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March 12, 2015
10 Virtues of Outstanding
Leaders
Leadership & Character
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
©2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Adapted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-470-67231-0
Key Concepts
•
The top 10 virtues of outstanding leaders are deep honesty, moral courage, moral vision, compassion and
care, fairness, intellectual excellence, creative thinking, aesthetic sensitivity, good timing, and deep selflessness.
•
Leadership is more than a title, occupation, or superior knowledge or skills—it is a non-autocratic relationship between leaders and followers who have common interests and objectives. Leaders have power, but
they are committed to their values and high ethical standards.
•
Character is the key defining characteristic of leadership. Ethical leadership stems from good character.
Good character requires integrity and a sense of duty and responsibility.
•
Ethical leaders put the needs of their followers (or employees) and customers ahead of their own needs.
Their greatest concern is the common good.
•
The best leaders exhibit most of the key moral virtues, but they do not need to exhibit all of them.
Introduction
In 10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders, Al Gini and Ronald M. Green identify and define 10 particular virtues
that the most successful leaders have. The authors combine lessons they have gleaned from philosophy, history,
and business teachings to distill the most essential characteristics of great leaders. Their premise is that leadership requires demonstrating ethical character, especially by acting with ethical responsibility to others. Famous
leaders who excelled in one or more of the 10 virtues are portrayed in the second half of the book.
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1
10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
What Is Leadership?
People are not leaders just because they are in charge of others. After weighing the thoughts of hundreds of
researchers and ethicists, the authors define leadership as “a power-laden, value-based, and ethically driven relationship between leaders and followers who share a common vision and accomplish real changes that reflect
their mutual purpose and goals.” In other words, while power is the authority to direct the activities of others,
leaders define the visions of their organizations based on shared values and interests. The goal of leadership is
to implement progress while demonstrating ethics, virtue, and good character.
Misleadership
People must understand bad leadership, or rather, misleadership, in order to prevent it. Misleaders are ineffective or unethical. They also may be incompetent, inflexible, insensitive, or immoral.
Unfortunately, history has proven that misleaders can still attain power and control while being unethical
and selfish. For example, Adolf Hitler personifies misleadership. However, while he misled so many people, his
followers were equally as guilty for their actions. Contemporary examples of famous misleaders include Rod
Blagojevich and Donald Trump.
Character and Leadership
Plato and Socrates were among the first to define leadership. Socrates
believed that leaders accept, rather than crave, power and responsibility.
A person’s moral character could be defined as a balance of values, virtues, and
vices. Conscience is the internal manifestation of character. It causes people to
consider what is right and wrong. Good character, like virtue, is a habitual
behavior. Still, people’s characters can be flawed. Enron’s top executives and
Bernie Madoff are powerful examples of misleaders with flawed characters.
Good character is the core characteristic of leadership. Real leaders treat
people as they should be treated and always try to act righteously.
Conscience is frequently the first step
in making a moral
decision, the internal uneasiness that
prompts us to ask
ourselves some hard
questions.
Leadership and Business Excellence
Some people believe that businesses can exist without ethics, but to be successful, businesses must serve more
than themselves. The ethical demands of businesses are modest, and they apply to both big and small businesses. They include:
•
Respectable products at fair prices.
•
Honest marketing.
•
Fair treatment of employees, customers, vendors, and competitors.
•
Service to communities.
•
Reasonable profits.
While leaders need followers, employees must not follow misleaders. Misleaders abuse power; they are motivated by greed and narcissistic self-interest, do not serve their communities, and are ultimately destructive.
Leadership is a relationship of mutual benefit and interdependence. It is an inherent element of being human.
Critical and moral thinking are essential tasks of leadership, while being ethical is its core challenge.
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2
10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
The 10 Virtues
The Greek philosophers were pioneers in addressing how people should live their lives. They concurred that a
society’s survival depends on its moral character and that personal character emanates from moral virtue. This
is still true today.
A virtue is an excellent moral behavior. It stems from self-control and self-discipline, especially people’s willingness to balance their own desires with the needs of their communities. Rooted in ancient philosophy, but
adapted to modern realities, the top 10 virtues include character traits, modes of reasoning, core beliefs, and
emotions.
The ethics of leadership—whether
good or bad, positive or negative—
affects the ethos of
the workplace and
thereby helps to form
the ethical choices
and decisions of the
workers in the workplace.
1. Deep honesty: Believing that people are entitled to the truth and that dishonesty is wrong. Great leaders perceive honest communication as part
of mutual respect and trust. They apply this value when establishing new
policies. Although honesty is vital, leaders do not have to be completely transparent. They may need to maintain confidentiality to protect the
rights of others or their organizations.
2. Moral courage: Being willing to face fears, risks, and dangers in support of
deeply held beliefs. Courageous leaders may risk financial security, criticism, embarrassment, or loss of relationships. They rationally assess risks
and accept uncertain futures when necessary. Moral courage is an essential virtue because without it the other virtues would not be possible.
3. Moral vision: Understanding the importance of values and ethics and
when, how, and why to fight for them. Great leaders communicate their
moral visions to their followers. They follow their moral visions in times of
conflict, even in situations where others give in to immoral temptations.
4. Compassion and care: Sincerely caring about others and balancing emotions with a sense of justice and fairness. Leaders who demonstrate compassion and care are often perceived as charismatic.
5. Fairness: Recognizing organizational policies and rewarding good performance and behavior. Outstanding
leaders must also be willing to punish followers for misbehavior in order to inspire trust.
6. Intellectual excellence: Having an open mind, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to learn. Leaders with intellectual excellence also listen and consider input from others. They initiate discussion and invite opposing
viewpoints. Although great leaders are often brilliant people, they understand the limitations of their own
intelligence and knowledge.
7. Creative thinking: Understanding that what worked in the past will not always work in the present and future. Creative leaders innovate to perpetuate their organizations and work to generate buy-in from their
followers for their new ideas and methodologies.
8. Aesthetic sensitivity: Using the creation of beauty as an organizational advantage. Not all great leaders have
great aesthetic sensitivity, but those who do have a competitive advantage. In the current era, consumers
care about both the looks and utility of any product they buy.
9. Good timing: Knowing when to act. As is the case with moral courage, good timing facilitates the other virtues. One aspect of good timing is carefully considering the issue or situation before acting.
10. Deep selflessness: Demonstrating a consistent commitment to the cause, as in literally or metaphorically
leading troops into battle.
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3
10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
Leadership in Action
In the best-seller Good to Great, Jim Collins says the most important attribute of successful business leaders is
acting with serene determination, rather than inspiring with charisma. Great leaders’ ambitions are for their
organizations, not themselves, and most eschew the limelight.
Like the Greek philosophers, the authors believe that virtue can be taught. The great leaders discussed in this
section demonstrate the 10 virtues in ways that are instructive for anyone who aspires to be a great leader.
Deep Honesty
James E. Burke was CEO of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) during its Tylenol-poisoning crisis. In 1982, cyanide-laced capsules of Extra-Strength Tylenol made
their way into the consumer market, killing seven people in the Chicago area.
At the time, Tylenol was being created by McNeil Consumer Products, a subsidiary of J&J.
In the end, all leadership is about the
establishment and
maintenance of a
successful productive
community of individuals who recognize and respect their
mutual need for each
other.
Burke responded to the crisis by sticking to the company’s “Credo,” or the mission statement of the company’s core values. J&J’s first responsibility was to
“the doctors, nurses, and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who
use our products and services.” Burke then took two vital actions: providing
full disclose to the media and withdrawing all Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules
from the market. Burke and his staff revealed all that they learned during the investigative process to the media,
even when some evidence incriminated the company. This was an excellent example of deep honesty. The
second action created a huge competitive risk because the shelf space could be filled with competing products.
This also showed deep selflessness.
The initial solution to saving the brand was the invention of tamper-evident packaging. J&J followed with a
marketing campaign to assure the public that Tylenol was safe. However, years later, a bottle of Tylenol was poisoned again. A skilled perpetrator penetrated the Tylenol’s packaging and inserted cyanide into the capsules.
Burke accepted responsibility, again doing and saying all the right things. Eventually, J&J replaced Tylenol capsules with caplets in order to stop this from happening a third time. The ethical stand was expensive in the short
term, but ultimately perpetuated a successful result both for the company and its customers.
Moral Courage
The actions of Abraham Lincoln and Rosa Parks greatly exemplify the concept of moral courage. Both individuals risked personal safety to stand up (or sit down) for their beliefs.
Abraham Lincoln demonstrated moral courage in many ways. When the civil war reached Washington, D.C.,
Lincoln risked being shot in order to observe his troops in battle. His conciliatory speeches angered people on
both sides, but reflected his beliefs and desire for unity. He appointed people from different parties to his cabinet because he wanted the most intelligent and qualified people, regardless of ideology.
Meanwhile, Rosa Parks was exhausted after work and refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, as was
required in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. She was equally tired of being treated as a second-class citizen.
Parks risked her physical safety and was convicted of disorderly conduct. However, her courage created huge
strides in the movement for civil rights.
Lincoln and Parks deeply believed that all people are created equal. They understood that they had to have
courage and support their convictions. They persevered and potentially risked their lives to show others how
important their principles were.
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10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
Moral Judgment and Moral Vision
The greatest of Winston Churchill’s many leadership skills was his moral judgment and moral vision. Churchill
was prescient in understanding the threat Adolf Hitler posed to the world. Foreign Secretary Edward Halifax and
many English people were more concerned about communism and saw Hitler as a defender against it. Halifax
misjudged Hitler’s character.
Churchill had only been prime minister for two weeks when Germany was on the cusp of taking over France. As
his government debated negotiating peace, Churchill insisted that peace was not possible with German control
of Europe. Halifax believed otherwise, and favored negotiating through Italy. Churchill favored aiding France
and fighting to ensure his country’s independence.
Halifax argued that a lost war would still result in the takeover of Britain, but would also cost many lives. Churchill
believed that any concessions made to Germany would ultimately lead to ongoing aggression by Hitler against
the rest of the free world.
Churchill needed to placate Halifax to avoid splintering his cabinet. He prevailed. Churchill’s acumen, intellectual
excellence, physical courage, and outstanding moral judgment arguably saved the world from fascist control.
Outstanding leaders Compassion and Care
have a good moral Oprah Winfrey parlayed her tremendous success and popularity as a televicompass. They know sion talk show host and started a media empire. Few leaders have as many
followers as Winfrey has cultivated over the years. She has attempted to
where they have come improve the lives of her followers through uplifting human interest stories,
from, they know where education, a literacy campaign, political advocacy, and philanthropy.
they are going—and
Winfrey is seen by her followers as someone who cares about and demonthey know why.
strates compassion and care for everyone.
Fairness
As a general and president, Dwight D. Eisenhower demonstrated moral judgment, moral courage, intellectual
excellence, compassion, deep honesty, deep selflessness, and fairness. His judgments were rational, nonpartisan, and based on facts.
Eisenhower’s ability to be fair was challenged when an investigation confirmed that his close personal friend
and military hero, General George S. Patton, had inexcusably slapped and terrorized two soldiers. Eisenhower
responded with a balanced, but stern, letter informing Patton that such behavior, which he hoped was not as
described, would not be tolerated. He urged the general to apologize. Patton accepted the advice. Fairness was
missing from Patton’s virtues, but it most exemplified what made Eisenhower a great leader.
Intellectual Excellence
Franklin Delano Roosevelt demonstrated intellectual excellence in leadership by proceeding with the development of the atom bomb on the recommendation of Albert Einstein. He had the education and intellectual
curiosity to listen and understand the implications of nuclear physics for both war and energy. In contrast, Adolf
Hitler, although a nearly-as-brilliant misleader, lacked intellectual curiosity and the ability to be open-minded or
receptive to new ideas. The distinction between them changed history.
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10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
Creative Thinking
Southwest Airlines is the largest airline in the United States. It is consistently profitable and has less employee
turnover than any competitor. It ranks first in every area of customer satisfaction and safety. Cofounder Herb
Kelleher, CEO from 1982 to 2001, deserves much of the credit.
Southwest’s original objective was to attract nonbusiness travelers with low fares and few amenities. This
typified Kelleher’s creative thinking and innovative approach. Southwest’s innovations include point-to-point
service, speedy flight preparation, and open seating.
Southwest’s business and human resources practices are also innovative. It
puts its employees ahead of profits, shareholders, and passengers. Southwest’s leaders communicate directly with employees and the company has
relative equality among workers. It has implemented a profit-sharing plan for
its employees, cooperates extensively with its union, uses humor as a business strategy, and has expanded conservatively to help prevent the need for
layoffs.
Aesthetic Sensitivity
Each of the leaders
we examine had an
intuitive and natural
sense of how to exercise the virtues that
made him/her great;
but all of us can learn
from their experience.
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and other companies, was the opposite of Kelleher in many ways, but his judgment of aesthetics and design somewhat balance out his tyrannical behavior and other character flaws. His
design innovations made millions of dollars for Apple. His key early success was bringing the graphical user
interface to personal computers. The controversial decision to integrate proprietary hardware and software also
proved to be lucrative. Jobs demanded that Apple products have what he called “elegant simplicity.”
Apple struggled after Jobs was terminated, but its revitalization was under way when he returned. That turned
into great success with the introduction of the iPod/iTunes system, followed by the iPhone and the iPad. Jobs
maintained that control, rather than greed, was his objective. Control ensured that Apple’s hardware and software worked with one another. Jobs’s legacy is that design applies to usability as well as appearance.
Good Timing
Charles de Gaulle is another controversial leader who deserves credit for a leadership virtue: good timing. De
Gaulle was appointed French minister of war in 1940. He immediately faced a crisis when the prime minister
was ousted. He chose to join other French leaders in London who were attempting to preserve an independent
France instead of the puppet regime that would give in to Hitler.
With Churchill’s help, he communicated with his fellow citizens that France would continue to fight the war. De
Gaulle led the resistance, which ultimately prevailed. In risking his life and the lives of his family, de Gaulle demonstrated decisiveness and moral courage. He filled a leadership vacuum by exercising good timing.
De Gaulle led the new French government, but quickly left due to disgust with partisanship. After many years of
unrest, the people urged him to return to prevent a civil war. He carefully timed a series of actions and mobilized
public support that led to Algerian independence and ended years of conflict and battle.
Deep Selflessness
The biggest challenge of leadership is overcoming the natural tendency to focus on oneself. Instead, leaders
must focus on the people they lead. Martin Luther King, Jr. displayed deep selflessness by putting his cause
ahead of his own life.
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10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
King became involved in the civil rights movement after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat. It started
with a transit boycott and progressed to a national movement. He was charismatic, articulate, and a great
speechmaker; however, his practice of nonviolent civil disobedience resulted in jail time.
King’s famous last speech exemplified his deep selflessness. He gave his life for his dream, but his life’s work has
helped millions of people as the country continues to move toward equality for all.
Conclusion
The virtues described in 10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders are neither a complete listing nor are they cast in
stone. Leaders need to be skilled and knowledgeable in their fields, but they need many other attributes as well,
including ethics and a desire to serve to others.
Many leaders do not exhibit all the leadership virtues, but one modern leader did: Nelson Mandela. He never lied
or wavered from his core values. He showed great moral judgment, vision, and sense of fairness by campaigning
for peaceful reconciliation. He showed compassion for all, even his jailers. He continued to learn throughout his
life. His greatest commitment was the deep selflessness he showed by spending much of his life in jail to fight
for equality among Africans.
Features of the Book
Estimated Reading Time: 4–5 hours, 232 pages
10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders by Al Gini and Ronald M. Green is for anyone who aspires to be a great
leader. It is a heavily documented academic book with footnotes at the end of each chapter. Each of the chapters in Part II profile individual leaders who exemplify one of the virtues of leadership. It does not need to be
read in chapter order.
Contents
Prologue
Part I: Character Leadership
1. What Is Leadership?
2. Misleadership
3. Character and Leadership
4. Leadership and Business Excellence
5. The Ten Virtues
Part II: Leadership in Action
6. James Burke and the Tylenol Poisoning Episodes: Deep Honesty
7. Abraham Lincoln/Rosa Parks: Moral Courage
8. Winston Churchill: Moral Judgment and Moral Vision
9. Oprah Winfrey: Compassion and Care
10. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Sicilian Slapping Incidents: Fairness
11. FDR and the A-Bomb: Intellectual Excellence
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10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
12. Herb Kelleher and the People of Southwest Airlines: Creative Thinking
13. Steve Jobs and Apple: Aesthetic Sensitivity
14. Charles de Gaulle and Exiting Algeria: Good Timing
15. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Deep Selflessness
16. Conclusion
Index
Further Information
Information about this book and other business titles:
www.wiley.com
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About the Authors
Al Gini is professor of business ethics at Loyola University Chicago, where he is also chair of the department of
management in the Quinlan School of Business. A co-founder and long-time associate editor of Business Ethics
Quarterly, the journal of the Society for Business Ethics, Professor Gini has for 25 years been the resident philosopher on the NPR affiliate in Chicago, WBEZ-FM, and is a regular speaker on the public lecture circuit. His books
include The Ethics of Business, which he co-authored with Alexei Marcoux; Seeking the Truth of Things; Why It’s
Hard to Be Good; and The Importance of Being Lazy: In Praise of Play, Leisure, and Vacations.
Ronald M. Green is Eunice & Julian Cohen Professor for the Study of Ethics and Human Values at Dartmouth College. He served as the director of Dartmouth’s Ethics Institute from 1992 until 2011. Professor Green is actively
involved in numerous fields of applied ethics, particularly bioethics and business ethics, and is a consultant
to a number of leading corporations including Ogilvy & Mather. A former director of the National Institutes
of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute, Professor Green has also been a member of the NIH’s
Human Embryo Research Panel. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005. His many publications
include The Ethical Manager and Babies by Design.
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10 Virtues of Outstanding Leaders
Al Gini and Ronald M. Green
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