Susan E. Murphy – författare

Today we often look to our leaders in business, government, or the social sector, to make effective decisions in a complex world. Whether they are asked what steps to take to improve competitiveness in a global economy or to make tough ethical choices, well-trained leaders are critical to organizational effectiveness. Although we know much about leadership development for individuals after they take their first job, we know relatively little about their earlier experiences that contributed to their interest in leadership or subsequent effectiveness as leaders. This volume brings together researchers who explore leadership at different points before individuals enter the workforce and asks important questions surrounding definitions of leadership behavior, necessary leader skills and age-related leader tasks, factors contributing to development of leader identity, and ways to improve the process of leader development. With contributions from well-known leadership researchers such as Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, Bruce Avolio, and Susan Komives, the volume shows research evidence for factors such as early childhood and youth experiences on leadership development, which have implications for the way we understand and train leadership in today’s organizations.

Today we often look to our leaders in business, government, or the social sector, to make effective decisions in a complex world. Whether they are asked what steps to take to improve competitiveness in a global economy or to make tough ethical choices, well-trained leaders are critical to organizational effectiveness. Although we know much about leadership development for individuals after they take their first job, we know relatively little about their earlier experiences that contributed to their interest in leadership or subsequent effectiveness as leaders. This volume brings together researchers who explore leadership at different points before individuals enter the workforce and asks important questions surrounding definitions of leadership behavior, necessary leader skills and age-related leader tasks, factors contributing to development of leader identity, and ways to improve the process of leader development. With contributions from well-known leadership researchers such as Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, Bruce Avolio, and Susan Komives, the volume shows research evidence for factors such as early childhood and youth experiences on leadership development, which have implications for the way we understand and train leadership in today’s organizations.

Two distinct factors make the ethics of leadership different from the ethics of other individuals. The first is power - the way leaders exercise it and the temptations that come with it. The second is the moral relationship they have with followers and the range of people with whom they have moral relationships and obligations. In The Quest for Moral Leaders, the contributors explore how leaders themselves view their role, as well as the ways in which leadership functions within business, politics and society. The volume begins with chapters examining how religious beliefs and emotions color the way leaders make decisions. The second section covers how leaders think about morality, while the book''s final chapters shift our attention to the function of leadership within organizations.

The first book to offer perspectives on leadership ethics from the ancient Greek ideas on reverence to the moral problems of executive compensation, The Quest for Moral Leaders is a must-read for scholars and students of leadership, ethics and business. Leadership consultants will also find this in-depth analysis a valuable resource.