Leadership and Ethical Challenges

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.

Additionally, there are case studies, exercises, and references that are provided so each chapter is properly supported and further research into the information presented by Johnson (2011) is encouraged. 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 certain extent, this makes sense. Ethics are not laws or rules, and they are open to interpretation and opinions that are not going to be the same for all people (Johnson, 2011). Despite this uniqueness and the differences that are seen in human beings and their beliefs, when a person is in a position of leadership he or she must be more careful about the ethically issues addressed. Each and every ethical plan that a company has for its leaders has to be carefully considered, and has to be something that has value and that can and will be followed. It also has to be enforced, or there is no need to have it (Johnson, 2011). With this book, the most important point is to show that it is necessary to have the right ethical standards and policies for any company, and to hold to those standards and policies not just at the lower levels but all the way up through the leadership the company employs.