Do You Demonstrate Moral Leadership?
Success August 10th, 2009Leadership on its own is a heavily debated topic as to what clearly defines a leader. I’ve outlined many points of what leadership means to be in my leadership series and I provided 100 example actions to be a better leader. While there is generally a consensus of what leadership is, one factor in leadership I find still often debated is that of moral leadership.
What is Moral Leadership?
First, I need to explore what moral leadership is. It’s more than leading others and having influence, it introduces how one does that into the equation. It needs a leader to act, follow and call others to a higher standard, a standard that is directed by what is thought to be good or right by a common standard. That standard is generated by a group of people, recognized by some authority and may even be based on spiritual foundations. It’s these types of standards that are expected in decisions and actions of moral leadership.
More and more is our world experiencing global crisis and needing leaders to join forces to battle for the greater good. There seems to be continual uncovering of unethical behavior in business, politics, religion and all areas of society around the world. There are no shortage of leaders making this happen as behind each one of these stories lies a leader who brought about the action and behavior in question. They chase money and let greed bring them into a position often seen as heroic leadership where ruthless actions, self centered decisions and environmentally disconnected standards allow them to feel what they are doing is acceptable and unfortunately, their followers, many of society’s success criteria and the media encourage this kind of destructive leadership. This is exactly why moral leadership is easy to debate because there is no easy to agree on good or right way to lead. I hope to make a difference on that in my own leadership and I know that there are just as many morally grounded leaders out there as there are ones in question here.
Demonstrating Moral Leadership?
As you know, leadership is about leading others and influencing them to behave a particular way. Moral leadership requires you to always look at what is right and lead others towards that. Moral choices come from a person’s character as well, they do not always come about by rational thinking. This makes moral leadership more difficult as there is a personal characteristic that must be evident to onlookers to believe choices are in fact moral ones. Directions that a moral leader takes do not always please the most people and so it is often counter to what people think a leader ought to do. Leading by popularity and influence alone will not typically create a moral path and the sacrifices that must be made around moral dilemas are often costly ones in terms of popularity, fame or wealth.
With morality formed by different sets of values and principles it is often difficult to truly have agreed upon standards and so moral dilemas do not always have an clear right and a clear wrong. They also often face a decision where there are two competing goods. One must choose based on the greater good in this case defined by their own principles and standards.
However challenging moral leadership may seem, it also brings about an opportunity to be a leader of morality. Can you look at your decisions and actions and say that you do so by a moral standard? Do you demonstrate decisions based on what you know to be right regardless of the circumstances or influence it might bring about? Let me suggest that you start with considering your own moral ground. What principles do you want to demonstrate when leading? Are those principles known to your followers? Would your decisions be based on what is right for others? Do your decisions promote respect to others and do you practice servant leadership? It’s these types of actions that most would agree are for the greater good and for what is right.
The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot.  ~Mark Twain
Teaching and Promoting Moral Leadership
Seeing as moral leadership is greatly needed in this world of struggles I want to also encourage people to look at teaching and promoting it. Teaching morals is something done by those with influence, parents, teachers, business leaders and anyone in a leadership position. Morals are something that must be rooted in your character, your decisions and your actions so that teaching it is a matter of demonstration, intention and deliberate choices. Our children and youth could clearly benefit from it but also those around us in our lives and businesses.
Take note of the morals you teach and look at what you stand up for as a leader. Are you willing to stand out in a group, do what you know is right even if that is not the consensus or immediate reaction or preferred response. If you don’t promote what is right, who will?
This whole subject started when I was reading an article called, “Valueless Leadership” at All Things Workplace and that article includes several examples of leading with values and the comments got into moral leadership which I wanted to expand on. An example there was one of a a student returning a purse with $1000 in it and that the fellow students all concluded she should have kept the purse. The teacher didn’t say anything and didn’t want to impose their own views of whether this was the right or wrong thing to do. My reaction, “Unbelievable!” Of course I would expect a teacher to impose some teachings of right and wrong and I would hope that teachers of young students would in fact do so. There was a perfect opportunity to teach the class what was good in this and she was afraid to take it. So my friends, please make your stand for what is good in this world and take every chance you get to teach and promote treating others how they want to be treated, demonstration respect and good judgement of right and wrong in your own moral leadership!
My own experience and development deepen everyday my conviction that our moral progress may be measured by the degree in which we sympathize with individual suffering and individual joy. ~George Eliot
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August 10th, 2009 at 5:52 AM
Wow! That was a very comprehensive post about moral leadership. Leading from the front by example, and setting high moral standards is definitely the way to inspire your people to greater heights.
August 10th, 2009 at 9:03 AM
Mike,
Thanks for picking up on the theme and running with it. I personally believe the term “Moral Leadership” is redundant, yet all-too-rare. The notions of ‘relative truth’ and ‘what is legal’ vs. ‘what is moral’ have been allowed to poison the same culture that claims “children are our only hope”, while serving up lessons that convey “If it feels right, do it.”
It is time to draw a line in the sand. . . (but I don’t feel strongly about this:-)
August 10th, 2009 at 9:11 AM
@IndustryNews… Thanks for the comments on this one and for stopping by. Demonstrating a moral foundation in your leadership will take things farther than most, yes.
@Steve, great point about redundancy, I completely agree that it does connect to naturally it shouldn’t need to be stated, however, as you put reference and since it is obvious in this world that leadership and morals are not often connected, its a topic that ought to be explored a lot more than it is. When people leave a gap of morality to give them “benefits” and disconnections, they disconnect themselves from any responsibility and leave leadership and moral leadership to others. We can’t do that so demonstrating this kind of leadership is more important than any other kind.
I’m glad you “don’t feel strongly about this” as well. 🙂 I more people can raise that barrier of separation and put morality back into the ways they lead.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:06 PM
The best leaders are those who know that its more important to do what’s right than to do wrong just to make a few gains for yourself. Its unfortunate that most leaders do not fall into that category. There are so many leaders that have done wrong… and still had followers. When you speak of teaching morals, it reminds me of those commercials they have been playing. I don’t know if you have seen them, I think they are done by the foundation for a better life.
Till then,
Jean
August 10th, 2009 at 5:23 PM
@Jean, this is definitely true. Its sad so many leaders that don’t lead morally are still looked up to while chasing their own attention. I’m not familiar with any commercials actually as I haven’t watched any regular TV for several years. Movies and a couple of TV series on DVD only. It’s rare to find a GOOD advertisement but I’m happy to hear that one rang a familiar tone with moral leadership. Thanks for the comment.
August 10th, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Mike,
Moral leadership is so sorely needed in some business circles today. Make that many circles.
I like your distinction between common standards and higher standards. Yes, moral leadership has a different standard, going beyond what is effective to what is right.
Great post today. Stumbled.
August 10th, 2009 at 11:38 PM
@Daphne, thanks so much and I appreciated the help promoting it. Doing what is right is certainly not always something that is agreed on from today’s typical leadership standards and its something you have to really belief in and have morals in to make a stand with it as well.
There is certainly no shortage of leaders, unfortunately, there are of moral leaders.
August 11th, 2009 at 2:23 AM
I am with you on the shortage of moral leaders.
Fortunately I did have a few bosses in the past that were moral and proud men.
I still have contact with them, since I feel both have been mentors for me.
August 11th, 2009 at 5:38 PM
This was one of those articles with great personal meaning for me Mike. The lack of morals, standards, and ethics is a serious (deadly) tear in the fabric of human society. The pretext of morals is about as useless as the smell of food to a starving person. Personally, I am determined to stand by my ethics regardless of the cost.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:13 PM
@Bunny – ah, I’ve had the luxury of always having great company and bosses in my workplaces and while there are always instances of moral shortages, I can happily say I have experienced working relationship with many mentors that also play a moral role for me. The fact that you can recognize this Bunny shows you have the moral foundation needed so please stick to what you know is right and lead the best way you can!
@Jonathan – Great to resonate on this with you Jonathan. It’s a topic I feel I could right much more about and while it is not always agreed on in business, I have learned that any costs (personal or financial) are always worth doing what is right from a moral ground. Leadership needs this exactly so I to am prepared to stand my ethics when the times arise.
August 12th, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Great post, Mike!
Posted a link to it on my site this morning:
“Can Leadership Be Moral?”
Didn’t see a trackback show up here, so wanted you to know.
Thanks for the insightful work.
August 12th, 2009 at 1:21 PM
In my opinion, anyone who demonstrates lack of morality is not a leader at all. By definition, a leader should enforce the structures upon which he’s been elected. He is expected to make the system more powerful, not weaker.
From this perspective, I think there is a global crisis for leadership all together, not for “moral leadership”. It seems that the core values of leadership have been touched with a sense of irresponsibility and – allow me to say it – stupidity.
Leadership is carrying for others as much as you care for yourself, not less.
That’s a tough topic to write about, Mike, but you did it great.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:13 PM
@Karl – thanks for the mention and link to this article. I don’t know why but I’ve never got trackbacks to work reliably, I get a few, but probably only about 10% of the links back to my site. Not sure why, oh well.
Anyway, thanks for continuing with a comment and the related article, glad you stopped by.
@Dragos – Thanks for the additional thoughts, it is a tough topic to cover without stepping on some toes. Your first points though about a leader enforcing the structures they are elected may be true in today’s leadership expectations but I don’t think they means it is also moral. There are elected leaders who are expected to make money and nothing else, regardless of their ethical decisions or morals that are disregarded when making them. Look at all the politic and environmental “leaders” that continue to destroy and harm so many people, nature and habitats. Is that leadership? It certainly isn’t moral leadership when it is a selfish based greed driven decisions. Usually those are supported by the elected, scary thought. Often the “right” way to lead is in fact one that takes things away from the focus of the electing and the structures in place to support that, wouldn’t you think?
August 14th, 2009 at 1:08 AM
Hi, another nice article about leadership qualities. I had learn a lot tips about it. And i thinks that i had improve my skills by reading these post. I am a team leader in a small company and your tips are really very helpful for me. thanks for it.
August 16th, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Mike, I really enjoyed this article and since it is one of those articles that made me think I consider my experience today to have been a valuable one. 🙂
I think I agree with most of this article. One of the things that people struggle with is what is moral and who gets to decide. I have my opinion and I know others have different ones so to me the key is whether you have one or not and whether you follow it or not. I think that this is what you were trying to convey, at least the way I read it.
Ultimately we all have to decide for ourselves, but I think nature provides the basic guide. The reason many cultures agree on so many of the basics is because the nature of reality requires that human beings act in a certain way if they are to thrive. Acting against our nature or the reality of the universe will lead to failure in the long-term.
Thanks for stimulating topic.
August 16th, 2009 at 9:51 PM
@sus – thanks for the comment and I’ve glad to hear that you find these articles useful. I am happy to provide them!
@Stephen – yes moral leadership is certainly not without debate and you are right, its the foundation of morals themselves that is usually debated. I think whether you feel that morals come from personal teaching, nature, the university, God or wherever, its living by them and doing what is right based on those morals that is needed for moral leadership. There are some obvious ones where ethics and consideration of others (the golden rule) is more important than power, market share or money. That the kind of morals I see often broken in business and the way I stay away from. I’m glad I’ve made you think more on this and thanks for the great comment and thoughts on this.
June 15th, 2010 at 9:22 AM
well is theory really being practised? or is it in our human nature to be hungry and sniff the food and go towards it?
i truely think that there are no true moral leaders. this judgement is based on experience and observations that mankind was designed to survive. Sometimes survive at a cost leaving our temtation greater than our values and beliefs.
October 26th, 2011 at 11:33 PM
@Siale, for evil to prevail all that is needed is for good(moral) people to sitdown and do nothing.
@Mike: Great Synopsis of Moral Leadership. Sun Tzu believed that the moral strength and the intellectual faculty of men/woman brought success. Makes one wonder why so many leaders never give this character trait much thought…