Ethical Leadership  is a book by Alfred Sonnenfeld (physician, theologian and professor of Anthropology and Ethics) that proposes a  silent revolution  in leadership based on  inner coherence , moral integrity and service to the common good.  

We could highlight some characteristics of this work:

• Transformative approach : It is not a technical management guide, but a  philosophical, ethical and spiritual work  that combines classical wisdom, neurobiology and practical experiences.
• Authority vs. Power : Distinguishes between imposed power and  moral authority  earned from within, arguing that the true leader inspires trust through example and not through charisma or immediate effectiveness.
• Neurobiology and character : Sonnenfeld uses  neuroplasticity  to demonstrate that character is not genetically determined, but rather shaped by habits, ethical decisions, and the cultivation of virtues such as prudence, temperance, and justice.
• First-person ethics : Criticizes utilitarian and technocratic ethics, advocating for a  personal ethic  where the leader asks “who am I when I do what I do?”, prioritizing human dignity over mere efficiency or quick results.
• Recognition : The work was awarded as the  best business book 2020  at the KnowSquare Awards, highlighting its relevance in times of crisis of values ​​and institutional discredit.

The central message is that  everyone  can exercise ethical leadership, regardless of their hierarchical position, as long as they put the  dignity of the person  at the center and act with generosity and consistency between being and doing.

Ethical reflection on leadership

One specific perspective on ethics is leadership, which we could define as  learning to live in such a way that my existence reaches the fullness to which it is entirely destined . This is something that does not depend on changing circumstances or who holds power. It depends on me, on my fundamental way of being, on the values ​​that define me, on the aspirations I cherish, on the operational possibilities at my disposal, and on the path I must follow to achieve a fulfilling life . Leadership remains, ultimately, a radically personal and autobiographical phenomenon.

The mission of leadership and ethics is not to solve riddles or puzzles about whether something should or should not be done in certain circumstances . Ethical reflection on leadership does not aim to dictate everything that each person should do . In other words, we do not want to provide ready-made solutions, but rather the necessary tools for each individual to seek and find, based on their own experience, the path that leads them, through their personal choices, to a fulfilling life . By fulfilling life, we mean a life lived to the fullest, which encompasses much more than the various partial aspects of a company director’s work.

These partial goals are undoubtedly of great importance, but they must be seen in relation to the whole, just as the parts relate to the whole. However many business successes a leader may have achieved, failure in their family life could, in the long run, lead to the existential frustration we referred to earlier . Ethics helps us rise above particular goods to reflect on the life lived in its entirety and demands respect for the good of human life as a whole .

Importance of the personal mission

Ethical leadership requires each person to clarify what matters to them in life, what they are willing to make decisions about within their control, and this will also determine their communication style.  In doing so, they will become aware of their priority values ​​(a hierarchy of values) and how they will guide their life to achieve fulfillment, which, in the short or long term, will positively impact the operational capabilities of those who work with them.

Viktor Frankl, the founder of logotherapy   and a long prisoner in the horrific Nazi concentration camps, felt what “bare existence” meant to him like few others. His parents, his brother, and even his wife died in the camps or were sent to the gas chambers; all but one sister perished. The only thing he had left—as Frankl himself stated—was the capacity to choose, that is, the personal ability to decide in the face of any given set of circumstances.  How can we awaken in others the responsibility to live, however adverse the circumstances may be?  To answer this question, Frankl frequently quotes Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous phrase:

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” But this “why” must be found by each person using their own responsibility  , which cannot be replaced by anyone.

Defining our personal mission is an essential requirement for effective leadership. This is impossible for someone who is constantly adrift.

When the only criterion of truth is efficiency and utility, improvement is automatically denied, because the true perfection of man does not consist primarily in doing.

The key to development lies in an intelligence capable of understanding technology and grasping the fully human meaning of each person’s work. We therefore need new eyes and a new heart to recognize the importance of engaging in the common good and, in this way, to know how to prioritize our work and daily tasks.

 When the only criteria for truth are efficiency and utility, improvement is automatically denied, because true human perfection does not consist primarily in doing . The key to development lies in an intelligence capable of understanding technology and grasping the fully human meaning of each person’s work. We therefore need new eyes and a new heart to realize the importance of engaging in the common good and, in this way, to know how to prioritize our work and our daily tasks.

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José Miguel Ponce