The Quest for Moral Leaders

Book excerpt: The quest for moral leaders is both a personal quest that takes place in the hearts and minds of leaders and a pursuit by individuals, groups, organizations, communities and societies for leaders who are both ethical and effective. The contributors to this volume, all top scholars in leadership studies and ethics, provide a nuanced discussion of the complex ethical relationships that lie at the core of leadership. Two distinct factors make the ethics of leadership different from the ethics of other individuals. The first is power - the way leaders exercise it and the temptations that come with it. The second is the moral relationship they have with followers and the range of people with whom they have moral relationships and obligations. In The Quest for Moral Leaders, the contributors explore how leaders themselves view their role, as well as the ways in which leadership functions within business, politics and society. The volume begins with chapters examining how religious beliefs and emotions color the way leaders make decisions. The second section covers how leaders think about morality, while the book's final chapters shift our attention to the function of leadership within organizations. The first book to offer perspectives on leadership ethics from the ancient Greek ideas on reverence to the moral problems of executive compensation, The Quest for Moral Leaders is a must-read for scholars and students of leadership, ethics and business. Leadership consultants will also find this in-depth analysis a valuable resource.