Above all else, a leader must be moral – not strong, not loved, or as Machiavelli stated, feared. Morality is the most fundamental part of great leadership and is rarely discussed as a desired or present characteristic of great men and women. Morality is the compass that guides the decisions and actions of good people and subsequently, great leaders, so why isn’t it emphasized during management education in academia or within the workplace? The answer is most people shy away from this subject because of political correctness and to be more specific fear of acknowledging God. In an article Forbes published earlier this year titled, “How to deliver moral leadership to employees” (Forbes, 2018), they elude to the clergy when seeking moral guidelines but only use that as a Segway to deliver an anti-gun rant. Morality in this sense is wanting companies to be moral when making decisions to sell guns, and even though they mention wanting morality in leadership, they breeze over any real examples of moral leadership and what it means to be a moral leader.
According to Merriam-Webster’s, Moral[ity] means, of or relating to principles of right and wrong behavior, or, conforming to standards of right behavior. But what does this mean? Moral leadership is more than understanding or discerning between right and wrong but acting on those beliefs and treating your employees or Soldiers as more than people who simply work with you. You should be treating them like family. Holding them accountable when they do something wrong, praising them when they do something right and never trying to take anything from them when it’s convenient and give anything to them when it’s undesirable. Moral leadership is having the intestinal fortitude to confront a subordinate, peer, or supervisor and speak with them candidly about what is happening and more importantly, what should be happening. Morality is kept at the center of a leader, and at the heart of this person’s decision, rarely are the decisions ones to be regretted later, allowing for more decisive action, and a more holistic thought process while planning. This is all for the better.
So, what is a moral leader? A moral leader is someone who does what is right, even when everyone and everything tells that person it is wrong. A moral leader doesn’t have long internal struggles when given a bad (or unlawful) order – they simply react in a moral way usually explaining to the person barking this bad order, that what they are demanding cannot be done and will not be done because it isn’t right. For example, as a Soldier you can be kept late at work or kept within your work area because someone in the organization misplaces a GPS device – is it really the right thing to do? What if this mandated lock down happens during the holidays? What if this lockdown happens during the work day and through lunch. A moral leader can take the same situation, consider the externalities and make the best decision. Best of all, this same leader will hold him or herself to the same standard. They do not make exceptions or excuses. They hold everyone to the same standard. This is the type of leadership that demands attention and usually results in loyalty. The most amazing part of leading this way, is that this type of leadership can be applied by any person, at any level, and it will be appreciated and respected by all. It is usually associated with leadership from a common-sense perspective which is always considerate to the mission, and big picture end state.
Article Reference:
Baldoni, John. “How To Deliver Moral Leadership To Employees.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Apr. 2018, http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbaldoni/2018/04/12/how-to-deliver-moral-leadership-to-employees/#3d7533e237ba.
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