Ethics Found In Work Teams

Staying with the topic of ethics it is hard not to notice the lack of ethical behavior or poor judgement shown in organizations regarding ethics. It seems to me the common thread with this behavior is power. Leaders get used to the power in making decisions, controlling groups, making contributions to the organization or micromanaging situations. Leaders go from being part of the team and organization to being the sole leader or managing their team. The thinking goes toward controlling the group, or possession. Sometimes having power people forget that they can serve a team as well.

This got me to thinking that maybe the way to improving ethical behavior is through the development of work teams. I hear departments call themselves teams all the time but I mean true teams. My thought process is that a true team, or self running team, still needs a leader but that role becomes supportive instead of managing or controlling. The leader can serve as a check and balance for the team to make sure it maintains an organizational direction. Leaders can serve the this type of team by developing, mentoring, and even counseling. Taking away some of the leaders power may help improve the current ethical climate.