Ethics in Leadership

Ethical Leadership is one of the primary tenants of good leadership. In almost all leadership development trainings, leadership courses, and advice from industry leaders, you will hear or be told, to always maintain good ethical standards. Well, if that is the case, then why so many folks violate their code of good ethics?

As I thought about this assignment, I said, I know, I could write about Kwame Kilpatrick, the former embattled mayor of Detroit, who covered up an affair with his personal assistant, however, had a number of incriminating text messages to her that showed that the two were having an affair. When the affair was exposed by a city official, Kilpatrick, used tax payer funds to settle a lawsuit in the hopes that the affair would not be exposed. Unfortunately, the affair and the text messages were exposed to the media, and Kilpatrick was forced to resign and served 4 months in jail. He has supposedly relocated to Dallas, Texas and is looking to start his life over again. I then said, I could write about Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL), who replaced the seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Sen. Burris told a hearing of his peers that he did not have any contact with the offices of then Gov. Rob Blagoavich, who appointed Burris to the senate seat. Well, after further investigation, Burris recanted his original testimony and indicated that he did have contact with Bloagovich's office about fundraising. Burris, came under immense scrutiny, but appears to have weathered this storm. He is being investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee, but I believe his ethics storm has blown over.

Next Monday night, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) will crown a national champion. Connecticut, Villanova, Michigan State and North Carolina will all be slated for the final four, out of which one will be crowned, the National Champions. While we were in class last week, Yahoo Sports discovered that the University of Connecticut could be in serious violation of NCAA recruitment rules http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ys-uconnphone032509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns. Last month, the Connecticut Men's Basketball Coach Jim Calhoun, blasted a reporter, because the reporter asked him, how he felt making $1.6 million dollars a year, in a state that has had a significant budget down turn. Calhoun, told the reporter that his program brings 12 Million dollars to the University yearly, do not question my salary! This brought Calhoun under intense scrutiny from university officials and state politicians.

However, this most recent story will probably be the most talked about story during the NCAA Final Four, whether or not Calhoun knew about recruiting violations and to what extent. As a coach with 37 years in the business, 2 NCAA Championships, 805 collegiate wins, and virtually ensured a spot in the Hall of Fame, how could you jeopardize all that you have worked for and that you student athletes have worked for?

If Connecticut wins this year, it may all be for naught? If you read the complexity of the article, you can see how important and how corrupt college recruiting has become. Again, with the outstanding track record that Coach Calhoun has documented, why would allow his program to get involved in something like this? What was his ETHICAL responsibility as a Leader and to his program?