Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership
The basis of this book is the metaphor of light and shadow, which Johnson (2011) uses to show the kind of power leaders have and how they can use it for good but also for harm. When a leader has a lot of power over others -- and many leaders do -- it is vital that leader find a way to use that power properly. To do otherwise would be unethical, but that does not stop a number of leaders from doing things that are considered unacceptable from an ethical standpoint but yet are not illegal. The idea of ethics is a very important one, and something that often gets overlooked by leaders who are looking to get ahead (Johnson, 2011). The most important consideration with Johnson's (2011) book, though, is that complex ethical issues are presented in clear language that is easily understandable. Even people who are not clear about ethics or who do not have leadership experience are able to understand the concepts Johnson (2011) presents, which makes the book valuable on many levels.
One of the biggest areas of value for this book is that there is so much real-world information presented in it. That allows anyone who is interested in leadership to consider what has happened to some other leaders, so they can relate their own experience to that of other leaders. This can help make a point more realistic, and allow it to be better understood. Providing statistics and other information in a textbook is helpful, but it is not the same as providing information that addresses actual events. A combination of both is usually the best way to teach others, and that is what Johnson (2011) provides.
Critiquing the book is not difficult, as most of what it offers to the reader is valuable. Ethics are an area of life where disagreements about what is "right" and "wrong" abound. To a…
