Although sound moral judgment is an important characteristic of an effective leader, it is not as important as a leader’s ability to maintain the respect of his or her peers.

<a class="_1Uso5bM8J5Wni-kP-8_HfA" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(29, 160, 221); font-family: Tondo, Arial, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-line;"><mark style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(201, 237, 222); padding: 4px;">Sound moral judgment is the pillar of effective leadership. Leaders that exhibit sound moral judgment often create a healthy and productive commitment to achieving sustainable goals by influencing the actions of individual group members.</mark><div class="_1JVNgLgYDN-dhuxUG3owf0" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(146, 218, 189); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline-block;"><span class="_1Lk9SHdFB0Ittdc0oBRmJI" style="box-sizing: border-box; align-items: center; display: flex; height: 28px; justify-content: center; width: 28px;"><br></span></div></a><span style="color: rgb(75, 80, 78); font-family: Tondo, Arial, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-line;"> Sound moral judgment yields a moral compass that guides members and quickly becomes salient to group members. This moral compass illustrates how members of the group or organization become successful. Additionally, this moral compass serves as a set of norms that unify the group or organization..

Both sound moral judgment and the respect of one’s peers are important characteristics of an effective leader. However, a leader that is focused too much on gaining respect from peers may compromise his/her ethical standards.. Many leaders are charged with developing and exacting plans that affect the success of the group. The objective of these plans should be to maintain or improve a group’s ability to achieve the goals set within that plan. By focusing primarily on maintaining the respect of one’s peers, a leader could compromise the integrity of that plan in favor of the esteem of their peers.

</span><a class="_1Uso5bM8J5Wni-kP-8_HfA" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(29, 160, 221); font-family: Tondo, Arial, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-line;"><mark style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(201, 237, 222); padding: 4px;">Compromising the integrity of the plan could result in actions that are detrimental to the success of the group, which could deplete the moral judgment of individual group members.</mark><div class="_1JVNgLgYDN-dhuxUG3owf0" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(146, 218, 189); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline-block;"><span class="_1Lk9SHdFB0Ittdc0oBRmJI" style="box-sizing: border-box; align-items: center; display: flex; height: 28px; justify-content: center; width: 28px;"><br></span></div></a><span style="color: rgb(75, 80, 78); font-family: Tondo, Arial, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-line;"> Additionally, a leader that lacks sound moral judgment could create an environment conducive to counterproductive or even deviant behaviors that negatively affect the ability of individual group members to successfully achieve individual goals, effectively impeding the success of the entire group. </span><a class="_1Uso5bM8J5Wni-kP-8_HfA" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(29, 160, 221); font-family: Tondo, Arial, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-line;"><mark style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(201, 237, 222); padding: 4px;">Finally, a leader that strives to maintain the integrity of the group by engaging in actions that are driven by morality is more likely to earn the respect of their peers and maintain unity among group members because leaders that exhibit actions driven by a particular value system are perceived as more predictable and therefore their actions yield less uncertainty than those that do not follow a system of values.</mark><div class="_1JVNgLgYDN-dhuxUG3owf0" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: rgb(146, 218, 189); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); display: inline-block;"><span class="_1Lk9SHdFB0Ittdc0oBRmJI" style="box-sizing: border-box; align-items: center; display: flex; height: 28px; justify-content: center; width: 28px;"><br></span></div></a><span style="color: rgb(75, 80, 78); font-family: Tondo, Arial, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-line;">

If a leader focuses more intently on the respect of their peers, they may sacrifice their own value system, which may result in individual members compromising their own value systems. Value systems are often the driving force behind the success of a group because they create unity among members, as members are less likely to engage in opportunistic behaviors that could result in group fragmentation, which can deplete the integrity of the relationships among individual group members. A group that is fragmented is less likely to engage in unified and productive behaviors because there is a lack of a substantive connection among members.

Both sound moral judgment and the respect of one’s peers is important to effective leadership. However, sound moral judgment is the most important characteristic that a leader can have, as sound moral judgment creates an environment conducive to a unified purpose, which subsequently leads to improved productivity among individual group members.</span><br>