Morals Matter

Paul Rosser
Aug 23, 2017 · 4 min read

by Paul Rosser

Do morals matter? Does courage matter? What about moral courage, does it matter? When it comes to effective leadership that determines success or failure, the answer is, yes, moral courage matters, absolutely. Failing moral courage, a leader loses the trust and respect of others, so critical to developing any cohesive, winning team. Moral courage solidifies group morale over time, which is key to accomplishing complex, challenging objectives. Principled leaders, therefore, strive to achieve the moral high ground, diplomatically expressing and exemplifying strongly held convictions, even in the presence of rejection from others. Especially in an environment void of moral behavior, a courageous leader stands up for his or her convictions, and does so without reservation. Not doing so binds, entraps, and enslaves one’s higher self, often inciting a corrupt, compromised nature, devoid of personal honor, dignity, and integrity. Demonstrating moral courage is therefore imperative to establishing respected, principled leadership.

Morals distinguish right from wrong, setting a clear, shared standard of what is virtuous, righteous, and noble. Ultimately, morals determine proper, acceptable behavior, or that which is generally considered appropriate and therefore to be expected. Moral courage is thus sanctioned by, and operates upon, one’s conscience and ethical judgment. However invisible, moral courage is felt and recognized at the emotional level, through what spiritual leaders refer to as the soul. Martin Luther, for example, declared, “The most important thing of all is to declare what is right and what is not right….” But how do we decipher what is moral and immoral? Typically, when we engage in moral behavior, we experience positive feelings, a certain knowing that we have done the right thing. Conversely, when we engage in immoral behavior, we generally experience negative feelings, like guilt, despair, and remorse, a clear knowing we did something wrong.

Examples of right moral behavior, acknowledged and embraced by principled leaders, include:

· Never taking from employees. Ensuring employees are carried for, not manipulated, compromised, or left out in the cold. For example, laying off workers to improve the company’s bottom line, or to reap excessive pay at the expense of their hard work, is not right moral behavior.

· Respecting and rewarding hard work, initiative, and ingenuity; whereas, a business culture that seeks only to drown out competition, no matter what, and screw everyone else, temps immoral behavior in lieu of healthy innovation and honest productivity.

· Being above board, not sowing division, discontent, and hate between others for personal gain and enrichment.

· Being honest and forthright, not telling others one thing, then doing something totally opposite. Telling employees that the company is going public, but subsequently selling it, for example, is not proper moral behavior.

· Demonstrating courage in challenging circumstances, not obscuring truth for fear of embarrassment or disdain. Courageous leaders own up to the situation at hand, rather than avoid realty or blame others.

· Being fair and impartial, treating everyone equally by respecting and defending the rights of all people.

· Taking responsibility for personal actions, not abdicating responsibility or laying blame on someone else.

· Exemplifying right behavior by being clean in speech and actions, confronting, not tolerating, immoral behavior when it presents itself.

· Sharing success, not taking advantage of or disenfranchising others for personal gain.

· Thinking critically, not following the path of least resistance to take the easy wrong over the hard right.

· Correcting a serious problem when it needs fixing, not letting it slide to avoid the difficulty of the circumstance at hand.

Moral courage is the keel that keeps us straight in our hearts, our consciences, our ethics, and our character. Selfish actions that abandon ethical behavior, and ignore the needs of others follow a path of moral passivity. Once on this path, trust inevitably erodes, resulting in low to no confidence from others. Such poor standing destroys a leader’s effectiveness and ability to get things done.

As leaders, we must follow our instinct, our gut. We must never accept, just because someone else says it’s ok to conduct wrong doing, or demonstrates immoral behavior, that we should follow their example and do the same. In order to stay forthright and true, moral courage must be exercised to break from the example of poor behavior that we know is wrong. Morally courageous leaders remain strong, even in the face of condemnation, especially when wrong doing is present, and others lack courage or demonstrate moral passivity, look the other way, or fail to stand up for what is right. In many instances circumstance may require acknowledgement, forgiveness, and simple course correction.

Moral strength, requires courage and discipline, a willingness to say, “I will not tolerate this”, and the intestinal fortitude to just say, “No,” to wrong behavior. Absent strong moral courage, principled leadership fails.

In conclusion, effective leaders develop a clear, moral code by which they govern themselves and their team, whereby proper behavior is celebrated, deficient behavior is corrected and simply not tolerated. Morally courageous leaders thus adopt a way of life that is fair, unequivocal, and just, whereby no one receives special privilege at another’s expense.

www.newleaderdevelopment.com © 2017 New Leader Development. All rights reserved.

Paul Rosser has 30 years of experience developing effective leaders as a retired US Army colonel and American Alpine Institute senior guide. Throughout the years, Paul recognized most mistakes were a result of failed leadership. By challenging teams to approach problems in unconventional ways, Paul creates inclusive and authoritative leaders with a foundation in strong character, morals, and ethics. Where other programs end on Monday morning, Paul tailors his approach to individual’s needs to guarantee lifelong leadership success in the workplace, home, and community.

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