Ethical Leadership As a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) in an Associate Principal position, I was recently invited to a meeting of th grade teachers

to help !rainstorm ways we co"ld help o"r st"dents finish the year well# $"ring the meeting, many teachers indicated a decline in st"dent motivation and !ehavior# I happily attended, !"t at one point I s"rprisingly fo"nd myself at the center of the disc"ssion# The meeting devolved into an opport"nity for a few of the teachers present to disc"ss their sentiments towards what they we !elieved was my lac% of effective discipline tactics with many of the more challenging st"dents# It really was diffic"lt to weather the acc"sations as many of the assertions made were "nfo"nded in any sort of compassion for str"ggling st"dents or %nowledge of o"r systems and policies# Tr"thf"lly, I felt angry and wanted to leave the meeting& however, the ethical leader inside of me %nows that ethical dilemmas are never right vers"s wrong, !"t they are always right vers"s right# In this instance, the ethical dilemma presented was that the teachers needed an aven"e to e'press their fr"strations and feel s"pported, and I needed to s"pport them A($ all the st"dents# That is a right vers"s right sit"ation# I controlled myself, apologi)ed for the fact that they don*t feel s"pported and I owned the fa"lt, honestly e'plained the policies in place, and tried to demonstrate compassion for the teachers as well as the st"dents# I did this !ased on my %nowledge of what research says is critical for good leaders and also "pon the thread of integrity and honor to which I choose to adhere as well as the necessity to !e a tr"sted leader who demonstrates compassion and hope# The American Association of School Administrators has identified a list of +, ethical commitments which all administrators sho"ld maintain with the p"!lic& however, they have done more research and have narrowed the list to five main domains- tr"th, respect, responsi!ility, fairness, and compassion# (ASAA, .,+/) These five domains are the ones that gravitate to the top of the ethical characteristics people loo% for in leaders even when the respondents are from a wide variety of nations# It is apparent that leaders, everywhere aro"nd the glo!e, m"st %now and adhere to these five characteristics at a minim"m# Additional research s"pports these top five and com!ines a few of them into a more concise list of fo"r# In their !oo%, 0Strengths 1ased Leadership2 a"thors 3ath and 4onchie dedicate a section of their !oo% to why people follow leaders# They say that ethical leaders demonstrate the traits of tr"st compassion, sta!ility, and hope# (3ath 5 4onchie, .,, ) 6or me personally, tr"st is always earned thro"gh protecting privacy and following thro"gh on what I say I am going to do# In essence, tr"st is !eing tr"thf"l and demonstrating integrity and I always define integrity as doing what is right, even if no

one is watching# Sta!ility manifests in my leadership thro"gh my commitment to handling a variety of sit"ations with the same systemic approach, calm demeanor and highest sense of transparency possi!le# I demonstrate compassion and hope thro"gh my a!ility to listen !eyond the words people "se and rather trying to foc"s on the core of their message and from where it is originating# As a leader, I can never listen solely to the tone or the words people "se, rather I have to always !e prescient of the antecedent and tr"e motivation of the spea%er# It is my 7o! to "nderstand that the decisions I ma%e will alter lives either for the good or the negative and so compassion m"st !e one of the pillars of my rep"tation# As an ethical leader I am committed to !"ilding tr"st with my staff and I do that when I act with sta!ility, compassion, respect, responsi!ility, fairness, and hope# So when a few teachers "sed a meeting to throw to'ic acc"sations my way, and when my nat"ral reaction was to !e defensive and ret"rn their vitriol in %ind, the ethical leader in me listened to the lang"age of their complaints and t"rned it !ac% into a lang"age of commitment# Then I ass"red them that I do s"pport them and am open to systemic analysis when warranted# I also apologi)ed, tho"gh I did not have to, !"t ma%ing peace is one more way to demonstrate ethical leadership and what !etter way to ma%e peace than to say sorry# I do not want to conf"se my commitment to !"ilding tr"st with a willingness to !e a p"nching !ag# 8"ite the opposite act"ally, I loo% at myself as a steward charged to care for those within o"r !"ilding, and I approach their !ehavior in a %ind, gentle, yet firm manner that lets them %now they are safe and can tr"st me# A !ig part of tr"st is the %nowledge that I am a competent and strong leader who has their well9!eing as a priority and that sometimes means ma%ing to"gh decisions# If my !ehavior is consistent with the characteristics descri!ed, then ma%ing those choices simply solidifies the tr"st my constit"ents place with me# This notion e'tends to all people within the school comm"nity# I aim to !e a man of integrity and wisdom, and I constantly strive towards improvement as an ethical leader# So"rces:idder, 3#, 5 1orn, P# (n#d#)# ;oral 4o"rage in a <orld of $ilemmas# ASAA.org# 3etrieved 6e!r"ary .=, .,+/, from https->>www#aasa#org>schooladministratorarticle#asp'? id@/+/ 5terms@moralAco"rageAinAaAworldAofAdilemmas 3ath, T#, 5 4onchie, 1# (.,, )# Strengths based leadership: great leaders, teams, and why people follow# (ew Bor%- Call"p Press#