R. Keith Iddings, PhD
Trivia question. In 458 BC, What production won the award for Best Picture, Best Original Script, and Best Director. Okay. You’re right. There were no Academy Awards at that time. But ancient Greece did hold the Dionysia festival every year in which the greatest playwrights of the age competed to see who could…
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It’s not news to anyone that our society is deeply fragmented. While the US has never truly been a melting pot, it appears that we continue to add new ways in which to separate from one another. Race, religion and country of origin have a long history of dividing our country. And while we…
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I listened to a CNN interview with commentator Peter Wehner about his July 5th article in the Atlantic magazine. His contention made a great deal of sense. From his perspective, evangelical whites believe they are in an existential fight for survival. The enemy is not the Soviets or atheistic totalitarians. Rather it is the liberal…
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The Insufficiency of Righteousness Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his book, Lessons In Leadership, discusses the failings of Noah. I had never thought Noah had many failings. Perhaps drunkenness toward the end of his life. However, he is described in scripture as a righteous man. In Genesis 6:9 the statement is made that “Noah was a…
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We Hate to Wait None of us likes the feeling of having nothing productive to do. Standing in a grocery line or sitting at a bus stop feels like a waste of time. We do not like waiting. Yet there are times when waiting can be strategically important. I constantly need this reminder. I feel…
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Football Wisdom Being a Wisconsin Badgers football fan is usually a pretty positive experience. The Badgers have had strong teams over the past quarter century. Though they may not win many national championships, they are generally toward the top of the Big Ten conference almost every year. So it was with sadness that I watched…
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Job Hunting There is nothing like an unexpected job hunt to throw you into the task of learning (or relearning) a new skill. Hopefully, for most of us, looking for a job is something we engage in very infrequently. But as anyone who has joined the ranks of the unemployed after a long period of…
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A Matter of Goals I left the discussion of whether or not good leaders must be “morally qualified” making a case that it depended on the goals of good leadership. Because leadership is a social venture, it makes sense to me that some benefit must accrue to those being led. I don’t think most of…
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A Conundrum In the first two blogs of this series, we have left unresolved the question of whether there is such a thing as a “moral qualification” for leadership. While I may like to think ethical leaders are more effective than unethical, the historical record is, at best, ambiguous. For every Marcus Aurelius or George…
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Is Amoral Leadership Best? I left off last week with an unresolved question. Does it matter if a leader behaves in an ethical manner? Does integrity help or hinder the leader? Might we be teaching managers and leaders the wrong things when we have classes on leadership ethics? Could it be best for a leader…
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