Three Attributes that DON'T Make You A Leader

What makes a leader?

For a long time when people said the word leadership what they meant was management or a business person, a politician, someone in the high-ranking echelon of society. But what is leadership and can anyone be a leader? Let me share with you three attributes today that don’t make you a leader.

A Title

A title doesn’t make you a leader. If you are a manager, President, CEO, etc at your work you might be a leader by default but that title doesn’t mean you will be good at being a leader. Everyone knows someone who worked their way into management at a company but had no more reason to be there than a turtle on a fence post. At the same time, all of us know managers who we believe to be good managers and possibly even leaders. Again a title doesn’t make you a real or successful leader.

Education

More or higher education does not make a person a leader. There are plenty of people out there with master's degrees and PHD who have no more skill being a leader than the Man in the Moon. Education is a tool. What you do with it or how you apply it is called wisdom. Having knowledge or wisdom can be a great asset to the leader but that doesn't not make you a leader.

Entrepreneur

“At its most basic level, entrepreneurship refers to an individual or a small group of partners who strike out on an original path to create a new business. An aspiring entrepreneur actively seeks a particular business venture and it is the entrepreneur who assumes the greatest amount of risk associated with the project. As such, this person also stands to benefit most if the project is a success.”-https://online.stanford.edu/what-is-entrepreneurship

However, an entrepreneur is not necessarily a leader or a good leader. They might be creative, imaginative, or know how the market works but leadership aspires to something else entirely.

A title doesn’t make you a leader; education doesn’t, experience doesn’t, and being an entrepreneur doesn’t. “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.” —John C. Maxwell. Next week we will take a look at Biblically what gives the Christian the ability and power to be a great leader.

Veena. “What Is Entrepreneurship? | Stanford Online.” Stanford Online, 6 Sept. 2023, online.stanford.edu/what-is-entrepreneurship.

Are You Morally Engaged: Moral Influence

Spider-Man

"With great power comes great responsibility" is a quote from Spiderman, but it perfectly explains the moral and ethical boundaries. Rhode (2006) breaks down the power of moral leadership, self-sacrifice and self-interest, managing philanthropy, and moral courage as the key ingredients to good governance. Power can corrupt self-serving individuals; however, leaders are more likely to be guided by their moral compass when they serve a purpose greater than themselves.

"If people have ethical values and those values shape their behavior, it is possible to regulate behavior by appealing to those values; this leads to the possibility of self-regulation, in which people are encouraged to take responsibility for their behavior. They could be encouraged to do so by the leaders of their own organizations, government authorities, or both" (Rhodes, 2006, p. 213). The statement implies that regardless of the purpose, it is possible to appeal to a leader's moral compass and shift back to ethical leadership if things become out of control. However, if unchecked, leadership's power can become a monster if left alone. Leaders have to learn the balance between self-interests and self-sacrifice. Managing that balance may be challenging, but aligning and pursuing the purpose is easier if the organization has a bigger purpose than self-pursuit. Philanthropic-type organizations face other challenges as they strive to make a difference in the world; Rhode (2006) emphasizes the need for accountability. Leaders should always be serving their organizations, employees, and stakeholders. If their decisions are self-serving, they may bring disaster to the organization and its people.

A key takeaway about the morality of leadership comes from Franco Bernabé, former CEO of Eni, "Leadership is fundamentally about humanity. It is about morality. Your primary job as a leader is to see what is good for your organization, and what is good for the people who work for you, and to create something for the well-being of your fellow citizens" (Rhode, 2006, p. 267). It takes courage to lead with morality and not to pursue self-interests; however, Jesus teaches us that leading is serving.

Think about how leading with serving can increase your impact in your industry.

References:

Rhode, D. L. (2006). The Theory and Practice of Power, Judgment, and Policy. Jossey-Bass.

Rule from the shadows: Psychology of power—Part 1. (2014, January 7). [YouTube.com]. Stormcloudsgathering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8ERfxWouXs

AYME: Ethical Challenges of A.I. Part Two

Are You Morally Engaged?

Continuing our discussion on moral practices of Artificial Intelligence.

Organizations should be accountable for their products or effects on societies with or without AI. Likewise, organizations cannot ignore the advances of AI. AI can assist their operations and competitive edge. Bossmann (2016) discusses several factors to consider about implementing AI; the first is the availability of jobs and wealth distribution. Living in China is very different from living in the US; for example, in the US, people clean up after themselves in fast food-style restaurants, but in China, if you do that, it isn't very kind and takes someone's job away. The next issue could be humanity vs. dehumanization. The AI bots may seem rigid now, but some AI bots converse with humans more naturally. If the AI is programmed well, it can guard against bias, racism, and silly human error. Ironically, AI programming is by humans and still needs to be overseen (Bostrom & Yudkowsky, 2014). Then, they can add to or infringe on personal security, depending on how much you share.

Most importantly, we must consider what can benefit society can also bring harm under the wrong motives. It is important to remember that AI is a tool and not a master. As leaders, we must ensure that we take moral and ethical measures. We all use some form of AI, from Grammarly-type programs to essential smartphone functions. How can your organization implement AI technologies with moral and ethical practices?

References:

Bossmann, J. (2016, October 21). Top 9 ethical issues in artificial intelligence. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/top-10-ethical-issues-in-artificial-intelligence/

Bostrom, N., & Yudkowsky, E. (2011). The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Cambridge University Press. https://nickbostrom.com/ethics/artificial-intelligence.pdf

ARE YOU MORALLY ENGAGED?: ETHICAL CHALLENGES OF A.I.

Is A.I good or bad?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the world we live in. Most people use AI daily through smartphones, search engines, and applications; it is usually not called AI but that is what it is that remembers your searches and predicts your next words. AI abilities are growing and making jobs more accessible and cost-efficient for business owners. However, the question arises about trust and oversight.

The creators of the algorithms that run the applications and software may not be as transparent as we thought. Bostrom and Yudkowsky (2014) consider a plausible future where AI algorithms reject a specific demographic. Could it be from learned behavior, or is it in the original programming? The ethical challenges continue with “Responsibility, transparency, auditability, incorruptibility, predictability, and a tendency to not make innocent victims scream with helpless frustration: all criteria that apply to humans performing social functions; all criteria that must be considered in an algorithm intended to replace human judgment of social functions; all criteria that may not appear in a journal of machine learning considering how an algorithm scales up to more computers” (Bostrom & Yudkowsky, 2011, p. 3). The AI algorithms are not just created to finish the task but compete with social development and human beings.

Ethically, the bottom line is not the only part the machines should meet. The designers and developers of Deep Blue, the chess-playing AI, had to limit the development and keep control or give up control so it could fully develop and compete in the game (Bostrom & Yudkowsky, 2014). The success of AI without oversight is an example of what it could be when creating AI with morals and ethics; otherwise, a person would always be able to manipulate and control the results, making it easy for moral disengagement and dehumanization. Messick says, “People are usually unaware of the factors that bias or skew our ethical judgments, and we suffer from what we might call the illusion of objectivity” (Rhode, 2006, p. 95).

Take some time to think about how AI can help organizations maintain their moral and ethical standards?

Further reading:

Bostrom, N., & Yudkowsky, E. (2014). The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Cambridge University Press. https://nickbostrom.com/ethics/artificial-intelligence.pdf

Rhode, D. L. (2006). The Theory and Practice of Power, Judgment, and Policy. Jossey-Bass.