In his forward to Joanne Ciulla’s Ethics, the Heart of Leadership : Second Edition, James MacGregor Burns categorizes three types of leadership values each of which have implications for styles and stragegies for leadership itself.

These values are

ethical virtues–”old-fashioned character tests” such as sobriety, chastity, abstention, kindness, altruism and other “Ten Commandments” rules of personal conduct; ethical values such as honesty, trustworthiness, reliability, reciprocity, accountability; and moral values such as order (or security), liberty, equality, justice, community (meaning brotherhood and sisterhood, replacing the traditional term fraternity.

These values, Burns says, are exemplified in the different leadership types or models:

Status quo leaders, presiding over relatively stable communities are dependent on ethical virtues, rules of personal behavior, such as kindness and altruism, that makes for harmonious relationships. Ethical values are crucially important to transactional leaders … Moral values lie at the heart of transforming leadership, which seeks fundamental changes in society …

Commenting on Burns’ points, Ciulla outlines three broad questions regarding ethics and leadership:

(1) The ethics of the means: What do leaders use to motivate followers to obtain their goals? What is the moral relationship between leaders and followers?

(2) The ethics of the person: What are leaders’ personal ethics? Are they motivated by self-interest or altruism?

(3) The ethics of the ends: What is the ethical values of a leaders’ accomplishments? Did his/her actions serve the greatest good? What is the greatest good? Who is and isn’t part of the greatest good?

She goes on to wonder if leaders need to be ethical in all three areas in order to be considered ethical leaders. For instance, how should we evaluate a leader who might be ethical as a person, but uses unethical means to achieve ethical ends, or if the same leader uses ethical means but ends up with a less than desirable result? How about a leader who accomplishes great success, but is unethical in his own personal life? What does it take to be considered an ethical or good leader? Is it too much to ask for a leader to pass all three tests before he or she can be considered a good, effective, moral and ethical leaders?

What do you think?

While driving to work this morning, I had 95.9 The Fish on the radio. Billy and Lauren, the hosts of the morning program were doing a segment called “Ultimate Family” and asked callers to call in to talk about their own “ultimate family.”

A man called up and talked about his wife. He said he really appreciated her because she loved him so much. They have been married for eight years and she shows her love to him everyday of his life, he said.

“You see, I am in a wheelchair. She has to take me into and out of the wheelchair each day. Take the wheelchair into and out of the car and take me to and from work. She is really special.”

The DJ’s suggested they call her on-air. She came on and they put him on the phone and he spoke her heart to her. “Baby, thank you for loving me… I thank God for you… I believe He is going to bless us with the best year ever…”

As he spoke, I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and choking up. I couldn’t help it anymore. I had to turn off the radio. When I regained some composure I had to call my wife and express my gratefulness and thanks for her.

For even though I am not physically in a wheelchair, over the time we have been married, there have been many times I was in a spiritual and emotional wheelchair and without the love and encouragement of my wife, I wouldn’t be here today.

So, I would like to dedicate this post to my dear wife.

I love you so much, honey, for being there for me. For being more than my helper. For being the blessing that you are from God to me. Thank you. I love you.