Many people who are looking to become leaders may ask themselves, what is moral leadership? In the world, we live moral leadership that is greatly misunderstood and sadly not always very common.

Moral leadership is a leader who leads others with moral and ethical choices in mind. It is a leader who can gently persuade others to do the right thing. A moral leader is a very different kind of leader as a moral leader is not afraid to make the difficult right choices because that choice is the right thing to do.

What is Moral Leadership?

A moral leader guides and shows a way by example in the way they live their private and public life. A moral leader can persuade others to follow him or her, and people want to follow a moral leader.

A moral leader can persuade others to follow them and do this while keeping their ethics and morality intact. Moral leadership is very different from other kinds of leadership. Moral leaders do not aspire to be followed, but instead, they aspire to serve.

At the very core, a moral leader does not lie, cheat, or steal. Moral leadership does not blame others. In fact, if a mistake is made within the organization, a moral leader will be the first one to step up and say, ” I am the leader here, so I take responsibility.” It is this kind of leadership that helps drive others to want to work for a moral leader. They know that a moral leader will help look out for them and have their back when it matters most.

A moral leader is a leader that looks to develop the full capability of others. It is not about rank or about one person holding a position higher than the other. A moral leader is a servant leader in that they believe in serving those they lead.

A moral leader is someone who is characterized by a sense of ethics and morality. A moral leader is driven by his core ideals such as honesty, integrity, justice, mercy, and understanding.

A moral leader will also look at the capabilities and skills of those that he is leading. He will know how to manage those people he or she is working with to get the very best out of them because a moral leader will temper his or her ego and act with understanding and kindness.

This does not mean a moral leader is a weak leader; in fact, it is quite the opposite as a moral leader will understand exactly which direction he or she is going in and why. And this sense of direction helps give the moral leader added strength.

A moral leader is also a visionary. They believe in something more than just themselves. They believe in the vision of what they are doing. And because they have this moral vision, they can overcome obstacles that may get in the way.

Moral leaders believe in collaboration. They believe in listening to others and hearing their opinion. A moral leader is always seeking to learn, understand and listen.

A moral leader has a conscience or a moral compass. It is that moral conscience that helps to glue and bind the enterprise and organization together.

At the core, being a moral leader lives the principle of example. History has repeatedly shown us that example in our leaders is important. Some leaders can be successful for time without the moral or ethics, but this type of leadership Will never last long term. Eventually, people will discover that morality and ethics are missing, and they will look for another leader.

Moral Leadership In Public and Private Life

Today, where there is so much online news, and a simple tweet can ruin a person’s reputation, it is more important than ever that a leader has morality in all areas of their life. Time and time again, we continue to see important personalities brought down because of something they did in their private life that was not morally acceptable. Eventually, the lack of morality in a leader’s private life will catch up with them in their public life.

Today with the Internet and so much of our lives exposed, it is important that leaders hold the same morals in their public and private lives. In other words, if you have no morality in your private life, then there is an excellent chance this will eventually be found out and made public in some way. Leaders should expect publ scrutiny in both their private and public life.

Mahatma Gandhi was a mighty leader. He fully understood that he could not separate his private and public life. Mahatma Gandhi was genuine in all aspects of his life.

It was Mahatma Gandhi that said this about leadership and serving others:

Mahatma Gandhi Understood that leadership was not really about leadership, but it was more about service. He knew that he understood and believed he was a servant, not a leader. A moral leader today is also a servant leader.

Moral leadership is not about delivering the best results to your stakeholders but about delivering moral and ethical results. Being a moral leader is about looking at yourself in the mirror and telling yourself that you have done the right thing; you have done the moral thing.

A moral leader is also a leader that has respect. They are respected because they are moral. They are respected because they respect those around them. They are respected because they live their life with integrity. They are respected because they are not afraid to make difficult choices and the right choice.

A moral leader is respected because they live their life with humility. They live their life without ego. They are not afraid to admit when they are wrong and then correct that wrong or mistake.

A moral leader is human. But they can bring out the best that humanity has to offer. This is why a moral leader is someone you want to be led by or the kind of person you want to emulate.

In the world we live in today, this kind of moral leadership is lacking. But it is also why the world needs to have more moral and ethical leaders.

At the BYU Management Society, our main focus is to help build morale and ethical leadership worldwide. No matter where you live, we invite all to join us in this endeavor helping to build foster moral and ethical leadership. You can contact us to find out more.

Related Questions

What Are the BYU Management Society Core Principles of Moral and Ethical Leadership?

The BYU Management Society’s core principle is about each member and chapter conducting themselves, their actions, and interpersonal relationships with moral and ethical principles.  Each chapter and BYU MS member does this by the way each BYU Management Society member strives to live moral and ethical lives.

You can read more at BYU Management Society, Moral and Ethical Leadership by clicking here.

What is the BYU Management Society?

The BYU Management Society is a business, professional network, and career development program whose main focus is to help grow moral and ethical leadership around the world. It also helps support the local communities in the areas the BYU Management is organized and operating. The organization is open to all.

You can discover more by reading What is the BYU Management Society by clicking here.