Drucker on Leadership: New Lessons from the Father of Modern Management

Part II. Ethics and Personal Integrity

Drucker was one of the most ethical individuals I have ever met. He saw strategic planning as the foundation of leadership for all organizations and ethics and personal integrity as necessary conditions for successfully building on this foundation. In his earliest writings on the subject, he stated that leadership was exercised through character, and though followers might forgive a leader much, they would not forgive a lack of integrity.^[44]

However, Peter's views on ethics were different and ran contrary to much of what others taught. He distinguished between business ethics and personal integrity, and, although he believed both were necessary for effective leadership, he was very cautious of absolute interpretations ...