Lech Walesa’s Ethical Leadership Analysis

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Analysis of Personal Ethical Leadership Style
Kantian ethics
Aristotelian virtue
Mill’s utilitarianism
Moral motivation
Lessons Learned
Conclusion
References

Introduction

In Polish politics, ethical leadership plays a crucial role in enabling and enhancing effective performance and interaction between social institutions and agents. At the highest level in the society, the vision and strategic goals of ethical leadership determine if the society will actively nurture ethical principles, or tolerate them with indifference, or “search out and destroy” it. Ethical leadership that is effective for ethical principles satisfies the expectations of ethical individuals, fulfills the demands of ethical work, and integrates the ethical effort with the goals and values of the society. The Polish political leader, Lech Walesa, is one of the best examples of ethical leadership and effective management. Political values of participation and citizenship are lost from the equation, as is the central political concept that civil society is an autonomous sphere of social activity. Under such constraints, citizenship may help to build social capital, but it may not enhance or strengthen an autonomous civil society.

Analysis of Personal Ethical Leadership Style

Lech Walesa is a political leader and human rights activist who made a great contribution to social changes in Poland and the new agenda of Polish trade unions. His personal expectations that have to be satisfied by ethical leadership are rooted in these “core” abilities and orientations, which fall into two broad categories: cognitive and personality-motivational (Stefoff, 1992). The main cognitive expectations to be met are: being allowed to make full use of superior intelligence; having the opportunities to apply superior intelligence; having the opportunities to apply specialized knowledge as well as acquire new knowledge, receiving acceptance for idiosyncratic styles of thinking; seeing value being attached as much to “problem finding” as to problem-solving; and respect being shown not only to analytical and rational arguments but also to intuitive and aesthetic judgments (Stefoff, 1992).. For all these reasons, there is a widespread belief that political leadership is exercised from the center. Only political leaders at the central level have the authority to take the initiative and to exercise leadership. Therefore, both constitutionally and politically, the remit of political leaders at the central level is both legitimized and unbounded by territorial constraints. At the same time, while in a formal sense, center-periphery relations are similar to those found in a presidential democracy, in practice, the role of local government is more influential than its presidential democracy counterpart.

Kantian ethics

In terms of Kantian ethics, moral action is based on reason. Lech Walesa followed this principle and developed a unique approach to politics based on moral principles and virtues. Walesa’s ethical leadership style can be described as transformational leadership based on motivation and the ability to inspire others. The main personality- and motivation-related expectations to be met are appreciation for perseverance and self-motivated, hard work; scope for curiosity and inquisitiveness; bearing with lack of certainty; guarding operational freedom and independence of judgment; support for risk-taking; and furthering of intrinsic motivation (Stefoff, 1992). Many of the demands of work arise from two well-understood facts about it: it is a very complex activity, and it represents the cutting edge of the field(s) it is anchored in. But there are two other equally important–and interrelated–facts about ethical work. First, its success hinges on change or accidental occurrences. Second, because of the element of chance involved, a particular project or piece of work is usually a part of a “network of enterprises”–a group of related projects or activities. Given these basic facts, ethical work makes special demands on the organization (Colle and Werhane, 2008). Even when ethical is greatly valued in a society, it cannot be supported just for its own sake, and it cannot be supported endlessly. Therefore, selectivity enters where the key decision-makers place their bets and how far they go with these bets. And when a good breakthrough is achieved–which may happen suddenly and unexpectedly–it is important for the society to move opportunistically to exploit the new possibilities and identify future projects that can build on this breakthrough (Ibbotson, 2008). If the degree of obstruction is sufficiently determined, then the government may have to give in to the demands of the parliamentarians. Nevertheless, although these points mean that members of the executive branch of government in presidential democracy cannot simply ignore the wishes of those in the legislative branch, the Constitution presents them with a raft of constitutional resources with which to exercise leadership.

Aristotelian virtue

In terms of Aristotelian virtue, morality is based on overall happiness.

This suggests that in thinking about ethical leadership, we may have to shift the focus of our search away from ethical leadership as a quality or talent that is assumed to reside in a single individual in a given situation and redirect it toward a vision of ethical leadership as a vital stream of influences emanating from a constellation of people–some inside the society occupying different hierarchical positions, others possibly outside–who individually fulfill some of the expectations of ethical individuals, meet some of the demands of ethical work, and satisfy some of the organizational imperatives that inevitably circumscribe ethical endeavors (Ibbotson, 2008).

In Walesa’s political and social life (ethics, morals, and ethical), ethics means the system or code of human conduct, with the emphasis on the determination of what is right and wrong. With these three definitions in mind, the next step is to apply them to defining ethical conduct. For Walesa, ethical conduct goes beyond legality and is more comprehensive (Stefoff, 1992). Civil society, from this perspective, is in the service of the economy; families, associations, networks, and cultural arrangements help create trust, credibility, and literate consumers and workers.

Acting as the top-level leader, Walesa understands that ethics is crucial for the workplace because it determines the values and principles of organizational behavior. At first blush, many people will probably agree that this additional element is the collection of moral principles and values of what is right and what is wrong and what is good and what is bad, as determined by group behavior or by some member of the group (Stefoff, 1992). Middle leaders and employees should understand that for proper business and social conduct, these ethical standards and values must be shared by not only individuals but by the total business community and society as a whole (Ibbotson, 2008).

Mill’s utilitarianism

Social feelings and expectations are reflected in trade unions’ policies and new approaches introduced by Walesa. Walesa changed the understanding of employee relations and increased the role of trade unions in workplace disputes. Acting as the top-level leader, Walesa believes in the Golden Rule and uses it as their most important guide to ethical behavior. In simple terms, it basically mandates people to treat others as they themselves would like to be treated (Stefoff, 1992). If you want to be told the truth, then you tell the truth; if you want to be treated fairly, then treat others fairly. Since most countries and religions of the world have some form of belief that comes close to the part of the Golden Rule that relates to treating others as you want them to treat you, then in theory, if properly adhered to, it can personalize business relations as well as bring fairness into business. “Mill defines the internal sanction of duty as ”a feeling in our own mind; a pain, more or less intense, attendant on violation of duty, which is properly cultivated moral natures rises, in the more serious cases, into shrinking from it as impossibility” (Colle and Werhane, 2008, p. 754). Acting as the top-level leader, Walesa is acting like the utilitarians and producing the greatest happiness for the greatest number. The situational ethics concept advocates acting in a manner that produces the greatest amount of love, fulfillment, and benevolence (Stefoff, 1992).

The main problem is that citizenship and values confront national ideologies and self-identification. The strategies and goals of integration are developed by the Committees, but they do not reflect the goals and needs of the nation-states. Political cooperation is something that has constantly been urged upon the Community since its creation. Insofar has involved a continuing relationship between several national governments, it has achieved a not insignificant degree of political cooperation. The formal relationships with other countries or groups of countries had not progressed much during the last decade (Stefoff, 1992). Reformed Poland has an independent ability to raise revenue and would share powers over the adoption of the budget with the Council. The problem is that European enlargement is not supported by the nation-states and could be opposed by European nations. Establishing the market would entail the removal of all those barriers and factors which inhibited free movement. Thus, the challenge of integration is that nation-states are against enlargement outside Poland (Stefoff, 1992).

Writers on this subject have attempted to balance the costs of companies reporting on their adherence to social responsibility with the costs of not doing so. It seems to associate justice with efficiency rather than fair play), and it is extremely difficult to formulate and establish satisfactory rules of application. A more practical criticism centers around the difficulty of defining the probable benefits called “utility” and somehow summing them (Stefoff, 1992). Great disagreement may be generated over which consequences are, in fact, “good,” which consequences should receive greater or lesser weight, and what probability should be assigned to different future consequences (Stefoff, 1992). Modern critics of utilitarianism also note that ultimately utilitarianism must seek non-utilitarian answers on assigning boundaries and values around the measurement of activities. For Walesa, it is always crucial to control and manage the ethical behavior of employees on the Internet. Ethics becomes one of the most difficult and complicated tasks for political leaders (Jackson and Parry, 2008).

The ethical society should recognize that stringent enforcement of such a policy must develop at the highest levels and be supported all the way down the society. Internal enforcement action should be immediate, not simply a reaction to external discovery and prosecution. Closely related to legal compliance are moral and ethical standards (Stefoff, 1992). Political contributions, bribery, and other acts of conduct illegal in this country may not be illegal in other parts of the world. They fall into this category, as do areas such as proprietary information, product misrepresentation, disparagement, premature disclosures, acquiring or divulging confidential information, certain gifts and entertainment, and conflicts of interest (Stefoff, 1992). As the top-level leader, Walesa underlines that developing a code of morals and ethics is not always simple. The frame of reference is large and sometimes complex. In cyberspace, consideration must be given to existing and proposed laws, Judeo-Christian values, family norms, society and industry as a whole, the firm, and the background and desires of owners, leaders, and other employees. In spite of these complexities, a recent survey shows that most large and many smaller firms have codes of conduct that are distributed to offices and employees, who periodically must sign a statement that they have read the code. Further, these firms have specific procedures for enforcing the code and handling violations (Jackson and Parry, 2008).

Moral motivation

For Walesa, the benefits from cultivating the recognized virtues and ethical values among its younger members, since the modern business will not long survive as a recognized profession if the public perceives that the pursuit of monetary gain is its only aim (“A Framework for Thinking Ethically,” n.d). Values and virtues are passed along in the business community through mentoring. Personal loyalty and friendship are paramount values here. As the top-level leader, I would say that in the political environment, the duty of honesty will inevitably find itself in conflict with the value of promoting the best qualified (Stefoff, 1992; Lagone and Rohs, 2003).

Since political management is responsible for planning and control throughout the state, it follows that they must adopt an ethical leadership style that is fairly directive. In most of these firms, leaders adopt either a benevolent autocratic, consultative, or participative style. The benevolent autocratic style, the most directive of the three, involves leaders telling their subordinates what to do but emphasizing that it is what is best for them (“A Framework for Thinking Ethically,” n.d). The consultative style involves telling subordinates what course of action is being considered and asking for their input, while leaders who adopt the participative style ask subordinates to help define the problem and possible courses of action, and then they make the final decision (Kouzes and Posner, 1995; Segriovanni and Glickman, 2006).

Ethical leadership gives subordinates a great deal of freedom in both setting goals and how they are achieved. The philosophy is that employees know what they are supposed to do so that they will do it with little direction. This affords subordinates a lot of ethical principles in accomplishing their goals and may result in innovative products, production processes, or procedures that increase the unit’s efficiency (Kouzes and Posner, 1995). Walesa’s political experience proves the ideas mentioned above and shows that employees of firms look to senior management for the direction they need to accomplish their jobs. The culture stresses rules, and it is the employee’s responsibility to determine what the rules are and then to follow them. There are, in fact, sanctions against rule violations (“A Framework for Thinking Ethically,” n.d). The culture of social relations stresses that employees are responsible for their own destinies. They, in essence, create their own futures within the parameters of the society and operating unit and have the freedom to do so. This provides employees with the freedom to experiment and do things they cannot do in more structured settings (Topping, 2002).

Social and political leaders like Walesa tend to be functional specialists rather than general leaders who develop the vision for their area’s future. The culture of a large society that desires to become more ethical must be managed so that it encourages and reinforces entrepreneurial behavior (Stefoff, 1992). Rather than supporting “standard ways of operating” and rewarding individuals for playing by the rules, the culture must be changed so that mavericks who violate rules in the service of improving society are heroes. In other words, the culture should emphasize risk-taking in the hopes of creating new products or services that can benefit the society in the future rather than playing it “safe” by continuing to operate in a traditional fashion (“A Framework for Thinking Ethically,” n.d). Another important piece of a culture is an emphasis on people. To become more ethical, a society must teach its leaders how to promote organizational commitment and motivate employees to achieve the society’s goals while at the same time giving them the freedom to be ethical (Topping, 2002).

Lessons Learned

The personality of Lech Walesa shows that ethical leadership should be the core of every political activity and social relations. To become more ethical, political leaders must be taught to avoid creating plans that are more form than substance (Stefoff, 1992). Leaders of operating units need to be given the freedom to set their own directions, and they need to begin thinking like entrepreneurs in planning their futures. Since leaders are closest to the markets they serve, they need to learn how to critically assess their own position in the market, their competitive strengths and weaknesses, and what they can do to be more effective in the future. In this regard, society needs to promote the notion that numbers are not the only thing that matters, but it is what the numbers represent in terms of the long-term goals of the society that matters (Topping, 2002).

The bottom line is that to survive in today’s changing political environment, organizations must learn how to create “business within existing businesses,” that is, to behave more entrepreneurially (Stefoff, 1992). This can best be accomplished by allowing divisions that specialize in certain areas the freedom to experiment, promoting a culture that emphasizes a big hit, creating compensation systems that reward individual and group ethical principles, and implementing an accounting system that emphasizes business development rather than the bottom line (Zaccaro and Klimoski, 2001). To handle society in a changing environment, an important requirement is to embrace paradox, or at least handle the anxiety that paradoxes create, such as the struggle between the forces of wanting change and avoiding it (stability versus change); the forces of maintenance and the forces of transformation (managing versus leading); the forces of evolution and the forces of revolution; and the forces of caution and the forces of courage (“A Framework for Thinking Ethically,” n.d).

Conclusion

The analysis of Walesa’s ethical leadership qualities allows us to say that she has a unique ethical leadership style based on such qualities as intuition, mental toughness, and a stung personal image. In a rapidly changing, diverse society, the capacity to value differences is required. Many institutes in the developing world and in transition states were founded by the government, are part of the bureaucratic apparatus, or are dependent on state funding. Many other institutes that may have been independently founded function in political cultures where censorship, conformity, and control prevail, limiting engagement with social groups and the articulation of a broad range of interests.

References

de Colle, S., Werhane, P. H. (2008). Moral Motivation Across Ethical Theories: What Can We Learn for Designing Corporate Ethics Programs? Journal of Business Ethics 81:751–764

Ibbotson, P. (2008). The illusion of leadership: Directing creativity in business and the arts. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. A Framework for Thinking Ethically. (N.d).Web.

Jackson, B., & Parry, K. W. (2008). A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership. Los Angeles: Sage.

Lagone, C. A., & Rohs, F. R. (2003). Community Leadership Development: Process and Practice. Journal of the Community Development Society, 26 (4), 252-267

Kouzes, J., Posner, B., (1995), The Leadership Challenge, Jossey Bass: San Francisco.

Segriovanni, Th., Glickman, K. (2006). Rethinking Leadership: A Collection of Articles. Corwin Press; 2nd edition.

Stefoff, R. (1992). Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy. Ballantine Books; 1st edition

Topping, P. (2002). Leaderial Leadership, McGraw-Hill: New York.

Zaccaro, S. J., Klimoski, R. J. (2001), The Nature of Organizational Leadership: Understanding the Performance Imperatives Confronting Today’s Leaders. Jossey-Bass.

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