#and i really hate receiving moral imperatives in the form of not very good free verse esp with accompanying trite nature imagery

[unopenablebox]

uuuuuugh i am going to spend the rest of my life intensely irritated by every congregation i go to for not being the congregation i grew up in. and that one doesn't even EXIST anymore because my rabbi got excommunicated!!! so what am i going to even do!

[she-shall-conquer]

Week 5: Mammon

Daft, R. (2017). The Leadership Experience (7th ed., pp. Chapter 6). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning

When we are ruled, we are swayed, even when we don’t intend to be. That which you value most will consume you and will direct your desires, your actions and your entire life.

I’ve had the unfortunate opportunity of witnessing leaders that used to be incredible and genuine, become swayed by the worries of life and begin to make decisions based on financial profit, when their entire leadership role is devoted to people and finance should really not be anything worth thinking about. Unfortunately because of the failed or unrealised, or a badly thought out vision, and a strong charismatic leadership which had faltered after there had been inadequate foresight, fear took over and a survivalist mentality emerged. This compromised the leadership integrity and perhaps not realising it, an egoist morality was embraced (doing what’s best for me) rationalised in whichever way it had to be to justify decisions made and livelihoods compromised in the process.

There are a couple of Scriptures that come to mind to visually illustrate what I am talking about.

Matthew 6:24 

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

(We can’t kid ourselves, which one of these will save us? Which one is important to us? Which one do we serve and work for, which one keeps us up at night or brings us joy?)

James 1:6-8 

6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

(Doubt and anxiety and fear are all related, and when we doubt, or do not trust God, we become self-seeking and self-preserving and we easily lose sight of love, because love casts out fear)

You see, ethics has to with accepted social norms and can be found on a continuum of sorts, whereas moral systems are more personal and comprehensive, having to do with the core of who you are and what you believe. The relationship between them could be understood as morals being your way of thinking regarding right or wrong and ethics being your actions based on morals and socially accepted norms.

The problem in this situation, I surmise, is that they were completely convinced that they are acting ethically and that their moral compass is still in line, but maybe they have overlooked their blind spots, of their style of leadership, has gotten in the way of them being able to handle any form of upwards management?

In Kantian ethics, we are presented with an outlook that determines that good ethics depends on the heart attitude and that if an action is not well-intended or genuine, it is not ethical. This I feel I would subscribe to – however, we do run the risk of making decisions that are terrible and cause pain, but because we think we are doing the right thing and we are not self-aware enough, or humble enough, we end up acting unethically. There has to be an absolute moral standard such as Utilitarianism suggests, otherwise, we would not be able to have a legal system or protocols, ethics guidelines like the King IV Report (Corporate Governance Guidelines) would be useless. There has to be a crossover and a balance.

Why is ethics desirable? What do we compromise when we embrace unethical means of business? And how on earth do we justify our horrible actions?

Servant leadership falls in the contemporary relational approach to leadership and is currently recognised as a superior style of leadership that often goes hand in hand with moral or ethical leadership. I guess the true definition of good morality has to include the soul-searching that must be done in identifying shortcomings of self and humanity and seeking the light, the good, that which is worthwhile. Ethical practices are desirable because in the long term they build and sustain important business and personal relationships, it builds an atmosphere of love and respect, instead of deceit and distrust. Time and time again, history has shown us the devastating effects of unethical leadership, families, companies, countries, stock markets and the whole financial system across the world is negatively impacted by unethical decisions for short term profit.

Because leaders set the example and the culture for the rest of the company, there truly is something of a Shakespearean justice when unethical leaders get ousted, unethically, by the followers they have modelled this unethical behaviour too.  Honesty, fairness and honouring agreements is important for long term success which is compromised by selfish short-term decisions that are made. A business cannot be run like a transactional machine if the company aims to have any achievements, momentum, or vitally imperative innovation for this current age – this is all compromised, as employees become resentful and distrusting, everyone begins to fend for themselves and lives get destroyed in the balance. In these kinds of situations, it often happens that there is a thinly veiled facade of ethical or moral leadership to those outside or on the good side of the unethical leader and only when conflict arises, when error is exposed, does the unethical leader’s true character become apparent, like a glistening glow only seen in the sunlight so it is with the snake like manipulation that might never confront you to your face but will have no problem whatsoever breaking apart everything that means anything to you to get you to acquiesce, to break, to adhere.

Unethical leaders compromise growth opportunities that come from open door policies and accepting the wonders of good followership. By creating environments of fear, control, and manipulation, they only ever force people to stay until people become strong enough or numb enough or disillusioned enough to leave. A big problem is that often those with no empathy or no ethical standards get into positions where it is expected or required, so that they never have to exhibit the behaviour, but it is assumed because of their title. A priest wouldn’t molest children, right? A mega-pastor would steal money from poor people in big crusades, right? A pastor wouldn’t lie, manipulate and by unethically destructive in response to followers raising concerns about ethical practices, right?

Well. History speaks for itself. It is the situation you never want to be the wiser for…

It starts when no one is looking, or when the person you are dealing with can’t contribute any value to you. As leaders, we need to be careful who we trust and how we trust them. You can trust someone in your unique relationship with them, but you have to understand what they’re saying and where they’re coming from and watch that they do not deceive you with emotional appeals and glistening lies. Good ethics means good business – the truth will defend itself and injustice cannot prevail, God-willing.

One way to side step this entire mess is to embrace the servant leadership approach. When you’re not focused on yourself, but rather on others and a greater good, you don’t have a problem of egoist decision making.

To be honest, I’ve studied psychology, been a part of counselling programs, studied management and even read through the flaws in moral judgements presented by this unit, and I still, for the life  of me, cannot (to the very depths of my being) understand how or why people can act so very terribly towards other people. The problem with that though is that I too cause other people pain, but its in the small things where I know that I have a deep sense of guilt and sorrow for the pain I’ve caused, where other people have justified it to such an extent that they see absolutely nothing wrong with their actions. Either I know a lot of psychopaths, or there must be something that I’m missing. I know it's a gentle winding road of deception. A small blind eye can in time lead to devastating results. Unfortunately trusting someone who is your leader over your own moral judgement will in time lead to your own demise. It’s a catch 22 where you get burnt either way. What do you do?

You have to act with courage, even when it’s tough, even when your reputation gets dragged through the mud again and again and again, even when your closest friends betray you, act with courage and follow the voice of justice and righteousness in your heart. Act in love and be gracious so far as you can. I know what it is to let fear take hold of me, to struggle to trust, to second guess every action because I’ve been hurt so badly. You owe it to yourself and others to heal and to be the leader you never had. Don’t settle. Don’t acquiesce. Don’t ignore your emotions. And in a very different kind of sense where good is light and darkness is wrongdoing, follow the words of Dylan Thomas:

“Do not go gentle into that good night, but rage, rage, against the dying of the light”

Do not fear your mortality, your fallibility, your loneliness, your pain, your abuse, your rejection. Fear does not become you and it is a poison that you drink to comfort you. It is a fair-weather friend that lives to betray you. In grace and humility, you are free to fall and get up again to run towards the glorious vision of community and love. Fear will tempt, but do not let it master you! Keep your boundaries, they will protect you and others! When you don’t act in the face of injustice, you contribute towards it.