رهبری اخلاقی و نقش دوگانه مثالها

Through the examples they set, leaders do a great deal to shape—for good or for ill—the culture of the organizations in which they serve. Leaders thus serve in a teaching role. But in order to learn how to set positive examples, leaders must also be students who seek to learn what they can from others’ examples. Employing as a jumping-off point a recent high-profile and multi-faceted scandal involving Penn State University and decision makers affiliated with it, this article explores a number of ethical decision making lessons to be learned from that scandal and considers how those lessons can be applied to a variety of decisions faced by corporate leaders. Along the way, the article addresses ways in which common human tendencies impair the quality of thinking and decision making. It also offers ways for improving thinking quality and enhancing the ethical nature of resulting business decisions.

When organizational leaders learn appropriate ethical decision making lessons from relevant examples, they can effectively teach others in the organization the right lessons through the examples those leaders go on to set. As they help to shape the organization's culture through the examples they provide, leaders also effectively write their own stories and those of their organizations through the actions they take. Effective leaders therefore must remain aware that the failure to pay due heed to ethical considerations in decision making may cause their personal and organizational stories to end with a lament rather than with a triumph. As Joe Paterno reportedly said regarding the matter that led to his firing, “I wish I had done more.”