Harvard psychology of leadership 1508 07 dirtyhands

Psychology 1508: Dirty Hands Knowing is not enough, we must apply Willing is not enough we must Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Leading With Dirty Hands? “How you cling to your purity, young man! How afraid you are to soil your hands! All right, stay pure! What good will it do? Why did you join us? Purity is an idea for a yogi or a monk… To nothing, to remain motionless, arms at your side, wearing kid gloves Well, I have dirty hands Right up to the elbows I’ve plunged them in filth and blood But what you hope? Do you think you can govern innocently?” Jean Paul Sartre  The inevitability of errors  The inevitability of wrongdoing Choosing Between Right and Right “The inspirational approach [to ethics] offers little help with serious conflicts of responsibility What to when one clear right thing must be left undone in order to another or when doing the right thing requires doing something wrong?” Joseph Badaracco “An ethical decision typically involves choosing between two options: one we know to be right and another we know to be wrong A defining moment, however, challenges us in a deeper way by asking us to choose between two or more ideals in which we deeply believe Such challenges rarely have a ‘correct’ response.” Joseph Badaracco The Case of Honest Abe Choices leaders MUST make  Delivering bad news – layoffs – criticism  Remaining competitive – local manufacturing – how much to pay and to whom?  Political leadership – defining life (Terry Schiavo, abortion, etc) – just war? – Exit or Voice? (Stone, 1994) Making Right Versus Right Decisions  Hierarchy of Values  Principled AND Flexible (Janusian)  Life and liberty as highest values (axiomatic) “If freedom is lost, there will not even be equality among the unfree.” Karl Popper Making the “Right” Decision Clarify personal hierarchy of values  Take time to reflect (Batson and Darley, 1973)  “If there is a hallmark characteristic of authentic and exemplary leaders, it is that they continuously reflect back to move forward.” Bruce Avolio Making the “Right” Decision Clarify personal hierarchy of values  Take time to reflect (Batson and Darley, 1973)  Ask questions (of self and others)  Empathize  Seek beautiful enemies  Think systemically  Courage to face the truth and pay the price  The Inevitable Price of Leadership  The pain of wrongdoing  The pain of making mistakes  The pain of suffering rejection So why it?  The desire to make a difference! “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt (courtesy of Vikram) ... face the truth and pay the price  The Inevitable Price of Leadership  The pain of wrongdoing  The pain of making mistakes  The pain of suffering rejection So why it?  The desire to make a... The inevitability of errors  The inevitability of wrongdoing Choosing Between Right and Right “The inspirational approach [to ethics] offers little help with serious conflicts of responsibility... The Case of Honest Abe Choices leaders MUST make  Delivering bad news – layoffs – criticism  Remaining competitive – local manufacturing – how much to pay and to whom?  Political leadership