Leadership and Character: Values, Theories, and Examples

This essay delves into the multifaceted relationship between leadership and character, emphasizing the importance of ethical behavior and core values in effective leadership. It begins by establishing the significance of leaders demonstrating their values and ethics, highlighting the impact of trust and ethical conduct in the workplace. The essay then explores the concept of character, tracing its historical roots and its evolution in relation to personality. It examines the ethical, values, and beliefs dimensions of character, including striving for success, cultivating integrity, contributing to society, taking the viewpoint of others seriously, and developing ethical thinking capabilities. The essay also discusses various leadership theories, such as "The Great Man" Theories, Trait Theories, and Contingency Theories, providing insights into different perspectives on how individuals become leaders. Practical examples and the evolution of leadership paradigms are also considered, offering a comprehensive overview of the subject.

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LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER
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Leadership and Character 2
Introduction
Leaders understand and know what they value. They also identify the essence of ethical
character or behavior. Most of the best leaders in the world exhibit both their core values and
their ethics in their leadership style and actions. Leadership ethics and values ought to be visible
since leaders live actions daily. The absence of trust is an issue in several workplaces. If leaders
or management recognize their values in these workplaces, the distrust is comprehensible.
To operate as a leader, it is required that a leader must walk the talk as an example to be
significant in guiding the employees and make them develop trust and a demonstration of ethical
and principled character (Schein & Schein, 2017, p. 20). Workplace ethics occupy the same path
that a leader displays. If the leadership of an institution has a code of conduct and ethical
expectations, they become an organization joke if the leaders fail to live up to their code. Leaders
that show ethical character significantly influence the actions of the subjects.
The character is an English word that is derived from the Greek character and was initially used
as a mark awed in the lead of a coin. Later, the word came to describe a distinguishing mark by
which one thing was eminent and differentiated from others, and mostly to mean the collection
of qualities that differentiate one person from another (BowersHall et al., 2017, p. 558).
Currently, this focus on uniqueness or individualism tends to combine character with personality.
For instance, people may say, when thinking of an individual‘s distinctive trait, social
gesticulations, or practice of dress, that he or she has individuality or that he is relatively a
character. The character is fashioned by the foundation of political, cost-effective, and family
lives, subsequently becoming a good individual will involve entrance to the suitable institutions.

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Why Character
The observations of honorable character apprehended by Plato, Stoics, Aristotle, and the
Socrates are the beginning points for most other theoretical discussions of character. These
ancient moralists disagreed on various issues concerning virtue; it is important to view at some
points of similarity of their arguments and the importance of discussing character (Vogel, 2017,
p. 6). Most of Plato’s conversations evaluate and analyze the nature of virtue and character of the
virtuous individual. For instance, at the start of Plato’s Laches, the character proposes that
bravery consists of standing one’s ground in battle.
Ethical, values and beliefs dimensions of character in a range of contexts and situations
Ethical dimensions
At the heart of one main strategy to ethics, an approach including among its proponents is the
assurance that ethics is essentially connected to what kind of individuals we are. Most of Plato’s
conversations, for instance, emphasize what type of people we should be and start with
evaluations of meticulous virtues. On the supposition that what type of an individual one is
comprised of the character of a person, the connection involving moral character and virtue is
comprehensible (Francioli et al., 2018, p. 893). The moral character of an individual can be
thought as mainly a function of whether she has or requires a variety of moral virtues and vices.
The virtues and vices that include an individual’s moral character are naturally understood as
temperaments to conduct personally in definite manners in certain types of situations. For
example, an honest individual is predisposed to telling the fact when questioned. These
temperaments are naturally comprehended as comparatively steady and enduring. Additionally,

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they are also characteristically understood to be vigorous, that is reliable transversely a broad-
spectrum of circumstances. Under this section, the character is divided into five dimensions;
a) Striving for success: requires an individual to develop a strong work and character ethic
and consciously doing the best in every aspect of life (Kyongmin & Woojeong, 2018, p.
17). That dimension is a set of values that inform how an individual go through his work.
It also advocates for individual accountability and responsibility based on the intrinsic
and extrinsic value of a person’s work.
b) Cultivating individual integrity: identifying and working on a sense of honor varying
from honesty in a relationship. This entails adhering to code regarding the intergroup of
values and working in a manner befitting community
c) Contributing to the society: Identifying and performing on an individual’s responsibility
to the local community and the larger society, local and countrywide as well as
international.
d) Taking the viewpoint of others seriously: identifying and working on the responsibility to
inform an individual’s decision; engaging miscellaneous and challenging perceptions as a
resource for citizenship. Responsibility, in this case, entails respecting the right of other
people to have a diverse understanding of the world, appreciating well-substantiated
viewpoints that be at variance from an individual’s, comprehending the worth that unique
viewpoints bring to the development of knowledge (Van Wart, 2015, p. 24).
e) Developing capability ethically and decently of thinking: developing an individual’s and
societal principles and being competent to articulate and take steps upon those principles
conscientiously, developing a mature logic of moral understanding and individual

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character, being proficient in recognizing and analyze moral quandary and taking action
properly.
Values and beliefs dimensions of character
Values and ethics are important to any individual and organization. Values are things that are
considered important by an individual or jointly by an institution. When values are shared by
every member of the society or organization, they become tools for making decisions, analyzing
the expected results, and making choices among alternatives (Miska & Mendenhall, 2018, p.
119). Values are the incarnation of what an individual or group believed, and ought to be the
foundation for the conduct of either an individual or the society. If the society does not share the
same values, apparently there will be a detach in individual values, and the same values will be
dysfunctional.
The core values of an individual’s character shape or determine decision-making throughout the
life. They are the character’s moral direction, and every core values of a character are specific to
them (Jamal & Bakar, 2017, p. 371). These are the obsession in people’s hearts; what encourage
fighting and arguing and never giving up. When core values are followed, peace and rightness
will exist; therefore, core values can be applied in writing powerful character development in the
life of an individual.
Character core values can be the incredible quantity of pressure to the character of an individual.
Character core values will always make an individual’s character appear paradoxical and which
is a fine, pragmatic thing that includes intricacy and profundity to the individual’s personality. If
a character has options between two of the values, it can push their limits to develop and change.

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Leadership theories
Leadership theories have been used in very many contexts. It has also been used in real situations
as well as practical circumstances. There are several theories of leadership as there are
researchers, professors, and philosophers that have premeditated and in due course published
their management as their leader’s theories (Jreisat, 2016, 373). Theories are regularly grouped
by which feature is supposed or thought to describe the leader the most.
Leadership theories try to describe and illustrate how and why certain people become leaders.
Such types of theories always emphasize the uniqueness of leaders. However, some try to
recognize the behaviors that people can adapt to improve their leadership capabilities in diverse
circumstances. In many discussions, it has proposed that such skills were and are just abilities
that individuals were born with. Some contemporary theories recommend that possessing
definite traits may assist make individuals nature leaders, however, that experience and
situational variables play a critical role.
As mentioned earlier, the psychology of leadership theories has been introduced to define
precisely how and why particular people become great leaders. In the context of character, what
exactly makes a good leader? Is it through some certain characters that make an individual a
better leader? Do characteristics of the circumstance make it more possible that particular
individuals will take responsibility? Closely looking at leaders in different locations around,
whether the president, employer or any other individual who is considered in one way or the
other, people may wonder exactly why these people do extremely well in those positions in the
society (Dugan, Turman & Barnes, 2017). The majority of the society has been interested in
leadership throughout our history as human beings. However, it has only been reasonably

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currently that some prescribed leadership theories have come out. At as the same time a lot of
various leadership theories have come out, most can be classified as one of eight most important
kinds:
a) “The Great Man” Theories
The theory views a leader as somebody born with the important distinctiveness such as charisma,
self-confidence, intellect, and social skills that make them natural-born leaders. Great man
theories presume that the capability of leadership is intrinsic, great leaders are born and not made
(Seijts & Macmillan, 2018). These theories always often represent great leaders as gallant,
mythic and fated to climb to leadership when required. The term Great Man was used because, at
that era, leadership was contemplated of mainly as made eminence, particularly regarding
military leadership.
b) Trait Theories
The theories have some similarities with Great Man theories. The theories assume that different
individuals inherit specific characters and qualities that make them better well-matched to
leadership. The theories always recognize a specific individuality or behavioral characteristics
shared by leaders, for instance, traits like unreservedness, confidence and bravery are all traits
that could probably be connected to immense leaders. If a specific trait is a major aspect of
leadership, then how do we describe individuals with those qualities but are not leaders? This is
one the toughest questions that makes it difficult to use the trait theories to describe and explain
leadership (Suhuan, Zhiyong & Hongsheng, 2018, p. 19). There are lots of people with these
characters or traits connected with leadership, but these individuals are not and have never
sought any positions of leadership within the organizations or the society.

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c) Contingency Theories
The theories in this setting emphasize on specific variables connected to the surroundings that
might decide which given the style of leadership is best compatible with the situation. The theory
suggests and stipulates that no leadership style is unsurpassed in all circumstances. It asserts that
effective leadership is not just concerning qualities of the leader, but also regards the striking the
right balance between characters, needs and the context (Henriksen & Børgesen, 2016, p. 390).
Good leaders are capable of assessing the needs of the subjects, take stock of the circumstance,
and then amend their characters accordingly. Achievement relies on some variables as well as
the leadership style, qualities of the subjects and aspects of the condition or circumstances.
There are several means of thinking about leadership, varying form emphasizing on the
individuality traits of perfect leadership to focusing features of the condition that assist settle on
deciding on how individual lead. Like it is in the case of other things, leadership is a highly
multi-complicated topic, and it is a combination of various and numerous elements that assist in
finding out why some populace become or make good leaders.
The range of practical examples
Leadership theory is a compelling phrase that captures the enthusiasm, vision, and supremacy of
the man following the title. Through the generations, from Julius Caesar to Barack Obama,
leadership theories title is meant to be conferred on the well-known few who have the aptitude to
live up to its legacy. The current organization workforce has its share of leaders as well:
influential path-breakers who encourage and persuade minor individuals to march their grand

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dream while there are enough mediocre administrators, possibly the vision of each expert to
develop into an inspiring leader who makes a distinction (Grandy & Sliwa, 2017, p. 430).
Paradigms of leadership
Thoughts regarding authority have created in a recorded viewpoint with specific qualities and
accentuations which can be followed through a course of events from the nineteenth to the
twenty-first century. These have been comprehensively sorted into ideal models of established,
value-based, visionary and, most as of late, natural hypotheses which show their recognizing
highlights, ideas, and philosophy (Batmanghlich, 2015). While a worldview can be a valuable
build for concentrate to help translation and comprehension, a solitary worldview is probably not
going to be shown in an unadulterated shape or a solitary verifiable period, just because it is a
piece of a procedure of creating considering and looking at encounters. The wide range of
worldview attributes can enable us to comprehend the scope of initiative methodologies which
can work contemporaneously inside a similar association and people, contingent upon setting
and circumstance. So it is presumably more adept to see the improvement of thoughts regarding
administration as a range instead of a continuum, with a chameleon-like capacity to adjust and
mix hues to fit the earth and setting.
The role of theory in leadership connects to the institutional leadership and how the leaders and
the rest of staffs relate to the organization or business. The management defines the roles of
employees and how people perform their roles with the organization. Under the suppositions of
the role theory, leaders always explain or define their functions within an institution based on
how the staffs see the leader’s function (Tadajewski & Jones, 2014, p. 1252). For instance,
employees may have an unsatisfied customer, but rather than decide on how to resolve the

Leadership and Character 10
conflict with the customer; the staff may see this as the function of the manager or leader. While
the staff may take the function of getting the information on what the consumer’s issue is, the
staff leaves the decision to that of the manager. Since this is the norm, the manager views that as
his role, according to the role theory, to determine customer issues. Leadership has a straight
cause and impact association upon institutions and their achievement. They also determine
principles, culture, change lenience and staff encouragement. The leaders shape organizational
policies together with their implementation and effectiveness. Leaders can come out at any
echelon of an organization and are not restricted to administration. Flourishing leaders do,
nevertheless, have one thing in general. They persuade or influence people next to them to reap
maximum advantage from institutional, resources, together with its most important and
expensive: the people. The influence of leaders and their efficiency in affecting an individual to a
shared vision can straightly transform the workplace and the staff in general. Leadership plays an
important role in the success of the organization based on the roles and types of leaders as well
as the possible effect on organizations.
Contemporary leadership theories define leaders based on the traits or how they use their
influence and power to achieve objectives. When applying trait-based metaphors, leaders may be
grouped or categorized as despotic, democratic, technical or fascinating. If looking at leaders
from the swap of power to secure results, leaders are transactional or transformational and
situational. Indulgent of these diverse tropes can offer a vocabulary for a conversation that can
end up to significant and desired results. It is important to know that not all leaders are created
with the same characters or equal, leadership qualities may vary immensely across industries or
simply within an institution. Also, recognizing a person leader’s style is important to analyzing
leadership quality and success in particular as it relates to institutional objectives.

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On ideal models, it offers a psychological fringe it gives a psychological edge or focal point
through which we can look at thoughts and make a way to deal with exploring the experience of
authority (Taylor & Lynham, 2013, p. 91). The aim is that it throws some light on our
comprehension of the subject, when seen inside that casing, and makes theoretical apparatuses to
help the investigation. It can be compared to an image outline in that it should attract regard for
what is inside and should supplement its subject, yet the selection of materials and configuration
can modify the manner by which the subject is seen, changing the accentuation of a portion of
the highlights entirely subjective (Pless & Maak, 2011, p. 9). It is vital, like this, to recollect that
a worldview can't and ought not to endeavor to be complete but rather can enable us to see an old
subject from another viewpoint.
Conclusion
The result of all this is a culture in which time pressure dominates decision making; where there
is a mad dash for the dollar to meet ever-rising financial goals; an atmosphere of adversarial
relations both in the market and in the workplace; loneliness at the top as well as throughout
managerial ranks, elitism that demotivates the masses and leads to alienation. The existent
worldview advances a culture that builds the financial abundance yet just for a few, to the
detriment of enthusiastic and social satisfaction, and to the detriment of the debilitated masses.
There is something else entirely to it. Not to be disregarded. Debilitation in the working
environment intuitively undermines political majority rule government.

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List of References
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The missing combination for selecting the right leader for effective crisis management', Business
Horizons, vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 551-563.
Dugan, J. P., Turman, N. T., & Barnes, A. C. (2017). Leadership theory: a facilitator's guide for
cultivating critical perspectives.
Francioli, L, Conway, PM, Hansen, ÅM, Holten, A, Grynderup, MB, Persson, R, Mikkelsen,
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Business Ethics, vol. 147, no. 4, pp. 889-899.
Grandy, G, & Sliwa, M. (2017). 'Contemplative Leadership: The Possibilities for the Ethics of
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Henriksen, TD, & Børgesen, K. (2016). 'Can good leadership be learned through business
games?', Human Resource Development International, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 388-405.
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