The nature-versus-nurture debate is alive and well when it comes to leaders. Some argue that leaders are born and naturally possess leadership skills that motivate others under their leadership. Others maintain that leaders are made in terms of skill and technique development. Kouzes and Posner suggest that if leaders are born, that would translate to leadership reserved for only a few of us. Regardless of the debate conclusion, morality in leadership is integral to leadership success. The late John Gardner, a Stanford professor and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, identified four moral goals of leadership (1993):
Releasing human potential.
Balancing the needs of the individual and the community.
Defending the fundamental values of the community.
Instilling in individuals a sense of initiative and responsibility.
Instructions:
Assess the ethical, community-focused leadership skills required for successful criminal justice practitioners in a wide range of interactions.
Determine whether leaders are born or made, based on research.
Explain the implications of leaders being born rather than made.
Analyze the four moral goals of leadership in terms of skills, approaches, and impacts on stakeholders.
Apply the four moral goals of leadership to a criminal justice leadership position example.