1. Running Head: FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 1
Final Reflection Paper
Anna Marie Garrett
EDDC 615 - The Ethical Educator
Concordia University – Portland

2. FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 2
The application of ethics is important in everyday life, but the application of ethics is
even more important in leadership. We have seen the effects that unethical leaders have had on
our society. As was pointed out by Palmer (2004),
Today we live in a blizzard of another sort. … It swirls within us as fear and frenzy,
greed and deceit, and indifference to the suffering of others. We all know stories of
people who have wandered off into this madness and been separated from their own
souls, losing their moral bearings and even their mortal lives: they make headlines
because they take so many innocents down with them (p. 1).
Due to this fact and my strong feelings about social justice and gender equality, it becomes very
important that I apply ethics to my leadership.
In relation to my feeling akin to Rule Consequentialism and Feminist Spiritualism I feel
that I can relate to the leadership styles of Servant Leadership and Transformational Leadership.
Chittister (1998) tells us, “Humility, the principles imply, has something to do with our
relationship to God, our openness to people, our expectations in life, and our attitudes towards
others” (p. 98). In Servant Leadership,
A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the
communities to which they belong. … The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of
others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible (Greenleaf Center
for Servant Leadership, n.d., para. 4).
In Transformational Leadership,
Transformational leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the
importance and higher good of the task. These leaders are focused on the performance of

3. FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 3
group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential. Leaders with
this style often have high ethical and moral standards (Cherry, 2015, para. 13).
Just as it is a professor’s duty to help guide their students to truth and excellence, to treat others
with respect, and through words and actions to teach those around them to treat others with
respect (Markie, 1994), I feel that good leaders are ethically bound to treat their followers with
respect and to guide them to the truth and excellence of their full potential.
In this manner the leader will be growing and moving closer to their full potential of self-
actualization. (See Figure 1) Through Servant Leadership and Transformational Leadership, I
feel that the person leading is living Micah 6:8 (New Revised Standard Version) “Oh man, what
does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”
They are in effect practicing Borgmann’s (2006) civility that is part of behaving decently with
one another. This includes treating all those around you with respect regardless of their station
in life (Garrett, 2015, pp. 2 - 3).
From the descriptions of these two types/styles of leadership, I imagine these leaders
would agree with Bonhoeffer (1955) when he says,
But when all this has been said it is still necessary really to examine what is the will of
God, what is rightful in a given situation, what course is truly pleasing to God; for, after
Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(lenrosen4, 2011)

4. FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 4
all, there have to be concrete life and action. Intelligence, discernment, attentive
observation of the given facts, all these now come into lively operation, all will be
embraced and pervaded by prayer (p. 43).
When they hold to this, they are acting in ethical and morally upright ways, which not only helps
to make them better leaders, but also helps them grow as individuals.
As a college professor, a piece of being a good leader is being up to date on what theories
and knowledge is currently accepted as truth and excellence in the field. This is tied to the
professor’s responsibility of scholarship. As part of this scholarship, through their own inquiry
into what is currently being debated in their field, and their commitment to the type of research
that is related to that field of study, professors present the results of their scholarship, the results
of research, and their own theories to make advancements in their field, before their peers for
professional review through publications and presentations at professional conferences (Garrett,
2015, p. 13). If we are in charge of graduate students, especially doctoral students, we are to be a
role model for them of what it means to be engaged in academic scholarship within our field of
study. The Inquiry-based Learning model can be useful at this level of study to guide students’
first experiences of academic scholarship (Ekline, 2004). In Inquiry-based Learning,
A complex process is involved when individuals attempt to convert information and data
into useful knowledge. Useful application of inquiry learning involves several factors: a
context for questions, a framework for questions, a focus for questions, and different
levels of questions. Well-designed inquiry learning produces knowledge formation that
can be widely applied (Ekline, 2004, para. 6).

5. FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 5
Helping our students through the appropriate research methods for our field and creating their
own understanding of the currently held truth and excellence for themselves is an important part
of our leadership as professors.
Thus through the styles of Servant Leadership and Transformational Leadership, I will be
able to enact social justice and gender equality in light of Women’s Spirituality and Rule Based
Consequentialism in my vocation and calling as a professor on the collegiate level. As long as I
remember the humility that Chittister (1998) tells us about while I hold true to all of these pieces
that will make up my leadership style, I will be living an ethical and morally upright life where I
will be able to avoid the unethical blizzard that Palmer (2004) warns us about.

6. FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 6
References
BBC. (2014). BBC - Ethics - Introduction to ethics: Consequentialism. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/consequentialism_1.shtml
Bonhoeffer, D. (1955). Ethics. (N. H. Smith, Trans.) New York, NY: Touchstone.
Borgmann, A. (2006). Real American ethics:Taking responsibility for our country. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press.
Cherry, K. (2015). Leadership Theories: The 8 Major Leadership Theories. Retrieved from
about.com: about education:
http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/p/leadtheories.htm
Chittister, J. (1998). Heart of Flesh: A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men. Grand Rapids,
MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Ekline, J. (2004). Workshop: Inquiry-based Learning. Retrieved from thirteen ed online:
Concept to Classroom: http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/
Garrett, A. M. (2015, April 18). Final Form Personal Ethics Statement. Portland, OR.
Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. (n.d.). What is Servantleadership? Retrieved from
https://greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/
lenrosen4. (2011, October 7). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved from
www.21stcentech.com: http://www.21stcentech.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/maslow.jpg

7. FINAL REFLECTION PAPER 7
Markie, P. (1994). Professor's Duties: Ethical Issues in College Teaching. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Palmer, P. (2004). A hidden wholeness: The journey toward an undivided life. San Fransisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.