An authentic leader, a moral leader is supposed to make the right and ethical decisions.

On a side note; I believe that it is good to recognize the difference between personal beliefs or morals, and the standards of society or ethics, but in the context of being an effective leader we can not fully separate our beliefs from our decisions.

Joseph had a strong moral sense of right and wrong. Joseph was helping his brothers care for flocks (sheep, goats, or something), his brothers did something they were not supposed to do, and Joseph told on them (Genesis 37:2). This together with Jacob favoring Joseph, his brothers did not like him.

Does this sense of justice and morals really make for good leadership? Maybe it would be better to be a strong man?

People following strength versus them following moral character basically comes to security. People look for a leader that makes them feel secure.

Internal versus External

Theologians and philosophers discuss Natural Law (or Law of Human Nature depending on what silly language your type of philosophy uses), basically the desire to get a fair deal in life. We do not want ourselves to be seen as a ‘bad person’. For better explanation of this read C.S. Lewis’s first chapter of Mere Christianity. If each of us has an internal sense of morality, what keeps us from acting morally? The short answer is sin nature with anger, greed, etc. drives us to cheat, lie, and steal. A leader with a desire to make ‘right’ and fair decisions is a moral leader, or a leader with a strong sense of morals. People tend to turn to moral leaders for long term leadership while they reach for strong-man leadership when they desire quick results.

How much does our attention span effect our choices in leaders?

Nature versus Nurture

Where did Joseph get his strong sense of morals? Did this come to him from the nurturing of his family; mother, father, and brothers, or did this come from a nature, an inner character?

It did not come from his mother, Rachel. We have two stories showcasing Rachel’s lack of morals. First, she did whatever she could to have a child by Jacob, even making her servant have sex with him as a surrogate mother so that Rachel could claim the child as her own (Genesis 30:1-24). Second, she was willing to steal her father’s prized idols and then risked ruining the relationship between her husband and her father just so she could hide the idols for herself (Genesis 31). I get the impression Rachel loved herself more than she loved her family.

What about Joseph’s father, Jacob? How much of a morally conscience person was Jacob? In his younger days, he cons his brother Esau into giving up his birth right (Genesis 25:29-34). Then at Rebecca’s bidding, he disguises himself as Esau to trick his father into giving him the special blessing (Genesis 27). Theologians often refer to Jacob as a deceiver. While it might be possible that he became a better example by the time Joseph was born, the chance of Jacob sharing a moral sense of right and wrong with Joseph is small.

What about Joseph’s older brothers? Sure, they sold Joseph into slavery, but could any of them have been an example of moral character for Joseph? It is more likely that Joseph acted as an example of moral character to his brothers. We have stories about their immorality; lying, killing, cheating, sexual relations (Genesis 34 and 38). Rueben, Simeon, and Levi demonstrate a strong sense of honor but we should not confuse this with the desire to do right (Genesis 34:30-31, 42:37). We do not see outstanding characters we can trust.

To a certain degree we say that Joseph was naturally a moral person. Joseph often looks to God for guidance. We could assume that God gave Joseph a sense of right and wrong, a desire to make things right. I do not believe that this excuses us from teaching our children about right and wrong, and about being moral people. Also, we should not falsely think that telling our children to be moral and then acting immoral is teaching our children how to be moral. We must teach both in our words and deeds. In the end, there will be a blend between what has been taught, nurture, and internal character, nature.

Joseph appears to have been an honest and fair leader, who people trusted. I believe that trustworthiness developed as apart of his character in his youth. I also believe that we should teach our children to be moral trustworthy people, along with acting as moral leaders ourselves. It is easy for us to sit around and talk about all the ‘right things’ we expect other people in power to do. How easy is it to stop talking about the ‘right things’ and go do the ‘right things’ ourselves?

A Person We Can Trust

I could try to point to studies supporting my claims that we should be moral leaders. Unfortunately, while studies show a tendency to desire a moral leader, many times the person who ends up in authority is not moral, rather seeks to carry out an agenda of greed and anger. This highlights our sin nature while we desire to do the right thing we choose to do the wrong. We desire a moral leader, as a secular writer and philanthropist once wrote

The Leader who brings redemption sounds familiar.

People may choose the strong loud person as a quick choice of leadership. Though I believe that deep down we desire a secure leader, a person we can trust to do the right thing. Studies may be a bit fuzzy on choosing a moral leader but the evidence of an effective group being led by a moral leader cannot be argued.

Being a moral just person will have little effect on being chosen for leadership, but morality is important for being a good leader. Both moral and immoral leaders generate results, the difference is in the type of results. Followers of moral leaders reflect this by being trustworthy, hard working, and often innovative. While Joseph’s moral sense would eventually make him a trusted leader, in the short term it drove his brothers to sell him as a slave.

How do your morals effect your leadership?

Joseph in Slavery