Julius Caesar As an Ethical Essay

Caesar was an ethical leader because he focused on reforming society in order for the world's well-being as a whole to be possible. "Leaders of this type question whether "business as usual" is what they want to keep doing, and likely advocate changes to the accepted system" (Grace 9). He wanted change to happen and he wanted it to happen during his leadership, as he observed how many of his predecessors and rivals were firstly interested in their personal well-being. His leadership generated much controversy as many people were unable to understand why it was beneficial for them to have an ethical leader. Society was accustomed to leaders who were ruthless and Caesar thus confused the masses with regard to the attitude that they needed to employ concerning their leader.

Trustworthiness was an essential trait in Caesar and this was reflected by the fact that he paid special attention to promises he made and went through great efforts in order to complete them. This man was determined to have people see that he truly wanted them to trust him and provided them with his true nature in an attempt to emphasize his selfless nature. Surely, it would be absurd to claim that he was not competitive and particularly concerned in being a leader. However, unlike other leaders throughout history, he actually wanted his simple people to share his success. Romans in general felt that they were a unique people because Caesar induced victorious feelings in them. He wanted them to know that Rome was not necessarily great because of its leader, as all of its citizens played important roles in securing its position in the world as one of the strongest powers that ever existed.

Law emerged as one of the most important concepts during Caesar's reign. He was actively engaged in devising laws that would provide Roman citizens with the chance to be happy while being involved in helping the community progress. He performed ethical acts on a constant basis and this influenced his subordinates to come to believe that it was in their best interest to support his actions.

The fact that the most powerful part of the community felt that it was provided with unfair treatment because underprivileged individuals were also provided with rights meant that Caesar gathered a lot of enemies during his leadership, as it was difficult for wealthy people to switch from having the power to having to accept that they were basically equal to poor individuals.Caesar could have accumulated significant resources if he concentrated on short-term gains and would have probably become one of the most powerful tyrants in the history of humanity. However, he was more concerned about long-term gain and the fact that he was most concerned about being a leader influenced him to adopt strategies that would guarantee his position. As a consequence, most of his actions were meant to reinforce his position and actually succeeded in having the masses feel that it would only be natural for them to support him and his actions. This is what made it possible for him to be one of the most important ethical leaders in history and what provided individuals who followed in his footsteps with important information concerning the attitudes they needed to employ in order to be successful and loved leaders.

Conclusion

All things considered, Caesar was a person who knew how to act when presented with ethical dilemmas and who spent most of his time trying to help other people by introducing them with a form of positive control. Rome thrived greatly during his ruling and this was not necessarily owed to the military campaigns it experienced. It was actually owed to the fact that Caesar introduced a series of laws that enabled citizens to focus on complex thinking in order to upgrade their community as a whole.

Works cited:

Grace, William, J., "Ethical Leadership: In Pursuit of the Common Good," (CEL publications, 01.01.1999)

McNamara, Patrick, and Trumbull, David, "An Evolutionary Psychology of Leader-Follower Relations," (Nova Publishers, 2007)

Mullane, Susan P., "Ethics and Leadership," Retrieved February 15, 2013, from the Miami School of Business Administration Website: http://www.bus.miami.edu/_assets/files/executive-education/leadership-institute/ethics-and-leadership.pdf

Odom, Lamar, "Leadership Ethics: Is Doing the Right Thing Enough?," (Xlibris Corporation, 07.07.2010)

Popper, Micha, "Leaders Who Transform Society: What Drives Them and Why We Are Attracted," (Greenwood Publishing Group, 30.10.2005).....