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“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.” Matthew7:12a (NLT)

Moral authority is the heart of servant leadership. This differs from positional authority, which depends on job titles or hierarchy and motivates people by formal rules and commands. In leading with moral authority, servant leaders prioritize the well-being and growth of those they lead. Their power/influence flows from their character, integrity, humility, accountability and consistency in doing what is right. James Hunter writes in The Servant,(1) “Leadership is ultimately rooted in our moral authority and not our power.” James Kouzes, the co-author of The Leadership Challenge,(2) equates moral authority with credibility this way, “Credibility is the first law of leadership.”

Moral authority matters, especially today. We have a moral crisis across all segments of our society, which has created a culture of distrust. Our world is begging for people and organizations that they can trust. We are skeptical of many leaders because there is often a disconnect of words and actions; we just do not trust what they say because of a history of dishonesty. A moral leader tells the truth and is transparent, including when they are wrong.

Telling the truth builds trust. Trust is the secret sauce for all relationships, marriage, friendships, co-workers and leaders. Trust is fragile. It is easily lost and difficult to rebuild. Trust is lacking right now in almost all segments of our society, which includes government, health care, private and publicly traded companies, religious institutions, research institutions, educational systems, etc. Leaders without moral authority pursue their goals no matter the consequences to others, showing little to no regard for staff and customers. Ultimately, there is no longer a universal standard of what is right and what is wrong. Our challenge as leaders today is to rebuild this broken trust.

Moral authority is a competitive advantage. A leader, an organization and a team with moral authority has a competitive advantage, both in hiring top talent and consumer trust. It is impossible to operate on the principles of servant leadership and not have terrific customer service. This becomes a competitive advantage.

Organizational leaders determine the moral compass of the organization. Almost every organization that fails or has significant trust issues is because of the lack of moral authority of its leaders. We have previously discussed Boeing, but others in the last 20 years are: Lehman Brothers (2008), Washington Mutual (2008), General Motors bankruptcy (2009), Kodak bankruptcy (2012) and many more (see page two).

The enemies of moral authority are self-interest, hypocrisy, dishonesty, arrogance, blaming others, cowardice, etc. Leaders do what is best for themselves and ignore the needs of the organization and its people. This leads to their ruin, and in turn, their followers become disenfranchised. When followers no longer trust their leader, they become self-centered as well.

Practical Examples:

• A leader who admits mistakes, listens and acts ethically has moral authority.

• A leader who covers up scandals, blames others, and misleads stakeholders loses moral authority and operates under moral illegitimacy.

Shared Experiences:

·       Can someone share how they demonstrate moral authority with your co-workers?

·       How well do you always do what is right? How do you discern this? Do you have others to help you discern this?

·       How well do you delegate and empower others to succeed? How might this create trust?

Bottom line: Leading with moral authority is so simple but so challenging. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Tell the truth and build relationships built on trust. You will have great relationships with people throughout the organization and in life (especially your marriage).

Dig Deeper

·       (1)Book: The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership by James C. Hunter. This is a parable that is a simple way to understand servant leadership. Over three million copies sold.

·       (2)Book: The Leadership Challenge – How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations by James Kouzes and Barry Posner

·       Book: Leading without Power – Finding Hope in Serving Community by Max Dupree

·       Video: The Influence Shift - Positional Authority to Moral Authority presented by John Maxwell published by HarperCollins Leadership

·       Book: Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership: Practicing the Wisdom of Leading by Serving; Revised & Expanded Edition by James W. Sipe and Don M. Frick. This is an excellent book.

·       Article: The Underutilization of Moral Authority by Patrick Lencioni published by The Table Group

Corporate examples of moral authority failure

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is a great example of how different CEOs in the same organization approached two moral dilemmas. In the Tylenol crisis of 1982, the CEO went public and did everything within his power to make sure the issue was resolved. He even went against the advice of his attorneys, who were more worried about liability than being transparent and addressing the issue. J&J did the opposite in the opioid epidemic. J&J used aggressive marketing tactics to promote opioids, often overstating effectiveness and downplaying the addiction risks. It appears the company prioritized profit over people.

Purdue Pharma has a similar story. Purdue, owned by the wealthy Sackler family, launched OxyContin in 1996 and aggressively marketed it as a safe, long-lasting painkiller with low addiction risk, fueling billions in sales and widespread use for chronic pain. However, patients quickly became addicted, and abuse of the drug contributed significantly to the opioid crisis that has claimed over half a million American lives. Despite a $634 million federal settlement in 2007 for misleading marketing, Purdue continued profiting until mounting lawsuits from states and individuals forced it into bankruptcy in 2019. The company is now being restructured to fund addiction treatment, while debates persist over the Sacklers’ accountability and the devastating human toll left in the wake of Purdue’s pursuit of profit.

Facebook. In 2018, it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, had improperly harvested data from around 87 million Facebook users without their consent through a personality quiz app. This information was used to build psychological profiles and targeted political ads, notably during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The scandal exposed significant gaps in Facebook’s privacy protections and oversight of third-party developers, sparking global outrage, congressional hearings, regulatory investigations and the #DeleteFacebook movement. Facebook ultimately paid $5 billion in fines and continues to suffer from a lasting erosion of public trust, becoming a symbol of the broader debate over data privacy, social media’s political influence and the ethical responsibilities of tech giants. Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta to help it overcome the scandal.

Wells Fargo. Between 2002 and 2016, Wells Fargo (WF) employees, pressured by intense sales targets, secretly opened millions of unauthorized bank and credit accounts in customers’ names without their knowledge, leading to improper fees, damaged credit scores and widespread customer harm. The scandal erupted publicly in 2016, resulting in billions of dollars in fines and settlements, the firing of thousands of employees, the resignation of top executives (including the CEO), and severe damage to the bank’s reputation. It became a stark example of how toxic corporate cultures and incentive systems can drive unethical behavior and erode trust in even the most established financial institutions. Finally, Wells Fargo was freed from its last major regulatory restriction — the Federal Reserve’s $1.95 trillion asset cap — on June 3, 2025, nine years after the scandal first became public.