Welcome back to the Levelling Up Your Leadership series, where we are exploring the skills that can drive impact.  So far, we’ve covered: 

• Resilience (why adaptability beats endurance), 
• Strategic Management (why it’s about smart choices, not rigid plans), 
• Creative Innovation (why problem-solving is key, not just creativity), 
• Influential Communication (why it’s about how your message lands, not just what you say), 
• Resource Management (why it’s about making the most of what you have), 
• Knowledge & Experience (why expertise alone isn’t enough—you have to apply and share it), 
• Visionary Leadership (why it’s not just about having a big idea, but making it real and rallying others behind it).

In our last article, we’re focusing on an area some leaders don’t always consider, especially under pressure - Ethical Leadership.

Ethical leadership isn’t just about doing the right thing, it’s about your values, accountability, and the way your decisions impact others. Most importantly, it’s about how your values hold up under pressure.

Leadership That Stands for Something

Plenty of leaders talk about integrity, fairness, and responsibility. But when tough decisions arise, especially when there’s financial pressure, conflicting interests, or god knows what else, values can become negotiable.

Ethical leadership isn’t about avoiding the scandals or doing things ‘by the book either’, it’s about consistently aligning your actions with your values, even when it’s inconvenient, unpopular, or difficult.

The most influential leaders don’t make ethical choices themselves, they build cultures that encourage accountability, transparency, and trust. They create environments where people feel safe to raise concerns, challenge decisions, and uphold shared principles.

The real test of an ethical leader isn’t when things are easy, it’s how they act when things get messy.

Where Leaders Get It Wrong

Prioritising short-term wins over long-term trust.

When the pressure is on, it’s tempting to cut corners, make a convenient compromise, or bend the rules. But reputations are built (and broken) on the decisions made in these moments.

Avoiding Difficult Conversations.

Ethical leadership means calling out issues, even when it’s uncomfortable. A leader who turns a blind eye to toxic behaviour, discrimination, or poor decision-making is complicit.

Having values that only live on the website.

Saying the right things is easy but acting on them is harder. If the values you promote don’t align with how you actually operate, people notice.

The best leaders don’t just set ethical standards, they live by them, every day.

How to Level Up Your Ethical Leadership

Want to strengthen your impact as an ethical leader? Here are three things to focus on:

1️⃣ Make Values Non-Negotiable.

Set clear principles for how you operate and make decisions, and stick to them, even when it’s inconvenient. If something feels ‘off,’ trust your instincts.

2️⃣ Encourage Transparency, not Silence.

Foster an environment where people feel comfortable raising concerns without fear of backlash. The healthiest organisations are the ones where honesty isn’t punished.

3️⃣ Be the Example, not the Enforcer.

Ethical leadership isn’t about holding others accountable, it starts with you. Model the behaviour you expect from others, and integrity will become part of your culture, not just a talking point.

What’s Next?

So, ethical leadership isn’t just doing the right thing, it’s about shaping environments where integrity, trust, and accountability become the norm.

If you want to assess where you stand, not just in ethical leadership, but across all eight of our impactful leadership domains, our the Impact Readiness Index is a great place to start. 

It’s a free self-assessment designed to help you understand your strengths and pinpoint areas to sharpen up.

👉 Take the Impact Readiness Index today and get a free personalised report on your leadership strengths and opportunities.

At The Change Arc, we help leaders and teams build influence and impact—with the right mix of strategy, creativity, and execution. Find out more about how we work here.

About the Author

Iain Fowler is the Co-Founder of The Change Arc, helping leaders and teams build influence and impact. With a background in strategy, leadership development, and communication, he works with leaders to define and activate value, sharpen their leadership brand, and deliver real-world results.