【Flyer杀G】小组-7.2 Issue43, by Sean

柏拉图的世界UID: 2581296

43. "To be an effective leader, a public official must maintain the highest ethical and moral standards."

One to lead others must have some characteristics superior, at least on an elementary levels, to subordinates, including but not limited to ethical and moral standards.

It is no doubt that ethical and moral standards are rather important to leaders. Fundamental moral norms are required in that it is more prerequisite to be a decent person (here I disregard groups with evil goals to harm each other and outsiders) than to be a good leader. After all, nobody is from deep heart disposed to follow people who actually victimize himself/herself. Also, only when leaders keep their team from impairing surrounding people and committed to existing societal morals can the teams thrive longer. Otherwise, it would be repelled by masses. Moreover, superior ethical and moral standards accounts for distinguished social image, and attracting others as a component of charisma. Mr. Lincoln, born in a poor family, became a great president of America, not just by his political skills, but also his tolerance to people making fun of his poverty, his respect to equal rights of black people. Besides, leader’s responsibility to the group and society calls for the two standards.

When it comes to effectiveness of a leader, however, ethical and moral standards are not determinant factors, even not the most important. After all, effectiveness is a kind of description how productively a group functions, no matter behaviors are ethical. In fact definition of an effective leader varies in kinds of areas. In the business realm, effective leadership is generally referred to the ability to achieve the goal of profit maximization for a firm’s shareholders or other owners. In the political realm the issue is no less complex. As a political leader, however, the description of effective leadership turns rather complicated, which may be considered to be wielding means for actualization of their political visions successfully by and large. Hence, efficiency of leader does not necessarily accord how well his/her insists on moral or ethical principles. Although it is brutal, we have to confront the fact that these war-makers were rather effective since they provoked millions of people and killed millions of people.

Finally, to obtain effective leadership, I can numerate several advisable ways rather than moral and ethic standards. In business, it can be rather effective to share profits with common employees of a company, to make them feel working for their personal better lives. In politics, leaders making political concepts more comprehensible to common people may obtain much more supports. In academia, more profound academic attainments and status would help lead research. Certainly, the methods mentioned above are able to be moved to broader areas.

To conclude, moral and ethical standards are basic capacity of an effective leader, and they can all contribute to personal charisma. But effectiveness of a leader is intrinsically distinct from moral and ethical standards, thus not indispensible to the latter. In order to be effective in leadership, it is a wise for one move to improve his/her other talents and strategies besides moral and ethical standards.