Leadership and Ethics
Actions cannot be divorced from ethics if they are to be meaningful and fulfilling. Purposeful actions are ethical actions driven by an internally-derived vision aimed at serving others. The hallmark of purposeful leadership is service to those who are led.
Foremost in the list of essential knowledge for aspiring leaders is the understanding of the nature of action, its causes and effects. The study of action cannot be isolated from the motivation for action and how human desires, values and ethics influence thoughts and drive actions.
Here are four key considerations about Purposeful Leadership and Ethics:
Leadership cannot be divorced from ethics, just as action cannot be divorced from the concepts of giving and taking.
Leadership, management, entrepreneurship and all other roles in the business world are built upon the common foundation of action. That is to say, Leadership and all other functions, in a business organization represent particular subsets of the general model for action.
The learning and practice of leadership requires the study and effective performance of action, albeit in a specific manner, by those who would be leaders.
Purpose derived from reflection results in action that serves others. This leads to the premise: Purposeful leaders are servant leaders.