Holding your people accountable for ethical behavior is no holiday. Where do you draw the line? What should you do when ethics are breached?

What Great Leaders Know
Most people want to be ethical, but business involves so many conflicts and compromises, doing the right thing isn't always easy. You must show the way. Taking a strong lead on ethics unleashes human energy by boosting your people's confidence, decisiveness and organizational pride. Here are some steps to consider:

• Be the model. Ponder your personal ethics. Honor them always. Firmly believe that how you get results is as important as what you produce. Have the courage to jump into the ethical morass, confront tough issues head on, and speak passionately about what is right.
• Throw open the topic. Encourage honest exploration of the ethical dilemmas your people face. Acknowledge ambiguity when you see it. Invite employees to help you clarify what is right and what is wrong.
• Set ethical boundaries. Articulate (or update) your organization's code of ethics. Ensure it is clear, comprehensive and readily applicable.
• Deliver consequences. Make ethics an explicit, important factor in individual and team reviews. Deliver appropriate rewards for ethical behavior and fair, reasonable penalties for behavior that is unethical by your organization's stated standards.

Do you motivate people to do what’s right?

• Do I consistently demonstrate the courage of my convictions?
• Have I gained deep insight into the ethical issues my people encounter?
• Have I invited everyone to help me define/update our code of ethics?
• Do I provide meaningful, predictable consequences for ethical vs unethical behavior?

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