From: Lisette Reyes, Samuel Roe
To: Ambassador Kamal
Date: October 16, 2001

Class Notes, October 16, 2001

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this summation is to present Ambassador Kamal’s Concepts in Leadership class held in October 16, 2001, in which chapters 7, 8, and 9 of John W. Gardner’s book On Leadership was discussed and analyzed.

BACKGROUND

Chapter 7 is entitled, “The Moral Dimension” which was presented by Nace Naumoski and Alison Buckley. Both did an extraordinary job presenting the criteria of good and effective leadership that answers the fundamental question of why must a leader demonstrate ethically sound leadership. They also offered several examples of effective but non-ethical leaders such as Idi Amin of Haiti, Stalin, and the infamous, Adolf Hitler. Ambassador Kamal noted that ethical leadership is of extreme importance to this course and will be covered in detail in the next book.

Chapter 8 is entitled, “Large-Scale Organizations” which was presented by Mike Santaspirit and Nicole Braun. In this chapter, two important aspects of effective leadership were covered which are dispersion of power and the decision making process it requires. Ambassador Kamal made several models symbolizing the dispersion of power. He stated that the “triangular model” was the best model representing proper dispersion of power. Next he drew the “Hershey bar model” which is a poor representation of effective leadership because it symbolized pluralism. All “bars” are of equal shape signifying that there is no leadership taking place.

Chapter 9 is entitled, “Fragmentation and the Common Good” which was presented by Julie Vakulenko and Casey Fry. Another important topic is highlighted in this chapter is the “common good.” Ambassador Kamal noted that the “common good” is difficult to define because its definition varies from time to time and people to people. Ambassador Kamal brings up one important point in the “common good” in that it should be dynamic.

ANALYSIS

Several important principles encompass all three chapters. First, a component of effective leadership is introduced- ethical leadership. The crux of ethical leadership is that a leader’s action must correspond with the morality of the lead. Second, the dispersion of power is necessary to avoid the pitfalls associated with large-scale organizational management. Lastly, a leader must realize that the “common good” is a fluid concept in order to exercise adaptive leadership.

CONCLUSON

In conclusion, all three topics mentioned above are pivotal to good and effective leadership leadership. If they are adhered to, future leaders can avoid the moral and logistical complexities that are almost unavoidable while leading.