Publications

Presents summaries for the The Moral Leader course. View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Leadership; Power and Influence

2012
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Shelly London and Ethics Education—'Strengthening Our Moral Compass'

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Anne Arlinghaus

Shelly London and Ethics Education — 'Strengthening Our Moral Compass' 2009 AL Fellow
Following a successful career as a Senior Vice President, Vice President, and Chief Communications Officer at two large corporate companies, Shelly London set out to promote... View Details

2007
Text Book

Teaching the Moral Leader: A Literature-Based Leadership Course

This book is a comprehensive, practical manual to help instructors integrate moral leadership in their own courses, drawing from the experience and resources of the Harvard Business School course "The Moral Leader," an MBA elective taken by thousands of HBS students... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Curriculum and Courses; Moral Sensibility; Body of Literature; Books; Leadership; Personal Development and Career

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Moral Muscle

Can we get better at moral decision making? How is the capacity to exercise moral leadership developed? One answer to these questions is the notion of “moral muscle,” which is a combination of moral awareness (the ability to recognize situations that can be... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Ethics; Decision Making

2006
Chapter

Three Practical Challenges of Moral Leadership

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Andrew Molinsky

Keywords: Ethics; Trust; Leadership Style; Problems and Challenges

August 2024
Background Note

Your True Moral Compass

By: Joseph L. Badaracco

This note explores the concept of a "moral compass" for making difficult decisions in leadership roles. It argues that the standard view of a moral compass as a simple, internal guide is inadequate for complex situations. Instead, it proposes that our true moral... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Decision Choices and Conditions

Educators

19 Nov 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching The Moral Leader

the course: One is a textbook, The Moral Leader: Challenges, Tools, and Insights, that provides historical and social context for the works read in the course, as well as instructional materials. The other is an instructor's guide,... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

2023
Book

Your True Moral Compass: Defining Reality, Responsibility, and Practicality in Your Leadership Moments

By: Joseph L. Badaracco

This book presents a new, powerful, and practical way of making final decisions on the hard, complex, uncertain problems of life and work. What if you have looked at the data, talked with trusted colleagues, and applied all the relevant managerial and ethical... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Decisions; Work-Life Balance; Values and Beliefs

Find at Harvard

2007
Text Book

The Moral Leader: Challenges, Tools, and Insights

Successful leaders—at any level and in any arena—are inevitably presented with moral and ethical choices. This unique and innovative textbook is designed to encourage students and managers to confront those fundamental moral challenges, to develop skills in moral... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Moral Sensibility; Leadership

Find at Harvard

September 2004 (Revised November 2012)
Module Note

Module I: Moral Challenge Class Summaries

What is a moral challenge? Explores four main types of moral challenge: the challenge of survival, the conflict between "two rights," a moral dilemma—or situation in which it is impossible to satisfy conflicting moral obligations and commitments—and the challenge of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Conflict of Interests

February 2007
Module Note

Trifles Summary: Reasoning from Moral Theory

A summary of the major themes discussed in the fifth class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum). View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Moral Sensibility; Business Education

April 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Background Note

Moral Decision-Making: Reason, Emotion & Luck

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Julianna Pillemer

This extensive note synthesizes current psychological and neuroscientific research on how people make decisions with moral implications. Research summaries and scenarios illustrate critical issues. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Moral Sensibility; Leadership; Science; Emotions

Educators

29 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

A Manager’s Moral Obligation to Preserve Capitalism

Most of us tend not to think of capitalism as a moral system. The prevailing view of the free market, among laypeople and economists alike, is that it's one step removed from the law of the jungle. But the fact is that capitalism has... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2004 (Revised April 2010)
Module Note

Module II: Moral Reasoning Class Summaries

Presents class summaries for the The Moral Leader course. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Moral Sensibility; Leadership; Cognition and Thinking

November 22, 2023
Article

Unifying Your Company Around a Moral Goal

By: Ranjay Gulati

In turbulent times, companies need a reliable anchor to guide decision-making. When organizations become moral communities, underpinned by purpose, they provide that stability for stakeholders as well as a reassuring sense of hope, solidarity, agency, and meaning.... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; Leadership

November 2011
Case

Celeritas, Inc.: Leadership Challenges in a Fast-Growth Industry

By: Michael Beer and Ingrid Vargas

In 2011, Celeritas is a leading data communications company in the crowded, highly competitive, and ever-evolving enterprise-network optimization market. Having experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2003, Celeritas has recently seen sales decline and has begun... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Morale; Conflict; Organizational Change; Team Building; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Leadership; Communication; Groups and Teams; Attitudes; Conflict and Resolution; Information Technology Industry; Communications Industry

Educators

28 Jun 2022
Book

The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose

claimed “the status of a man must be such that his self-respect is fully maintained, and his relationship with his employer and his fellow-workmen is that of a gentleman and a citizen.” "The sense that business was at heart a moral... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

February 2007
Module Note

A Man for All Seasons Summary: Reasoning from Multiple Moralities

A summary of the major themes discussed in the eight class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum). View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Leadership; Decision Choices and Conditions

November 2011
Teaching Note

Celeritas, Inc.: Leadership Challenges in a Fast-Growth Industry (Brief Case)

By: Michael Beer and Ingrid Vargas

Teaching Note for 4360. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Morale; Conflict; Organizational Change; Team Building; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Leadership; Communication; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution