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Ethics in Leadership

It’s an interesting topic and at times can be very controversial. Peter Drucker was an Austrian American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of modern management theory. He famously said “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers”

This statement has led to some interesting classroom discussions as well as arguments about leaders. In my courses I typically lead with a few definitions of leadership and then ask the class a question. I ask them to give me a list of “Good Leaders.” What follows is an interesting take on leadership. We will typically start with George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, and then the class will typically throw in George Patton, Bear Bryant, and then a modern president. Which president however is based on where the class is being taught. This is where the arguments start.

Leaving the list of “Good Leaders” on the board I ask the class for a list of “Bad Leaders.” This list starts with Adolf Hitler, followed by Joseph Stalin, and Pol Pot. Jim Jones and David Koresh are added as the classes input starts to wind down. And then someone will throw out the name of the same modern president that was on the “Good List.”

Defining leadership as “someone who has followers” might be accurate from a technical point, but it fails to address what I believe is one of the major elements of leadership. Ethics. Those leaders in the “bad List” are leaders, they moved countries, cultures, and peoples to do some truly horrific things, but I could never look at them as leaders because to me ethical leadership is the most important element.

I believe that ethical leaders can lead anyone, but unethical leaders only lead unethical people, the rest they will drag along against their will.

Let’s take a look at ethics, morals and ethical leadership.