My favorite movie is the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” Clint Eastwood is an awesome actor. I’ve seen the movie so many times that when my family hears the famous theme “whistle” for the movie they run for cover. They know the movie is coming on TV and I’m going to try to find someone to spend the next 166 minutes with me watching the movie.The movie contains a lot of twists, turns, and characters who are good, bad, and ugly.
As ethical leaders, you encounter situations with twists and turns. You find yourself dealing with individuals who are mostly good, but some who are bad and ugly. No matter the circumstances, you must always work to create a positive and ethical work environment.

Our great country continues to struggle with infusing ethical leadership and producing ethical work environments in both the private and public sectors. Examples of unethical behavior litter the newspapers daily and all of the remaining major Presidential candidates have addressed the need for ethical leadership.Senators Barack Obama, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton are all fully capable of turning the national tide in this area.
In assuming the responsibility for creating an ethical environment, please understand your people will fall into three distinct categories and you must ensure you take the appropriate action depending on the category:

CATEGORY 1 – People who most likely would not commit unethical offenses no matter what.

YOUR ACTION AS Leader Nourish, Reward, and Protect
The “impressionables.” People who are influenced by an unethical environment, peer, superior, or circumstance.

YOUR ACTION AS Leader:Deter and push toward Category 1

CATEGORY 3 – People who are highly likely to commit unethical offenses no matter what.

Remove them from the workplace at the first opportunity
You need to strive to produce an environment that moves as many people as possible into Category 1 — by doing so, you produce a positive work environment for your people. Who is responsible for creating an ethical work environment? You are!No matter how bad or ugly the situation may be a true ethical leader must zero in unethical behavior and remove it from the workplace.It’s the ethical leader’s responsibility and a reasonable expectation for those who look to you for leadership.