Ethical Leadership, Part II: The Philosophy of Moral Character
President Joe Biden used the occasion of President Jimmy Carter’s funeral to raise a topic that rarely gets mentioned in the positive these days: moral character. Biden linked the defining qualities of Carter’s century-long, purpose-filled, meaningful life to his humble roots, deep religious faith, and service to others.
The ancient Chinese and Greek philosophers stressed the importance of virtues as the building blocks of human moral character. For Confucius (551-479 BCE), whose teachings were memorialized by his pupils in The Analects, morality is the optimal expression through proper behavior and self-control of the five virtues—generosity, wisdom, fairness, honesty, and respectfulness, towards self and others. Family and social relationships are fundamental to an individual’s personal development, learning to live honorably at home and in society, with a duty to one another.
The insights of Greek philosopher Socrates (c. 470-399 BCE) passed down from teacher to student through Plato (c. 429-347 BCE) and then Aristotle (384-322 BCE) perceived of the virtuous life as exemplifying excellence, wisdom, and “human flourishing” (eudaimonia in Greek). Plato identified four cardinal virtues for living a good life: knowledge, courage, self-restraint, and justice. Aristotle understood that virtuous behavior could be taught and inculcated over time—in other words, one could learn to be a good person through conscious word and deed.
So how does this translate to leadership? Theorists have long embraced the concept of character as vital to effective leadership and business experts underscore the positive impact of principled leadership on the bottom line. Ironically, since the late 19th century, there appears little correlation between what society believes to be upright, moral, personal character and what the electorate perceives to be strong, action-oriented, political character. But I digress…
I think the crux of leadership is knowing and then doing the right thing for the majority benefit of those involved (a utilitarian perspective), especially when this involves risk to the leader. From my study of normative ethics, I’ve formulated the following list of eight essential qualities of nonprofit leadership today. I admit that striving to embody all of these traits is a tall order, particularly right now, beleaguered as many leaders are by the hurricane-force winds of change:
Moral: Leaders must be morally grounded and trustworthy persons of integrity, who live their ethical values and expect the same from those around them. They must also be accountable to those they serve, and intrepid, willing to take a stand and put themselves at risk when these values are threatened.
Capable: Leaders must be intelligent and skilled, confident in their talents and strategic in their decision-making that reflects good judgment, with a record of accomplishment in their field. They must not fear making mistakes and be open to learning from errors when they occur. They must also be energetic, perseverant, disciplined, goal-oriented, and future-forward.
Caring: Leaders must genuinely care about people. They must be kind, fair, and empathetic, generous towards others, and attentive to collective and personal needs, including caring for oneself.
Open-minded: Leaders must respectfully welcome with tolerance and equity disparate ideas and perspectives from individuals at all points along the stakeholder spectrum, from the least empowered to the most influential. They must demonstrate active listening and thoughtful responsiveness to what they hear and learn from others. They must accept the obligations of being a public person and enjoy discourse with people from all walks of life.
Insightful: Leaders must accurately assess current conditions and simultaneously see future opportunities. They must adeptly guide their communities in co-creating and then achieving collective vision for a better future. They must carry these visions as a beacon, reminding stakeholders of the path ahead when they are distracted by the day-to-day, and remain steadfast to how the future will be different when the vision is realized, especially in the face of unexpected challenges.
Empowering: Leaders must be willing to share power in ways that enable others—beneficiaries, friends, volunteers, donors, staff, trustees—to own organizational purpose and vision. They must unflaggingly represent the collective and speak in the “we” voice. They must delegate responsibility and empower others to realize their potential, as individuals and as members of a mission-aligned community.
Expressive: Leaders must be good communicators, articulate and deft in sharing compelling stories—about themselves and those they represent. They must persuasively and transparently convey how organizational activities respond to the current and future climate in ways that positively impact constituents.
Humble: Leaders must be willing to subordinate their egos and admit mistakes, publicly when necessary, and course correct, as warranted, to sustain relationships and maintain forward momentum. They must feel and show sincere gratitude to the broad-based community that advances, supports, and benefits from their communal cause.
What qualities would you add to this list?
Image credit: Statue of Plato, Academy of Athens, Greece. Edgar Serrano, 2020