Qualities Of Leadership Essay

Qualities of Leadership

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word leader is defined as one who guides, is in charge, or is in command of others.   While this definition suffices for describing a typical leader, it does not completely characterize how to be an ethical leader.   How does that leader guide?   What type of actions does the leader undertakes when he or she is in charge and in command of others?   Questions like these need to be addressed in order to comprehend the complexity of ethical leadership in a society that generally seems to be solely profit-oriented.   I did have a basic understanding of ethical leadership prior to enrolling in this class, but I sought to take advantage of the opportunity to meet leaders in the Chicago metropolitan area and gain their insights on such a significant issue in the business world.   By being a part of this class, my hope was to use the advice and lessons that I learn from the various leaders to reinforce my opinions and beliefs in the importance of ethics in leadership.   Having learned valuable lessons from not only the leaders we met, but as well as Professor Young and Professor Hartman, I now feel confident in my ability to ascertain solutions to business problems while keeping a mindful eye on ethics.   Writing this final paper is a good way of summarizing the main points about leadership and ethics and how that message can be conveyed, as what this management class did for me, to others who wish to become or improve themselves as leaders.
Understanding the difference between effective leadership and ethical leadership is the first and most vital step in becoming a good leader.   In my opinion, a good leader is a person who is able to lead a group or organization both effectively and ethically in unison.   If one does not know the difference between being effective and being ethical, then the risk of leading an organization or group ineffectively or unethically becomes heightened.   According to the...