LEADERS AND THE MORAL HIGH GROUND

Ever since when I did my MBA at the Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines in the 1982/83 session a paper that I liked and which continue to fascinate me till today is on the Sources and Uses of Power.

In any organization or company there will be an organization chart which shows its formal organization set-up. The organization chart forms part of the company's current strategies in meeting its strategic targets, namely, in terms of profitability, its market share, productivity and etc.

But there is also an equally important one, that is, the informal set up of the company where the dynamics of human behavior in the organization occurs. This involves the politicking between the various personalities in the company trying to acquire power and influence. This may be through establishing relationship between certain senior powerful management members who are not necessarily reporting to one another but they have close relationships and also establishing relationship with peer groups or lower ranking staff who are not necessarily reporting to them but more as their mentees.

The old boys networks in these organizations are ready made instruments for these purposes. For others it could be their racial background for example among the Chinese executives, they always tend to go together for their lunches. Others share the same states of origin like those from Kelantan, Kedah, Johore etc etc. These networkings provide free flows of information through the various levels. As we know , knowledge is power. That is the fulcrum of these networkings.

But these informal leaders just as the formal leaders with their powers and influence come also with responsibilities and obligations.

They are accountable for their actions and conduct. They must be seen over time to be making good decisions. Their reputations are also dependent on their decision making skills and character. Any mistakes made by them will not only destroy their reputation but will also undermine their effectiveness.

Reputation is everything in life. As executives they should know what Napoleon said about leadership namely that "there are no bad soldiers only bad officers".

An officer's integrity and conduct thus forms an important aspect of his reputation. An officer should behaves impeccably and be above board all the time and in all circumstances. There should be no hanky panky. If all executives act in the best interest of the organizations that they worked in , naturally these organizations will show good profitability and growth.

Thus an executive whatever his position in the organization whether high or low will need to have high integrity and good conduct. Only with these characteristics can talks or acts from the high moral ground to strengthen and maintain his position as a powerful and influential figure in his organization.

There is no two way about it. As they say "you cannot have the cake and eat it".