Before starting the discussions on the application of ethical leadership, let us ponder this quote by Linda Fisher Thornton, “There is no check-box for ethical leaders. It is an ongoing individual and organizational journey. We will never know everything that there is to know”. A leader when he takes the responsibility cannot simply choose to be ethical at the start of his voyage in the organization; it takes a step farther to know that there is still knowledge to learn in every situation as the trip started. With this, let us consider or have a review on the journey of James Comey as depicted in his book “A Higher Loyalty”. How he became a leader of the FBI and his relationships with the previous and current US presidents? His journey related to the theory of moral development and the concept of conscientious moral agent. I will also try to elaborate its relationship in my own experiences as a leader. Where do I see and the path that I will take and actions to change the ethical climate within my unit or office?
Beginning with the first chapter of the book, James Comey began his distinguished career within the United States Department of Justice as a US Lawyer in New York. Comey’s service in New York gave him with challenges that made a different form his character and make in him a strong establishment of keenness and grit. Comey’s interaction with a few of the foremost sought out offenders tried his dependence and capacity to resist the weight that goes with America’s public service. At the time, criminal exercises were at their Apex and the law enforcement agencies were beneath genuine strain to perform. He readily grasped the challenges that his career displayed. The author treats his work as a calling, an opportunity that permitted him to fulfill the wants of his heart; the crave to see a society that treats all people equal, in any case of status, socio-economic standing, race, or political inclination (Shields,n.d.). With this kind of experienced, the establishment of his career is secured on the principle of equity for all. His stint in New York allowed testing his versatility and the unflinching commitment to social equity, a commitment that had been constrained on him by bullies who pulled all strings to create his life awkward amid his early school days. Comey (2018) recalls a, “a life-altering involvement I had when I was sixteen a long time ancient, with a weapon pointed to my head, made that choice inevitable.” In short he did not escape the world of bullies and criminals at a young age in which made him tougher and used it as a learning experience in the law enforcement organization.
For the second chapter of the book, taking the position of leadership is prestigious in numerous social orders and numerous individuals are longing to these positions. Nevertheless, not all individuals get it the quintessence of leadership. Leadership presents an opportunity to serve, however, a few see it as a stage to work out power and control over other individuals. As the author developed within the systems, he was beneath the guidance of the rowdy and argumentative Rudy Giuliani, a man who pulled in deference and scorn in equal extent. His rough fashion of administration in New York where he served as Comey’s boss made him enemy number one within the courts. His boss's ability to get things done through anything, what matters is the output for their country. Showing fervor with the abilities of his boss, Comey seems to despise his methods. The author is ripped between the thought ‘the end justifies the means’ and ‘the means must be as good as the end’. While working under Rudy, the author view that there is a need for leadership within the service. Organizational leaders ought to get it their staff individuals and look for the foremost suitable way to bargain with them. The domineering behavior of his boss did not earn full support from his peers and subordinates. This assisted the author to develop both as a leader and as an individual, and the abilities that he learned would offer help to move in a more prominent stature of duty within the justice system.
In the third chapter, James Comey’s striking physical attributes made him an exceptional figure in the country’s criminal justice system. There's not a bit of uncertainty left that his troubles within the hands of his peers at that gentle age prepared him for future leadership roles. Most significantly, he learned to think of the best ways to get himself out of a few of the foremost obliterating periods in his life. There’s a lot of variables that shape the character of a leader. Within the case of the author, his experience with the hands of the bullies at a young age permitted him to be a serious and persistent leader. Within the course of going around his obligations, he would tune in to numerous sides of a story and take some time in making choices. His past had taught him that there's continuously another side to a story that demands a cautious examination of all circumstances before making decisions. The bullies served as a ladder that he utilized to climb to higher levels of authority within the nation.
It was depicted in the fourth Chapter that James Comey had an opportunity to work as a US assistant Attorney, but this time he was working in Virginia under an inspiring United States Attorney, Helen Fahey. The latter was a colossal source of inspiration for the author and contributed invaluably to his professional development. Fahey provided him with an opportunity to realize his 'Dreams of energizing it to make bigger contributions in all kinds of areas, especially against violent crime and public corruption.' Fahey was liberal compared to Rudy, providing him with an opportunity to exercise his independent professional judgments in all situations. These skills soon propelled the author to be the face of the organization. Provided an opportunity, time, and space, and left no doubt he was destined for greater things. Mentorship is entwined with professional advancement. The nature of mentorship that a professional received reflects on the quality of leadership that they offer. Under Rudy Giuliani, the author might have picked a few destitute leadership traits that seem to have influenced his professional development. Nevertheless, in the hands of Fahey, he got the foremost reasonable character to persuade him to great standards of skill and character improvement. The mentorship that he received from Fahey might have made a difference to develop in his career.
What is relevant in Chapter 5 is that lies are not good and destroys reputations and careers. James Comey believes that “The danger in every organization, especially one built around hierarchy, is that you create an environment that cuts off dissenting views and discourages honest feedback.” For example in the case of Martha Steward, which he was actively investigating, a simple lie that the suspect said led to her conviction. At this point, the author has risen to become a US attorney, and exhibited with an opportunity to make his status. He has contracted a new set of the prosecutor, and he has wired them to meet his terms and begun illustrating qualities of leadership that make him exceedingly viable. He learned to persuade his workers whereas at the same time giving them the flexibility to work out their preference when making choices on a case-by-case basis. These leadership characteristics would move him to higher levels of authority.
In Chapter 6 is a demonstration that he was heading in the right professional direction, James Comey 2004 ascended to the position of the United States Attorney General in 2004, in an acting capacity. It took absolute hard work, honesty, and cultivation of enabling work ethic for him to climb to this position. In their diversity of personalities, he had a perfect understanding of handling people. Thus, it was not astonishing that he managed to get along with President Bush. However, at one moment, he was bothered by the low morale in the White House. He learned the difficulties and hardships that public servants experience as he climbed the ladder of leadership. His interactions with the White House’s employees, he managed to understand the hindrances and morale problems that most government employees go through in the course of service delivery. The experience would later be useful in his administration at the FBI.
Chapter seven described that James Comey lost the position to Alberto Gonzalez as the substantive Attorney General was a shocker and disappointment not only to him but also to many staffers in the Department of Justice who had viewed he was the natural successor. Accordingly, his stance against torture is the cause of not getting the position. President Bush accepted a certain level of torture, but the author did not. It was unimaginable that the two characters would work together. Nevertheless, he was not preoccupied with his desire to serve the people of America, thus, accepted Alberto as his new boss.
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It is in Chapter eight that President Obama tapped James Comey from the private sector and favored him to be the country’s Director of the FBI. It was a choice that was not only shocking but also befuddling since he had left public service way back in 2005. His successor, Edgar Hoover had led the organization with an iron fist in which he strikes fear among the political class. When the author took over, the political class did not fear the FBI. During the time, the Director was the supreme center. His approach brought colossal popularity, consideration, and control to the organization. The circumstance was not the same when he took over the responsibility. The challenges were annihilating in each regard, but he was prepared to stand up to them. Being grateful for the troubles that the FBI confronted, he took it upon himself to convert the leadership of the organization. In all regards of his life in the office, he showed commitment to serve the people of America with the most extreme conscientiousness.
In Chapter 9, James Comey says “America is a society soaked in the flammable liquid of discrimination and mistreatment'. Reporting on the events at the Fergusson shooting, he says that the law enforcement agencies had formed a pattern of discriminating against the blacks in all aspects of their lives wherein this is not the kind of society that he wanted. Speaking frankly on this discriminatory conduct from law enforcement, he says that the law enforcement institutions contribute massively to the problem. Law enforcement agencies need to acknowledge the truth that they have long been the enforcers of a status quo in America that abused black people. With this kind of view, the American criminal justice system faces numerous issues. A few of the challenges are profoundly entrenched within the American culture, which could be a source of complication for law enforcement organizations. Most imperatively, he increases in value that racial discrimination may be a creation of the culture of the Americas as well as the organizations that they have in place. Just as the title proposes, honestly in leadership is a virtue that all leaders must-have. In this case, he was genuine to confess that the law enforcement agencies were part of the racial issue that America faces nowadays.
The next chapter illustrates the circus surrounding Hillary Clinton’s misuse of confidential government documents thrust James Comey into another unwanted argument. In 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigations received a referral from the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community about alleged misconduct by Hillary Clinton when she was the United States Secretary of State. The allegations indicated that Hillary Clinton had mismanaged classified information when she transacted government business on personal email address. As the Secretary of State, Clinton was in charge of a sensitive department and if the allegations were proven, she would have betrayed her country and the consequences of her actions would have been shattering. The issue might be the foremost challenging circumstance in which he found himself since he joined the Bureau. While there were political connotations, which caused a lot of pressure, he stood his ground and never looked back when dealing with the investigation. At all stages, he demanded that the law should be permitted to take its normal course. Once more, even though he has to be the FBI director amid the government shaped by the Democrats, he was never getting to permit that truth stand on his way of developments. His commitment to impartiality and justice was resolute.
In Chapter 11, the degree to which James Comey went to uncover the truth around the Russian involvement within the American electoral processes. When he realized that there were perplexities all around the nation, he went the extra mile and distributed a piece in his title, and in that article, he described all the dangers that the Russians displayed to Americans. The professionalism with which he handled the investigations on the involvement of the Russians was astounding. He did everything to make sure that he made the nation mindful of the nature of the dangers that the county confronted. Once again, in the face of deep-seated political interests, he was tough enough to stand on the side of certainty and justice.
It is in Chapter twelve that approaching a man, the United States President-elect, with an avalanche of charges concerning his alleged wrongdoings can at times be an overwhelming task. The issue becomes complicated when the allegations have not been confirmed but instead depend on ‘reliable sources.' James Comey and his group demonstrated their dependability to the rule of law and their service to Americans when they demonstrated their intention to go up against the president-elect with the allegations. Rather than within the past case including Hillary Clinton, he was consistent in his application of the law on the allegations against Trump as well as the Russian involvement. All these confirm that he was loyal to his service as much as he was too on the side of the truth.
It is within this chapter that James Comey has made it amply clear that he will continuously tell the truth. When President Trump has sworn into office, he may have needed an FBI director who was loyal to him and might dictate terms. The president said, 'I require loyalty. I expect loyalty.' The director reacted, 'You'll continuously get honesty from me,' he demonstrated to be the opposite of what the president wanted. He established that he was on the side of truth and the law. In the face of the striking comments, Comey would get alongside the new president. It is not the obligation of the FBI director to be loyal to the president. That would meddle with the autonomy that the office wants to execute his duties.
In the last chapter of the book, James Comey again illustrated his loyalty to his duties and an unmatched assurance to the right thing. At a time when there is pressure from the president to drop the inquiry on Flynn and his participation within the Russian outrage, he has illustrated his fidelity to the rule of law and independence of the office. In numerous cases, President Donald Trump sought to interfere with the independence of the Office of the Director of FBI. There's no time in which he shriveled to the pressure and followed the requests of the president. When in the end the president let go of the author, it was since of his refusal to promise loyalty to the president. It seemed he was decided to serve the nation as honestly and as fairly as possible.
As we can observe in the book, there is a gradual development of the author’s concept of right and wrong. His experiences from the bullies and criminals during his younger age started to teach him of doing right and wrong. Upon his service to law enforcement, he experiences different kinds of bosses and opted to learn from them until he rose to be the director of the FBI. It is in this context that he realized to stand for the truth and impartiality in the public service. It is where he demonstrated his ethical leadership while listening to others and cautious in making decisions. His loyalty to service cannot be discounted since he made a sacrifice in doing the right thing that causes him to leave his post. In my point of view, James Comey may have reached his career height, which he was prepared to face the consequences when he confronted their president concerning the allegations. He had allowed serving the agency and satisfied in making the difference. If I were in his shoes, I think I will do the same thing but a little revision in the approach to the president. There should be a correct timing when confronting your superior especially when he is directly involved in such a situation. Relating the story of the author to my journey as a leader, I can see myself having a similar experience. There was a time that I deviate against my commander because he violated the chain of command. However, in the end, I realized that was my mistake. It is always a dream of a leader to be a good example but there are circumstances that our virtues are challenged by the dynamics of the situation. When we encounter different behavior of our superiors, what we should do is to study him to have an idea of how to confront him when the same situation arises. The ability to know the basic psychology of the human is basic in every leader to be effective and efficient in dealing with different behavior. A leader cannot uprightly gain the loyalty of his subordinates when it is your first day in the position. There is a big difference between personal loyalty and loyalty to the principles and ideals of your organization. Meanwhile, in changing the ethical climate within my office or unit, I think it would be best to educate continuously our subordinates about ethical standards. There must be a common understanding and practice to do what needs to be done right. For example, in dealing with different task when it passes to our office, we intend to do it, and we will not wait for the other or assigned personnel to do it. The bottom line here is that in every office or branch, every person must be inclined to do the other functions of the other personnel.
In summary, the book of James Comey, “A Higher Loyalty” described his loyalty to service, to be impartial and just in serving his country. He has set a high moral standard that guides him in the execution of his duties. In most of his engagements, he has been brutally honest, even when his job security is at stake. It is an illustration of ethical leadership that can be emulated for future leaders beyond expectations. His stance to stay at the side of the truth and honesty will be an inspiration and motivation that an ethical leader would be. It is a lesson learned that the leader should not demand loyalty; it must be earned just like respect. With these, I would like to share a quote by Andrew Leigh, “To be an ethical leader is indeed to be different. This kind of leader acknowledges the complexity of running a responsible business, yet tries to do it anyway”.
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