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Think about situations in which you either assumed or
8. I speak out against organiza-
were given a leadership role in a group or organization.
tional injustice. _______ _______
Imagine using your own courage as a leader. To what
9. I stand up to people if they
extent does each of the following statements character-
make offensive remarks. _______ _______
ize your leadership? Please answer whether each item
below is Mostly False or Mostly True for you. 10. I act according to my con-
science even if it means I
Mostly Mostly lose status and approval. _______ _______
False True
1. I risk substantial personal Scoring and Interpretation
loss to achieve the vision. _______ _______ Each question above pertains to some aspect of
2. I take personal risks to defend displaying courage in a leadership situation. Add up
my beliefs. _______ _______ your points for Mostly True answers: ________. If you
3. I say no even if I have a lot received a score of 7 or higher, you have real potential
to lose. _______ _______ to act as a courageous leader. A score below 3 indi-
cates that you avoid difficult issues or have not been
4. I consciously link my actions
in situations that challenge your moral leadership. Is
to higher values. _______ _______
your score consistent with your understanding of your
5. I don’t hesitate to act against
own courage? Look at the individual questions for
the opinions and approval of
which you scored Mostly False or Mostly True and
others. _______ _______
think about your specific strengths and weaknesses.
6. I quickly tell people the truth,
Compare your score to that of other students. How
even when it is negative. _______ _______
might you increase your courage as a leader? Do you
7. I feel relaxed most of the want to?
time. _______ _______

people, self-interest with service, and control with stewardship requires individual
moral courage.

Acting Like a Moral Leader Requires Personal Courage To practice moral
leadership, leaders have to know themselves, understand their strengths and weak-
nesses, know what they stand for, and often be nonconformists. Honest self- analysis
can be painful, and acknowledging one’s limitations in order to recognize the
superior abilities of others takes personal strength of character. In addition, moral
leadership means building relationships, which requires sharing yourself, listening,
having significant personal experiences with others, and making yourself vulnera-

ble— qualities that frighten many people. Yet finding emotional strength requires peo-

ple to overcome their deepest fears and accept emotions as a source of strength rather
than weakness. True power lies in the emotions that connect people. By getting close
and doing what is best for others—sharing the good and the bad, the pain and anger
as well as the success and the joy—leaders bring out the best qualities in others. 59
An example of this in practice is when William Peace had to initiate a layoff
as general manager of the Synthetic Fuels Division of Westinghouse. To make the
division attractive to buyers, executives made a painful decision to cut any jobs
not considered essential. Peace had the courage to deliver the news about layoffs
personally. He took some painful blows in the face-to-face meetings he held with the
workers to be laid off, but he believed that allowing people to vent their grief and
anger at him and the situation was the moral thing to do. His action sent a message
to the remaining workers that, even though layoffs were necessary, leaders valued
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