The Practical Drucker

CHAPTER  |  FOUR

The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership

Peter Drucker set very high standards of ethics for leaders. He saw leaders as ordinary people who were “special” only because they had been entrusted with organizational and societal responsibilities. He knew that leaders were human and that they sometimes erred, and he was well aware that there were leaders who did not live up to the high standards he felt were not only necessary but also part of the code inherent in their acceptance of a position of leadership.

Some leaders fail to meet this obligation, whether to their profession, their organization, or the individuals they lead—or society itself. Some lose sight of the real goals they are expected to achieve and the reasons they became ...