Moral Leadership : A Moral Leader

Ethical leadership is leadership that is involved in leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. As leaders are by nature in a position of social power, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders use their social power in the decisions they make, actions they engage in and ways they influence others. Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness, which is important for followers to accept the vision of the leader.

A natural born leader is not something you can find in everyone. The importance of true leadership comes from demonstrating various skills, which encourage a better society. Ethical conduct in a leader is pivotal for the simple reason that a leader is capable of single handedly shaping a generation. We have been privileged to see phenomenal leaders do amazing things, and also seen the effect of what an inadequate leader is capable of. Leaders are found in all races and cultures, all shapes and sizes, but there is one leader, in particular who cannot be duplicated.

Arguably, there are countless different definitions of leaders in the world, and my experience brought me in contact with countless worthy people who excel as examples of this. Consequently, by utilizing the abundant case studies over the last 28 years of my career, I formed the following definition of what a leader is: A morally grounded individual who meets all challenges with an infectious excitement which others wish to emulate. This drive inspires allegiance to this individual, mostly without a formal request to follow. The members just choose to assist this individual in meeting the desired results without a need for the accolades of a successful result.

Leaders are role models for many, who have high standards that they hold them up too. The supreme quality a leader must have is being influential, without having an impact on their follower’s lives then nothing else matters.

Leadership is a concept that has continuously evolved through history. No matter which nationality, race, background, religion or education, leaders around the world are constantly challenge to find resolutions to the world current conflicts. Regardless of different motivators, circumstances and approach, world leaders are an example of dedication and their main responsibility is to gather followers and encourage them to together make a change. World leaders work with passion to reach a purpose, they nurture leadership, engage with followers, create trusting relationships and embark in a journey in the quest of powerful solutions (WLF, 2015). Bill Gates stated “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others” (WLF, 2015); but leadership without goals and vision is not complete. These two elements are necessary to fulfill the purpose of a great leader.

Ethics leadership can be described as the ability of a leader to know his/her core values and having the courage to apply these values in every part of his/her service for the common good ("Ethical Leadership", n.d.). Therefore, this type of leadership involves understanding the meaning of

Different types of leaders have different traits such as a narcissistic leader is egotistical; self-absorbing who basically is only concerned with their wants and needs. Covenant leaders are moral, ethical and humbly put others before themselves. Then there are the servant leaders who believe they are there to provide service to others. Anyone can be a leader, but it is in how they lead which determines the traits they carry and use. Their purpose is to lead successfully so that others may follow in their footsteps.

One of our founding fathers, John Witherspoon, once stated,“The people in general ought to have regard to the moral character of those whom they invest with authority either in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches.” A good and effective leader must be able to negotiate and be flexible, yet still be loyal to their personal morals. I believe that a leader should have strong moral integrity, but that should not be their only defining

Ethical leadership can be defined in different ways. And also the definitions may include internal personality of leadership, which are values, traits and behaviours. Furthermore, ethical leadership can describe the features of motives and behaviour (Yukl, 2010). Ethical leadership is the leaders who have the good behaviour and performance and the right morals. Moreover, ethical leaders manage and organize performance, morals, and points of view into the culture of companies (Freeman and Steward, 2006).

A leader is a leader of nothing if he stands alone. People must pick and choose their loyalties with the utmost care. And if they are brave enough, they must stand up for what is right and against what is wrong. A leader's followers are extremely important. Without followers you are not a leader. And that's what makes a great leader, the ability to be clever enough, charming enough and brave enough to get people to see your view and help you make it a reality. A leader must also listen to their followers, to know what they think and to work together to achieve your goal.Often time a leader can be blinded when his goal is so close. He can get tunnel vision and maybe not see the consequences or the other factor. But the people can help him see, help him make choices he won’t regret. People are the heart of the living beast of a cause, the leader is just the head. They need each other to

Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitation.” Every leader has their own techniques to be successful. With characteristics such as trustworthy, ethical, and honest have high personal standards. Having

I agree with what the chapter suggests. In my opinion, leadership does have a moral dimension and as a leader, comes a responsibility that he or she uses their authority to advance the common good. I believe, that as a leader, there is an obligation to uphold our moral values and not use their authority for aggression, power, or getting ahead. Leaders should always use their resources to advance and promote those that need assistance or a greater cause. For example, a leader promoting needs to reduce poverty. In addition, leaders not only need to be effective but also must accept the moral dimension of leadership and as a leader; he or she becomes a role model for the community, employees, and all of the stakeholders. Consequently, leader’s actions influence those around them and therefore as a leader, we should use our available resources to help improve the lives of others.

In order for a leader to be a leader he/she must begin with the assumption that you are the one who matters most. As a leader you have to possess that level of confidence in yourself that you are capable of leading yourself “before you can lead others”. And when you develop this belief then you are better able of affirmative influence “on others”.

Leadership is not about having people follow you, it’s about people believing in you. There have been many notorious and notable leaders throughout history. Some were not necessarily of high moral behavior and some were, but most were leaders that could unite their people in a cause. Without a sense of morality, many leaders have led people to commit acts of immorality. Just as humanity must depend on the morals and ethics of its citizens to survive, leaders in our society must also uphold some basic morals and ethics, if we have any hope of keeping our humanity.

Porter-O’Grady (2010) defines leadership as “a multifaceted process of identifying a goal, motivating other people to act, and providing support and motivation to achieve mutually negotiated goals’. Early theorists considered leadership characteristics innate (Nahavandi, 2006), and that these traits were differed from that of the followers’ (Winkler, 2010). Purpose, courage, confidence and ability were among the list of characteristics most leaders possess (Grimm, 2010). Other studies suggested that, despite