Was Hitler A Leader?

“Was Hitler a leader?” “Was Saddam Hussein a leader?” “Was David Koresh a leader?”

Leadership is a process and a set of practices. Leadership is amoral. The process and practices admit no right or wrong. All processes can be used for good or evil. Nuclear science, biological science, social science: each can be used to heal or to kill. Processes themselves are neither positive nor negative. People give processes their charge.

Leaders, however, are most decidedly moral or immoral…. We wish we could say that only moral people can develop the abilities to get others to want to follow them. But we cannot. Everyone of us should therefore be ever vigilant, watching for those who chose to lead others in immoral ways toward evil ends – or moral ways to evil ends, or immoral ways to good ends. This vigilance means that it is essential that you, as a constituent, demand to know what your leaders value. It is also why you, as a leader, must discover what you believe to be right conduct and right results.

From Kouzes & Posner