360 Global Ethics for Leadership
ers”^295. If the individual interests of all members, including the leader,
are viewed as a private interest, a leader’s mission is to realize this kind
of interest.
28.4 Immoral Self-Cultivation
Furthermore, leaders who accomplish nothing at the cost of emphasis
on self-cultivation or even sacrificing the benefits of the organisation
members for gaining private benefits are considered immoral. Moral
leadership comes from leader’s achievement rather than his/her self-
cultivation. In other words, a moral leader should be decisive and bold
in action which is the priority of leadership. Here is an example of
strongly praised by the emperor Mang Wang (45~23 B.C.) in the East
Han dynasty, a Chinese ancient scholar. For his personality, he was de-
votedly attached to learning and never got wearied although his child-
hood was rather miserable. He shouldered filial duties to parents and
made friends with talented people. Also, he had a successful official
career as he has been courteous to the talents with justice and willing to
help others. He even required his son to commit suicide to apologize for
the guilt of killing the family servant.
Accordingly, being decisive and courageous is the basis of a leader’s
moral charisma. When confronted with problems regarding right and
wrong, or innovation where opportunities and challenges come in pair,
or choice between personal achievements and team objectives, a leader's
decisiveness reflected his/her morality, a quality that goes beyond
his/her mere style or personality. It is a showcase of his morals as a
leader. According to the utilitarianism established by John S. Miller and
Jeremy Bentham, leaders need to act decisively to bring the ultimate
happiness to the greatest majority. It fits in the convention that “if it
295
“A Ming Barbarian Waiting for a Visitor”, Zong-xi Huang, Ancient Books
Publishing House, 1955.