The golden rule of leadership

  • Published
  • By Chaplain (Capt.) John Hubbs
  • 51st Fighter Wing
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) --  In most cases, what is considered legal isn’t quite the same as what is considered ethical. In a Venn diagram (John Venn was a priest by the way), “legal” would be a larger area encircling the smaller area of “ethical.” That which is allowed almost always includes a wider range of actions than that which is right. Ethical leadership concerns the message I write about.

Ethical leadership needs to be based on the same basic principle as ethical living in general. And the most classic of all principles for living is, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But what does the golden rule look like when applied to leading others?

First, it will mean that care for the people I lead takes precedence over concern for my career. We often say that mission comes first, and in our business it must. Talk of the mission, however, is sometimes nothing more than rhetoric to validate demands that benefit self. A friend of mine was an annual award winning wing superstar. Because he produced results, I thought of him as a great leader. But after he left, the senior NCOs in the unit shared with me how miserable life had been under his leadership. My friend’s award packages didn’t state how many retirements and separations his leadership resulted in, but those effects of his leadership were just as real as the things for which he was honored.

An incredible example of care for people is found in the Hebrew Scriptures, Numbers Chapter 27. God repeats to Moses that, in punishment for what seems an extremely minor offense, he will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. Imagine being told, “You’ve led a nation out of slavery, won multiple battles and maintained a cohesive unit on a 40-year deployment to the desert, but because of that time you lost your temper, you’re getting a ‘Do Not Promote’ on your performance report.” In the face of this colossal personal disappointment, however, Moses’ response is completely focused on his people; “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint someone who shall lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep without a shepherd.” How much better would the greatest military in the world be if all its leaders adopted an attitude like that of Moses?

Leading by the golden rule will also mean valuing my people’s ambitions as much as my own. In my days as a civilian pastor, I had a counselee who managed a local grocery store. He had begun working for the company in high school, and risen to the top through dedication and hard work. He continually complained to me about the poor work ethic of his youngest employees, until one day I pointed out to him something he hadn’t considered. His teenage employees had no desire to work for Hy-Vee Foods their entire lives like him. He could not expect them to be motivated as he was when their ambitions were completely different. I suggested to him it was his job as manager to find out what their ambitions were and explain to how doing their best at Hy-Vee was relevant to their future.

I have seen the same issue in the Air Force. We sell young people initially on what the military will do for them (education benefits especially), but then expect an automatic buy-in to concepts like “needs of the Air Force” once they’ve enlisted. It is probably more challenging now than ever before to accomplish the mission and still find ways to help our people attain their personal goals. However, if we ever want the second core value to be embraced (Service before self), we need to make sure our organization as a whole lives up to the first (Integrity first). A part of that is continually finding ways to motivate according to the promises someone made to them on behalf of the Air Force when they signed up.

Finally, I believe the golden rule will put a leader’s concern for people over his or her need to be liked. The teachers I liked the best in high school are not the same ones I do in retrospect. Now I appreciate the ones who made me learn and who demanded my best. They aren’t the ones who gave an easy “A.” A leader genuinely concerned for others creates a supporting environment in which people are able to do their best and holds them accountable for actually accomplishing it.

I know a high school baseball coach who does this naturally. When a player is not performing well, his recurring admonition from the dugout is, “You’re better than that.” It’s a simple phrase, but it epitomizes two critical messages he constantly delivers. One is, “I, your coach, believe in you,” and the second, “I expect your best effort.” His teams are almost always successful because he knows baseball, and his players know he cares about more than the score.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It may be entirely legal to do unto others as has been done unto you. What is simply within the rules isn’t the golden rule, however. Greatness, especially among leaders, always adheres to a higher standard. “Ethical” leaders are those who go for the gold - the golden rule.