Case Study on Leadership
Case Study on ethical leadership
(1) Values The Key to Effective Ethical Leadership
The lack of ethical leadership is a pervading factor in today’s society. Although interest in ethical leadership has increased dramatically, ethics in the global context of leadership has not been a subject of great discourse. Examining the essential role of values and ethics in the quest for effective leadership is the subject of this article.
Public concern about the ethical performance of leaders in developed and developing countries has grown over the last decade. This concern stems from the apparent proliferation of unethical leadership behaviour that permeates all levels of society. Examples of unethical behaviour transcend location, continents, nations, and people. One needs to only look at the number of news reports and what appears to be an accompanying flow of continuous unethical acts by renowned leaders to be convinced that there is a dire need for effective intervention.
In “Leading From Within,” educational writer and consultant Parker Palmer introduces a powerful metaphor to dramatize the distinction between ethical and unethical leadership. According to Palmer, the difference between moral and immoral leaders is as sharp as the contrast between light and darkness.
He further notes that a leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to create the conditions under which other people must live and move, conditions that can either be as illuminating as heaven or as shadowy as hell. A leader must take special responsibility for what is going on inside his or her own self, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good. (Palmer, 1996)
The role of values as a key to effective ethical leadership cannot be overemphasized. The relationship between ethical leadership and values is so intricately intertwined that one can hardly be discussed without referring to the other. Values are the driving force of a
(1) Values The Key to Effective Ethical Leadership
The lack of ethical leadership is a pervading factor in today’s society. Although interest in ethical leadership has increased dramatically, ethics in the global context of leadership has not been a subject of great discourse. Examining the essential role of values and ethics in the quest for effective leadership is the subject of this article.
Public concern about the ethical performance of leaders in developed and developing countries has grown over the last decade. This concern stems from the apparent proliferation of unethical leadership behaviour that permeates all levels of society. Examples of unethical behaviour transcend location, continents, nations, and people. One needs to only look at the number of news reports and what appears to be an accompanying flow of continuous unethical acts by renowned leaders to be convinced that there is a dire need for effective intervention.
In “Leading From Within,” educational writer and consultant Parker Palmer introduces a powerful metaphor to dramatize the distinction between ethical and unethical leadership. According to Palmer, the difference between moral and immoral leaders is as sharp as the contrast between light and darkness.
He further notes that a leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to create the conditions under which other people must live and move, conditions that can either be as illuminating as heaven or as shadowy as hell. A leader must take special responsibility for what is going on inside his or her own self, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good. (Palmer, 1996)
The role of values as a key to effective ethical leadership cannot be overemphasized. The relationship between ethical leadership and values is so intricately intertwined that one can hardly be discussed without referring to the other. Values are the driving force of a