paragon of moral and ethical leadership. Nothing, absolutely nothing could lure or tempt him away from the high moral grounds he always stood upon in the everyday discharge of good behaviour. There were no frills attached, it was always a simple case of being virtuous at all costs. Finding and pursuing morality and ethics for a manager is the most difficult task. As manager, when you attempt to seek tax avoidance or more respectably stated tax efficiency one must remember you are in the unethical zone; and there can’t be two opinions on this act, that is perpetuated and made to look kosher while essentially it is an effort to rob the exchequer….… .
What are offshore companies meant for? Certainly, people don’t place their liquidity for safety of deposit or worst when even a 100 percent of the export value, but to avert its inclusion in the taxable wealth, for the determination of payable tax. Tax havens are for the filthy rich and the ugliest cheats and together they make a great combination for acquiring the godfather status, of being fraudsters. In doing so the leader - manager can get away with pleasing his masters but he falls deeply into the cavity of unethical, immoral and unbecoming behaviour.
Ethical leaders and managers don’t make decisions for the day; with a keen eye on history they make decisions for the day after! In doing so, they forgo the enticement of success and glory today, and instead demonstrate their preference for a successful nation / organisation, the day(s) after morrow’s.
Leadership or manager-ship should have at its roots the only compulsion to do what is right. Socrates wouldn’t lie but drink the hemlock. Columbus or Ferdinand would respond to crew mates that they were sailing by faith –doing the right things. In the context of present day environment, it is significant and apt to recall of Admiral Dennis Boyd, ‘power always corrupts unless it is accepted as a humble service to a higher authority; an authority not concerned with success or failure only with right or wrong.’ The Australian politician who remained in office as minister for only four years but twenty-eight years in opposition, Kim Beazley, had this to support ethical behaviour, ‘if the opposition sticks strictly to truth it is likely to be fit for power. If the opposition aims exclusively at power, it will certainly distort the truth.’ That is ethical leadership. Immoral and unethical leaders / managers are those who cheat themselves into creating within the inner system that what they represent is the best and is without doubt the only truth. Self-deception at best.
There has to be fostering of virtuous, noble, ethical and morally based behaviour in all the sections and strata of the society. This is without exception. No holy cows; all to be uniformly lined for slaughter, for any that stray from the herd.
The writer is a senior banker and freelance columnist
