Moral leadership

In an age where fame and celebrities proliferate, leadership seems like a not very important issue, strong, moral and decisive leaders are required, leaders who save people and make the important decisions.

Although leadership is a very important topic in any way, in the United States alone there are more than 900 study programs in all the country's universities, such as science, history, psychology, anthropology and philosophy.

But what is a leader? Although it is not a status, the leader does have a certain position, leadership is more than making difficult decisions and giving orders to people.

Throughout the development of this article, we will see what are the types of leadership that occur within societies but that due to current needs, it has been incurred in creating a new concept of leadership that meets the new needs of companies: moral leadership.

This article will address the main characteristics of this new type of leadership, benefits and how to apply it in today's organizations.

Keywords:

Leadership Moral Leadership Leader Organizations

General

"Instead of concentrating on how people act in roles already given in an organization, research should be directed at creating roles and structures that support and promote educational practices that we want." (Sykes & Elmore, 1989)

Surprisingly the subject of ethics and leadership has received little attention, until recently moral thinkers and researchers had begun to consider some of the ethical implications of leadership.

But the question of why now ?, could be due to the growing interest in ethics in all that is known as the field of administration. Another reason could be due to the discovery that many of the leaders of the past like Martin Luther King had moral cadences.

(Robbins, 2004)

Definitions

Before continuing with the development of the topic, it is necessary to define some important concepts such as:

Leader: Person who leads or directs a political party, social group or other collectivity. (RAE, 2016) Leadership: A situation of superiority in which an institution or organization, a product or economic sector is found within its scope. (RAE, 2016) Moral leadership: It refers to values and that requires that the followers be offered enough information about alternatives. (Flores Jiménez, 2011)

The need for moral leadership

We currently live in an age in which we have witnessed great accelerated and dramatic changes that have had a great impact on the nature of society.

Human beings seem to have already lost their essential values, which has started a new stage of disintegration of the society we know.

For this reason, organizations today are joining forces to solve some of the most complex problems that afflict entire peoples, as they discovered that scientific, political and technological means have not been sufficient by themselves.

However, it is necessary in the first instance to define what moral leadership is:

“Moral leadership has to be leadership that is fully aware of the dynamics of disintegration and integration that characterize our time and that are aligned with the processes to have a clear vision of the society that it hopes to create and of some strategies that will help to fulfill this mission… ”(Donaires Sánchez, 2003)

Prevailing leadership models

Whenever leadership is discussed, it must be done in the context of the functioning of a group, since it cannot exist in isolation.

The three main functions of any group, to which its proper functioning is attributed are:

Maintain and strengthen group unity Carry out tasks for which the group has been created Developing the potential of team members

Leadership models can be evaluated based on the contribution they make to achieving these functions.

Leadership mental models can be classified into five categories: authoritarian, paternalistic, know-it-all, manipulative, and democratic. Each type is described below. (Donaires Sánchez, 2003)

Authoritarian leader

This type of leader is the one who is characterized by giving orders, and in return expects immediate, exact obedience and without questioning his authority. She avoids any type of dialogue and does not allow herself to be asked for explanations of her orders.

This leader is found in military organizations, although it is usually common in employer-worker relationships.

The subordinates of this leader may feel intimidated or resentful, which may or may not be expressed directly. When the feeling is expressed it can lead the person to rebellion or revolt; On the other hand, when it is not expressed, conformity and submission is what characterizes the relationship.

Paternalistic leader

It occurs when an individual who exercises leadership desires the well-being of the members of his group and is motivated by a feeling of affection for them.

Sometimes he asks group members for their opinions and may give an impression of being a democratic leader, but in the end he will always be the one to make the decision.

This type of leader does not help others to develop their capacities, since he thinks that not many of them have them, so he feels satisfaction in knowing how necessary it is for others.

Although it seems that this leader actively responds to the needs of the group, it is not, since in reality the work is not done by the group but by the "great father-leader."

As a consequence of this, when the paternalistic leader leaves the group tends to fall apart, as no other member has the capacity to take his place.

Know-it-all leader

This leadership model occurs when there is a difference between knowledge or experiences of an individual and those of other members of the group.

Based on the result, the person who has the most knowledge is the one who tries to dominate the group, this model is seen more often in academic circles, among teachers, consultants or technical advisers.

In his relationship with others, this leader takes every opportunity to boast of the knowledge he possesses, likes to talk about his abilities and at the same time tries to diminish the credibility of others.

This attitude tends to create resentments of inferiority towards others and as a result, although this leader asks for their opinions, they are often reluctant to give their ideas for fear that they have little value.

Manipulative leader

People who practice the three previous models may be sincere in their desire to help or stimulate the group, but they do not realize that their very attitudes of superiority obstruct their ability to make it possible.

The manipulative leader only pretends to think about the welfare of others but hides his true motives and personal interests.

When people discover that they have been the victims of manipulation by their leader, they often become cynical and distrust any type of organization or project that may later be offered to them.

As a result of trusting false promises, it is very difficult for a manipulative leader to regain the trust of the people who believed in him.

Democratic leader

They are those who recognize the need to transform the four previous models, since they name this type of leadership as the one that must be promoted in organizations.

Two of the most important characteristics of this model are its commitment to election processes and participatory decision-making processes.

This type of leader is chosen by the members of the group, encourages participation and the exchange of ideas among its participants.

The concept of democratic leadership is often limited to or related to formal leadership.

In conclusion, this leadership takes several paths in the right direction but is still incomplete, subject to manipulation and can be misused, but beyond this, we can develop a new conceptual framework of leadership that is suitable for the needs of organizations. current, and in this case it would be moral leadership since it is based on the development of capacities.

Moral leadership capabilities

(Anello & De Hernández, 2003) According to the needs to perform each role effectively within an organization, the capacities necessary to fulfill a moral leadership role in a company are mentioned below:

Ability to relate community development roles with corresponding capacities, especially moral leadership Ability to identify deficiencies and limitations in traditional leadership styles Ability to develop a conceptual framework of leadership capabilities based on principles of service, individual transformation or collective and application of truth and transcendence. Ability to initiate a learning process that is individual and that is focused on developing moral leadership capacities.

Elements for the creation of moral leadership

(Donaires Sánchez, 2003) The six essential elements for the creation of a conceptual framework of moral leadership are mentioned below, and because these elements are related to each other, it is difficult to talk about one without mentioning the other.

Belief in the nobility of the human being Service-oriented leadership Purpose of leadership: personal and social transformation Transcendence Capacity development Moral responsibility to investigate and apply the truth

The characteristics of each of these elements are detailed below.

Belief in the essential nobility of the human being

The concept of people about the meaning of a human being will determine the way in which they can perceive themselves, in other words they are seen as 1) a superior or inferior race which is considered racism, 2) as rational animals or 3) products or victims of forces beyond their control, 4) beings that were born in sin, and 5) noble beings.

Leadership that is oriented towards service

The world and organizations need a new type of leadership, dedicated to collective and personal transformation, that is committed to values and moral principles, based on the search for truth, that is inspired by a sense of transparency and that is guided in the exercise of capacities for the ideal of a service oriented to the common good.

Purpose of leadership: personal and social transformation

The objective of this process is social transformation is an orientation towards a civilization on continuous progress, which are based on principles such as justice, love and unity, this social transformation must also be accompanied by a personal transformation.

Transcendence

A practical definition of this transcendence would be the capacity that people have to detach themselves from the current reality and connect with values and principles that are believed to be eternal and that are part of the vision.

Capacity building

The concept of moral leadership requires a new concept of a moral person, but according to current needs, they require that a moral person be considered as a social actor that promotes the processes of social and personal transformation.

Moral responsibility to investigate and apply the truth

On this basis, the conceptual framework must be consolidated by individuals based on two moral responsibilities, which are:

The application in a process of social and personal transformation, and in all aspects of one's life, of the truth that is being discovered. Commitment to the search for a truth and to the acceptance of the truths that are verified by the individual through through independent investigations.

conclusion

Due to the existence of so many categories of leaders, the ideal leader should have all of them simultaneously, although it is simply impossible and a large part of their characteristics are possessed by the demands of their work groups, since they are often sued certain behaviors.

In the development of the conceptual framework of moral leadership it is something final and definitive, since as mentioned it is a new concept or type of leadership, it is rather a learning process that is based on action / reflection and again on action, it is a cycle.

In summary, it can be said that the purpose of this conceptual framework is to facilitate a learning process of moral leadership that is based on the essential nobility of the human being, which is mainly characterized by a spirit of service and the most important thing is that it is implemented through the development of the capabilities of individuals and is based on a commitment to eternal principles.

Thesis topic proposal

Effects of moral leadership on personnel management processes in organizations.

General objective

Implement and evaluate the effect of moral leadership in the personnel management processes in organizations.

Thanks

To the National Technological Institute of Mexico for being my alma mater and to Dr. Fernando Aguirre y Hernández for their support and motivation to carry out these articles on the subject of Fundamentals of Administrative Engineering.

References

Anello, E., & De Hernández, J. (2003). Moral leadership. Higher Institute of Rural Education.

Donaires Sánchez, P. (2003). Moral leadership. Forensic Deontology, 37-72.

Flores Jiménez, I. (2011). Leadership. State of Hidalgo: Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo.

RAE. (2016). Royal Spanish Academy. Obtained from

Robbins, SP (2004). Organizational behavior. Mexico: Pearson Education.

Sykes, G., & Elmore, R. (1989). «Making Schools Manageable: Policy and Administration for Tomorrow's Schools. Falmer Press, 77-94.

Download the original file