The Court Leader and Ethics – Be an Aware Leader

As noted in the CourtLeader posting on June 28, 2021, (https://courtleader.net/2021/06/28/court-leadership-the-competency-of-ethics/) ethics is an important leadership competency. Understanding ethical practices and having awareness can position a leader to succeed. This posting shares ideas of areas where a court leader can seek to be an aware leader and build performance around that awareness.

Ethical actions and awareness by a court leader provide the framework for public trust and confidence in the court. Court leaders make a personal commitment for ethical performance to themselves, to judges, to staff, to the justice community, and to the public. Here are some suggested areas for court leaders to practice gaining awareness:

Internal and personal goals: evaluate and refine personal values, goals, purpose, and performance.

Professional connections: understand the relationships and interactions needed with judicial officers and colleagues.

System collaborations: assess and prepare for justice system partner connections and collaborations.

Community and public interactions: identify and target court user and litigant activities and engagements.

Hopefully, these suggested areas can help court leaders consider and increase awareness and build ethical performance around that awareness. It will support trust in leaders and in the court.

Published by Janet G. Cornell - Court Leader Contributor and Consultant

Janet has over 35 years in court leadership including service in general and limited jurisdiction courts. She is a founding and contributing member to www.courtleader.net. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, and is a Fellow of the National Center for State Courts, Institute for Court Management in Williamsburg, VA, along with certificates from the Leader Coach Institute, Scottsdale, AZ, and the Leadership Institute for Judicial Education, Memphis, TN. Currently she serves as a consultant, faculty, and author on court administration, leadership, governance, caseflow management, performance measurement, operational assessment, access for self-represented litigants, and court reengineering with projects across the US and internationally. View all posts by Janet G. Cornell - Court Leader Contributor and Consultant