Followership and Leadership Ethics

QUESTION

For this Followership and Leadership Ethics, in at least 350 words, you must support your assertions with at least 3 scholarly citations in APA format. The textbook, the Bible, etc.).

The reading from this assignment comes from the Reading resource: Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE. ISBN: 9781544397566. (CHAPTER13,15-16)

Please discuss the role and necessity of Followership as well as Team  Leadership within a public safety setting. Also, please discuss the importance of ethics for a leader in public safety and the impact that an ethical leader might have upon their followers. In your discussion,  please touch on Heifetz and Burns’s perspectives on ethical leadership.  Finally, please incorporate Biblical concepts/passages into your response.

 

ANSWER

Introduction

In public safety, effective leadership is crucial for maintaining order, ensuring public welfare, and managing crises. However, leadership in this context goes beyond the role of a single leader. It involves recognizing the significance of followership and the dynamics of team leadership. This paper explores the role and necessity of followership and team leadership in a public safety setting. It also emphasizes the importance of ethics for leaders in this domain, drawing insights from Heifetz and Burns’ perspectives on ethical leadership. Furthermore, biblical concepts and passages will be incorporated to provide additional insights into these topics.

Role and Necessity of Followership and Team Leadership in Public Safety:

1. Followership: Followership is crucial in public safety as it involves individuals who carry out tasks, implement strategies, and provide support. Effective followership enhances coordination, cooperation, and overall organizational performance. Followers in public safety settings are often highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals who contribute to the success of missions, crisis response, and public safety initiatives.
2. Team Leadership: Public safety operations often rely on teams that work together to accomplish goals. Team leadership entails coordinating team members, fostering collaboration, and leveraging diverse skills and expertise. Effective team leadership enhances communication, decision-making, and the ability to respond to dynamic and complex situations.

 

 

The Importance of Ethics for Public Safety Leaders:

1. Ethical Decision-Making: Public safety leaders face situations where ethical dilemmas arise, requiring them to make decisions considering the well-being and safety of the public and their team members. Ethical leaders prioritize moral principles and values in decision-making, ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability.
2. Impact on Followers: An ethical leader in public safety can profoundly impact their followers. By embodying ethical principles, leaders set an example for their teams, promoting a culture of integrity, trust, and professionalism. This fosters a positive work environment, enhances follower commitment and motivation, and improves overall organizational performance.

Perspectives of Heifetz and Burns on Ethical Leadership:

1. Adaptive Leadership (Heifetz): Heifetz’s adaptive leadership perspective emphasizes the importance of leaders engaging with their followers to address complex challenges. Ethical leaders in public safety recognize the need to adapt, learn, and collaborate with followers to find innovative and ethical solutions to ever-evolving safety issues.
2. Transformational Leadership (Burns): Burns’ perspective on transformational leadership emphasizes the leader’s ability to inspire and motivate followers through ethical practices, vision, and values. Ethical leaders in public safety inspire their teams to work towards a shared vision of public welfare, promoting ethical behavior and continuous improvement.

Biblical Concepts and Passages: Incorporating biblical concepts and passages provides additional insights into leadership within a public safety context. The Bible emphasizes principles such as servant leadership (Matthew 20:26–28), love for others (Matthew 22:39), and integrity (Proverbs 11:3). These concepts guide leaders to prioritize the welfare of others, exhibit humility, and make ethical decisions that align with biblical teachings.

Conclusion

In public safety settings, effective leadership goes beyond a single leader and encompasses followership and team dynamics. Followership is critical in achieving organizational goals, while team leadership enhances collaboration and response capabilities. Ethics are of utmost importance for leaders in public safety as they navigate complex situations and make decisions that impact the public and their team members. Ethical leaders inspire followers, cultivate a culture of integrity, and positively influence organizational outcomes. Incorporating insights from Heifetz and Burns, as well as biblical concepts and passages, enriches our understanding of leadership in public safety, guiding leaders to embrace ethical principles and foster an environment of trust, effectiveness, and public welfare.