This leadership is vital in 2015 because . . .

Great leadership impacts the moral focus of those who follow, it also inspires a new vision, stimulates intellectual capacity, and supports every individual in the Organization. This leadership is vital in 2015 because . . .

The practice of leadership over the 20th century showed an ugly side to world leaders:  the genocidal actions of Hitler and Stalin in World War II, the actions of US presidents during the Vietnam War and Watergate affair, the actions of Bill Clinton while in office, and the stand of George W. Bush that motivated the Iraq war.

Elie Wiesel was recently asked what type of leadership is necessary in a world that has changed a great deal since he survived the holocaust 70 years ago.  His answer was in the form of wrote an opinion piece for Forbes magazine entitled, “What kind of leaders do we need now.”:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/dovseidman/2014/09/18/what-kind-of-leaders-do-we-need-now-elie-wiesels-answer/

He states that we need ethical leadership, and his justification for this was fascinating:

“some tend to believe that ethics or morality belongs to the “personal” sphere, cordoned off from the “professional” sphere (recalling The Godfather’s famous line “it’s not personal, it’s just business”), the fact is that these two spheres can be no longer kept separate in a world that has gone from connected to interconnected to interdependent.”

He outlines that the increasing interdependence of the world necessitates that a leader’s actions can have a wide-ranging impact, therefore he makes the case for ethical leadership, which in his mind, consists of three components:

• pausing - taking the time to reflect on the consequences of potential actions
• moral reasoning - understanding a situation with empathy
• leading by inspiration, instead of coercion

Wiesel is not a leadership theorist, but a political activist and a professor of the Humanities, yet his ideas are echoed in more formal writings about leadership theory.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, echoes Wiesel’s idea about the interconnectedness of the world generating challenges for leadership.  She says that globalization has not resulted in a more similar world, as expected in the 1990s, instead, it has resulted in a more complex world for leaders to navigate.

To lead an organization that operates in different contexts and different cultures, a leader cannot have all the answers.  Instead, the leader can set direction, allowing others to lead in the field.   A leader has to live with uncertainty, and has to be willing to make mistakes.

Transformational Leadership

The tenets of transformational leadership:

• idealized influence
• inspirational motivation
• intellectual stimulation
• individual consideration

“Transformational leadership involves attempts by leaders to move followers to higher standards of moral responsibility.... it clearly states that leadership has a moral dimension.” (Northouse, p. 429)  In transformational leadership, part of the leader’s role is to help followers resolve difficult moral situations.

While transformational leadership is perhaps the most well-known leadership theory with an ethical concern as a theme, other leadership theories also place ethics in a even central role.

Servant Leadership

“Servant leaders put followers first… servant leaders are ethical.” (Northouse, 2013, p. 219)

The core of servant leadership is altruism.  This is quite a departure from prior leadership theories that focused on the person with the best characteristics (trait theory), or the most suitable person for the environment (situational theory), or the person who could move people to meet goals (path-goal theory).

The main function of servant leadership is ethical. Robert Greenleaf, saw the leader as someone who fostered equity in an unjust social environment by transferring power to followers.  The end goal of servant leadership is seen to be a better organization, and a better community or society outside of the organization.

Authentic Leadership

Rosabeth Moss Kanter states the importance of authenticity:

“Authenticity definitely matters. Employees, customers, and the public can see very quickly if leaders are not being authentic. It’s not the words that leaders say. It’s not even the words on statements of values. What matters is the kind of conversation that goes on throughout the company.”

A recent leadership theory that posits a strong ethical focus is authentic leadership.  The focus of this approach is trust.  Fostered in an era after all of the leadership let-downs of the 20th century, authentic leadership is seen to exist on an intrapersonal level (a leader who possesses self-knowledge and self-regulation) and interpersonal level (a particular dynamic between the leader and the followers).

Though authentic leadership does not hold the same highly ethical goals as servant leadership, authentic leadership requires an ethical core at its practice.  

Conclusion

The response to a series of leadership crises in the 20th century has been the development of ethically-based leadership theories.  Authentic leadership, in which a leader’s essential quality is trustworthiness, and servant leadership, in which a leader’s goal is to help others, are strategies to improve a world that is seen as increasingly unpredictable and frightening.