Leadership - Section 6
Your Leadership

You as a Leader 

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Leadership roles are sometimes thrust upon us, and sometimes we seek them out.

 

Are you motivated to take on leadership responsibilities or roles and

if so, why?

if not, why?

In other words, why do you want to lead or not want to lead?

 

The way you act, speak and create the world for yourself, and others, is based on your beliefs. 

Your view of the world reflects the events in your life,

the things that have happened to you,

how people have treated you, and the many different aspects of your life. 

You see the world through the lens of your experience. 

 

Exercise

 

Have you had many formal or informal leadership experiences? 

If so, describe your personal best leadership experience,

one in which you felt you did the right thing or set a good example.

 

If you have not had any leadership experience, and even if you have had some,

think about or observe those around you.

Think about specific times or events

when you followed the example of someone regarding how to live and act.

Think about specific times or events

when you believe that someone followed your example regarding how to live and act.

           

What were the similarities in these two events?  What was different?

 

How can, or do, you serve as a role model to others in your family, group or community?

(As in the other exercises, I would encourage you to answer the questions out loud,

or even to tell someone you know about yourself in this context.   

If you are so inclined, you can write some of the answers.)

 

Moral Decision Making

 

A leader often times must make difficult decisions. 

There are different ways to approach moral problem solving. 

 

To do what is right and good for your followers, requires

logical thinking, reasoning through the problem,

and using moral principles

grounded in the equal value of every human being, and a love of self and others. 

 

Logic, critical thinking, respect and love for others are central to leadership.

 

Logic and Critical Thinking

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Critical thinking is not a cold, static thing that a computer can do. 

Logical problem-solving is dynamic and systematic,

requires communication with those involved,

involves evaluation and analysis of multiple parts,

a synthesis of the information, reflection,

and an accounting for the human and emotional elements.

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“No fact can be real, and no statement can be true

unless it has sufficient reason why it should be thus and not otherwise.”  (Leibnitz)

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A logical analysis, or argument, is a series of statements that claim to prove a point,

indicate a proper decision

or indicate the proper course to be taken in a situation. 

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Reason is the tool that allows us to question and challenge 

the other origins of our moral beliefs.

Is the authority right? 

Is my culture wrong? 

Is my intuition a hasty conclusion?

 

The goal of logic is to find the truth regarding the situation,

or what is the correct thing to do.

 

Reason and love must work together. 

Reason is used to evaluate your emotions.

Love is used to evaluate your reason. 

Love includes care for, and equal value,

of your own life and that of every other human. 

 

Reason can tell you that every human is of equal value

and

your own love of your life tells you every human has an equal right to live.    

 

There are many important principles which can be used in moral decision making.

 

Wisdom helps you make sense out of the world.

Prudence is the principle which combines with courage to motivate you to act on our knowledge.

Empathy provides an understanding of others.

Caring creates a concern for others.

 

“The good leader must have ethos, pathos, & logos.

The ethos is moral character, the ability to persuade.

The pathos is his ability to touch feelings, to move people emotionally.

The logos is his ability to give solid reasons for an action, to move people intellectually.”

                                                                                    Mortimer Adler

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Ethical Decision-Making Steps

 

These steps can apply to a large group, organizational or global moral challenge,

the small personal moral problems you encounter on a regular basis,

and any moral situation in-between.

 

The more you practice this kind of moral problem solving, the better you will get at it. 

It is through the effort to do that right thing that you achieve leadership excellence. 

In some situations, you might have time to go through each step,

and work on the problem over an extended period. 

Othe circumstances may require a very quick decision and response to a situation. 

 

Practice makes perfect. 

There is no perfection, in the sense that any human being is capable of never making mistakes. 

However, just like an athlete, musician or other skilled person,

if you practice enough, when you make the quick decision and action,

it will be from the habit you have developed of trying to do the right thing. 

Sometimes you will make the perfect shot and win the game, other times, you will miss the mark. 

That is why this process ends with reflection on what you can do better the next time. 

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(Baseball offers an example of this kind of perfection.  The greatest hitters

of all time got base hits less than 40% of the time, that is less than four hits

out of every ten times at bat.  They were not perfect but tried every time at bat.)

 

The first step is to identify the problem or moral challenge you are facing. 

You need to take consider the situation carefully

and identify the main problem that needs to be solved or answered. 

What is the central leadership or ethical issue, question or problem?

 

Second step, once you have realized that you have a problem, 

you need to do your best to understand the situation and the people involved. 

You need to investigate the circumstances or do some research,

depending on the time constraints and the situation. 

You need to find out as much as you can about

the central ethical or leadership situation or problem and the people involved. 

This can be very challenging.

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Moral and leadership dilemmas always involve other people,

and understanding others is always difficult. 

Attaining empathy for others is the best insight you can achieve,

but empathy is never simple. 

Like you, everyone involved has been shaped over their whole lifetime,

and there is no way of fully understanding their situation. 

Sometimes understanding the people involved is one of the greatest unknowns. 

 

The ramifications of the decision you make also involves many unknowns. 

The people factor includes determining who will be affected directly and indirectly

by your decision, and how they will be affected. 

Those affected by the situation are often referred to as stakeholders.

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In your research you want to list as many people as possible. 

You also want to consider how each will be affected by your decision. 

You especially want to note those who might be seriously harmed.

 

The other very challenging factor in your research is to try to predict the future. 

How will what you do play out over time.  Predicting the future is always difficult. 

 

In some circumstances these challenges will be easier than in other situations. 

If you have the time, as difficult as it may be,

you need to make an effort to understand the people involved,

the ramifications of the decision you make and the future effects. 

The more you practice, the better you will get.

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The next step it to consider your options.

As you consider the situation and the people involved, you need to develop options. 

It is helpful to list as many practical options as you can. 

If possible, you always want to consider more than two options. 

Sometimes, if time allows, brainstorming is helpful for thinking outside the box.

 

As you consider options, it is very important to keep the primary ethical principle in every option. 

You must try to do find options that are ethically right and good,

and eliminate those which are immoral. 

Options should be grounded in the belief that every person is considered of equal value

and has an equal right to life. 

Options should be based on a love of the life of self and every other human. 

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Next, identify some additional ethical principles,

based on the central principle of equality and care for others.

These principles, or general moral guidelines, or should statements.

Sometimes it is best to start from a position

of considering what a person should do in normal circumstances. 

However, the real challenge is taking into account the circumstances,

and using empathy for those involved, to make a decision.

 

There are a variety of ethical principles, based on different theories of right and wrong. 

You need to try to take relevant pieces of each where appropriate. 

For example, you might need to consider the rights of the individuals involved,

and balance that with the greater good or the needs and happiness of the many. 

Sometimes you might need to consider your duty, or what is the right thing to do

based on principle or moral obligation to something greater. 

 

There are also long term versus short term considerations,

the care for yourself and your family,

and close loved ones versus strangers and those in distant lands.

 

Also involved are considerations of sometimes conflicting principles. 

A simple example is whether or not to be brutally honest with someone

in telling them something, versus being kind and considerate of their feelings. 

 

An example of using the greatest principle, that of equality and love of self and others,

can be seen in the classic example of protecting someone from harm by lying. 

If you are hiding someone in your home from a very bad dictator who is committing genocide,

and the soldiers knock on your door, you should not be honest,

but rather protect the lives of others. 

However, the challenge in this situation is to balance the love of others

with the love of self, risking your own life for another.  

 

Making a decision is the critical step. 

Moral decisions can be large and small. 

To do something, or not do something, are both decisions. 

When you are faced with a moral situation, not doing something is an option,

just like all of the other options. 

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The goal of all of these steps is to choose the wisest option possible, for you,

given your circumstances. 

As best you can, you need to consider all of information from previous steps

and make a deliberate decision. 

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As you consider your options, hopefully you already have, or are able to

eliminate some which are clearly wrong. 

Then, try to rank or order them, and choose what you believe, and feel, is the best option.

 

In decision making, time is sometimes a great challenge, 

Some decisions allow for more time and some for less.

 

If you have time, you should choose an option and then evaluate it, before going forward. 

This involves stating your justification. 

Say it out loud to yourself, or to another person. 

Imagine yourself explaining it to a child. 

Picture it as a news story, and imagine the headline,

and what others might say about what you did if things go right, or if things go wrong.

 

Be ready to explain and defend your decision. 

Maybe think of it as a legal situation and you are in a courtroom,

explaining what you did to a judge,

and listening to someone argue against your decision. 

Try to find possible arguments against the resolution you chose. 

If someone challenged you, how would you defend your decision?

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Think of two or three main reasons you made the decision that you made.

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The final step is, after you have made the decision and taken the necessary action,

reflect honestly on it. 

Congratulate yourself if it worked out, you feel good about it,

and it appears you did the right thing. 

Do not be too hard on yourself if things go wrong,

or, if on reflection, you think you could have done better.

 

Consider what you learned from the experience and what you can do better the next time.

Reflect on the principles you used

and how they worked out in the circumstances and situation.

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As you develop this moral decision-making process to fit your own style,

you will get better and better at it. 

You will become an excellent leader and human being

through your efforts to do the right thing. 

Over time being ethical will become instinctive, and you will be a leader.

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As an excellent human being, a good, moral person,

you will be an excellent leader. 

If your moral decision involves just you, you will lead your life ethically. 

If others observe your moral decisions and actions,

you will be a leader of your group. 

If you are in a informal or formal leadership position,

your decisions will be in the best interest of your followers.

 

In morality, you will find happiness and flourishing. 

If you do this within your organization or social group,

you will create a happy, flourishing community. 

If enough of us do this, we will eventually create a happy, flourishing global society.

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Your Journey Exercise or Thinking about yourself.  Who are you? 

 

The last part of this course is about you as a leader.  Everyone is a leader in some ways. 

 

You may be a role model for others or have one or more leadership roles. 

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a leader, you are one. 

You are leading your own life. 

Also, others around you hear your words and observe your actions,

and so you help shape the world.

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This section is reflective.  It is designed for you to think about you. 

It contains thought exercises. 

As I have done with all the exercises in this class, you decide how you want to reflect. 

You can write your thoughts, talk to another person about them,

or simply take some time to reflect on the questions and ideas.

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Every human being has good in them. 

As animals, we instinctively want to survive, grow and prosper. 

We want to flourish. 

Every living thing wants this same thing. 

That is the good in everyone, our nature, the reason you and I are alive today. 

Deep inside each of us is the desire to flourish and be happy.

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Of course, we human beings are more complex than most other living things. 

An individual tree cannot get up and move to a better location,

and an individual zebra cannot change its stripes to fit a changing environment. 

We humans have free will, and a lot more,

which makes it sometimes seem difficult for us to find happiness.

 

It also may seem impossible for you to achieve moral excellence. 

There are great artists, composers, athletes, scientists, engineers, and so on. 

We often look at the lives of those who achieve greatness

and see something in them that they were born with and then developed in life.

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Generally, those that excel in certain areas have some natural abilities,

such as height or strength in an athlete or rhythm in a dancer,

they have opportunities in life to develop their inborne abilities,

and they have the drive to see it through.

 

You and I are aware of, and have watched, individuals excel in many different walks of life.

 

What is important for you to know about yourself

is that you have everything it takes to excel morally as a leader. 

You have natural ability, the opportunity and the drive.

 

It is part of our nature as animals to prosper. 

Just like all animals, we have an instinct to survive, seek out food, water, shelter

and do things for our wellbeing. 

We also have these instincts for the survival of other human beings, our pack. 

Good examples are maternal and paternal instincts,

as well as the many instances we hear of where people survive hardships.

 

We have ample opportunities to practice our moral decision making. 

We face moral dilemmas as children, at an early age right through our teenage years. 

These chances continue as we grow and are found in all walks of life. 

 

Motivation is found in our desire for happiness. It is built into us. 

We are alive, we want to survive, be happy and flourish. 

We are social and emotional beings, who want those around us,

our loved ones, to be happy and prosper. 

People sometimes do the wrong thing, something unethical,

because they mistakenly think it will make them happy.

 

People in formal leadership roles play a critical role in helping us prosper by 

cultivating our nature, creating opportunities and motivating us to be moral. 

All we need is for those in leadership roles,

and all of us in leading our own lives,

to be true leaders, ethical people, excellent human beings,

trying to do the right thing at each opportunity.

  

Final Exercise – Who Can You Become

 

In some of the earlier sections you were asked to reflect on your life. 

This exercise builds from those exercises.   

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As you ponder your history, look for your leadership and excellence. 

The great part of being a human is the ability to start anew every day. 

As my father would always tell me in the morning “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

 

Use your understanding of the leadership and ethical principles discussed in class,

and what you have learned about the individuals in your leader’s report

to evaluate yourself.

 

There are three elements of this exercise: reflection, connection and action.

 

1. Personal Reflection

 

How did you become who you? 

Think of yourself as if you were writing a brief autobiography. 

Not a chronological history of your life, but rather a reflective review

of the influences and factors which have shaped you, such as:

What is your family history?

What are your family traditions and customs?

How have these factors shaped your life and perceptions?

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Who and what experiences outside your family have influenced or shaped you?

Who are or were the important people in your life and how did each affect you.

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What critical incidents have occurred in your life?

How have these events transformed or affected you?

 

What is one accomplishment of which you are very proud?

What about this accomplishment makes you especially proud?

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Do you consider yourself excellent at something? 

Why or why not?

 

How has your history shaped your goals in life and what you hope to become?

 

2. Connection

 

What have you learned about yourself from the course experience and self-reflection?

 

What kind of leader do you consider yourself?

Why?

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What have you learned about your capacity to demonstrate leadership?

How has your understanding of yourself as a leader changed?

How has your understanding of yourself as a follower changed?

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What do you see as your leadership strengths and weaknesses?

How will you take advantage of both in the future?

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What is one leadership accomplishment of which you are very proud?

What about this accomplishment makes you especially proud?

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Who did you most look up to and strive to emulate when you were growing up?

Who do you most look up to now?

What qualities do you admire in those people?

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3. Excellence in Action

 

This is where you put it all together.

The primary goal of this course is to help develop effective leadership skills.

Hopefully you have explored your personal leadership characteristics and potential,

and you can use this self-knowledge to enhance your existing leadership strengths

and develop new leadership skills.

 

You as a Person

Do you have a life philosophy, something you try to live by?

            If so, describe it.

            If not, write one.

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What you see as your personal strengths and weaknesses

and how you will take advantage of both in the future. 

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What did you learn about yourself during the course in relation to your capacity to excel?

How can you become a morally excellent human being?

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Describe two action steps you can take

to continue to develop your personal excellence in the future.

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You as a Leader

Describe your leadership philosophy.

If you had one before the beginning of this course, has it changed?  If so, how?

If you do not have one, write one.

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What you see as your leadership strengths and weaknesses

and how you will take advantage of both in the future? 

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What did you learn about yourself during the course in relation to your capacity to lead?

How can you become a morally excellent role model and leader?

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Describe two action steps you can take

to continue to develop your leadership excellence in the future.

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Where are you going from here?

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What is one specific goal you have in your life which you are focused on now?

What motivates you to achieve this goal?

What sustains you as you work towards achieving this goal?

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Do you have some specific objectives for this goal

and a plan about how do you hope to attain them?

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What are some other goals you have in your life?

What motivates and sustains you to achieve these goals?

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Describe two action steps you can take to continue to develop your leadership in the future.

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Your Thoughts on Moral Excellence

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Pause for a few moments and consider what I have said herein

about ethics, morality and excellence. 

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An excellent moral human being is someone who always tries to do the right thing

and after each experience, tries to learn from it and do better the next time.

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Doing the right thing means using reasoning to try to determine what is right or good

in a moral situation which presents itself to you,

based on and grounded in,

an equal value, and love, of the life of self, and every other human. 

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One of the facts of life is that there is no ‘view from nowhere.’ 

What this means is that while we seek objectivity and obtain it in varying degrees,

we all function as humans within our own paradigm. 

As your instructor, I have a perspective. 

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What is your perspective? 

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What are your thoughts about the nature of moral excellence for leaders,

perfection and the related discussions of leadership?

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Think about, talk to someone about, or write:

If you were teaching this course,

how you would define a morally excellent human being,

a person you would want to emulate and follow?

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How can you become an excellent person, a leader?​​​​