Talking about leadership today means talking about the search for new reference points, examples, honesty, commitment, greatness and broad-mindedness. If leadership has to be defined, it is undoubtedly a social asset capable of transforming and improving organizations and the society in general. Historically, leadership has always been seen as the point of authority in organizations and the result of personal development and guidance. However, Professors of ESADE’s Social Sciences Department Àngel Castiñeira and Josep Maria Lozano believe that leadership is something polyhedral, meaning that it is not just a juxtaposition of the good and the evil, the ethical and the efficient, but a combination of the two. This document was prepared by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership and among other sources contains references to the books El poliedro del liderazgo: una aproximación a la problemática de los valores en el liderazgo (The Leadership Polyhedron: A Study of Problems in Leadership Values) by Àngel Castiñeira and Josep Maria Lozano, Creating Leaderful Organizations by Joe Raelin, and Leadership Brand by Dave Ulrich.

1. Historically, leadership has always been seen as the
point of authority in organizations and the result
of personal development and guidance. However,
Professors of ESADE’s Social Sciences Department
Àngel Castiñeira and Josep Maria Lozano believe
that leadership is something polyhedral, meaning
that it is not just a juxtaposition of the good and the
evil, the ethical and the efficient, but a combination
of the two.
The root of this discussion is the eternal question
about the aim and the means, complemented by
increasingly important question about involvement
of third parties: does being a visionary and a
good leader means being able to balance risk and
opportunity or introducing values into the decision-
making process? Are the means chosen for the
task adequate? Should a leader think only about
achieving the objective or also about the impact on
third parties? Is it enough to be guided by reason or
is it also necessary to listen to one’s heart?
Leadership in the Times of Crisis
The time we live in is not an epoch of changes, but
a change of epochs. Thus we need to step away from
our old beliefs on how to solve problems and accept
that in order to overcome the crisis we need new
ideas to face some new problems.
The authors of the book titled The Polyhedron of
Leadership argue that we need a new focus: a more
flexible and evolutionary leadership, unchained
from resistance and the past, focused on the future
and a change of attitude.
Vision, Attention and Intention
Professor Joe Raelin from the Business School at the
Northeastern University of Illinois (USA) mentions
in his book Creating Leaderful Organizations
that traditionally a leader was responsible for the
following four activities:
1. Define the mission: where are we going?
2. Keeptheobjectivesup-to-date:whathastobedone?
Talking about leadership today means talking about the search for new reference points,
examples, honesty, commitment, greatness and broad-mindedness. If leadership has
to be defined, it is undoubtedly a social asset capable of transforming and improving
organizations and the society in general.
Strategy Documents
L14/2015
For Leadership Based on
Values and Quality: When
Ethics and Efficiency Work
Towards the Same Goal
Public Affairs
Book Reviews
This document was prepared by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership and among other sources contains references to the books El
poliedro del liderazgo: unaaproximación a la problemática de los valores en el liderazgo (The Leadership Polyhedron: A Study of Problems in Leadership
Values) by Àngel Castiñeira and Josep Maria Lozano, Creating Leaderful Organizations by Joe Raelin, and Leadership Brand by Dave Ulrich.

2. Book Reviews 2
For Leadership
Based on Values
and Quality: When
Ethics and Efficiency
Work Towards
the Same Goal
3. Ensure commitment: how to encourage everyone
to do their best?
4. Respond to changes: how not to stay behind?
However, as Dave Ulrich claims in Leadership Brand,
today all this may not be created and maintained by
just one person. Instead, these functions should be
internalized in an organization at all levels. That’s
why it is important to speak not about leaders (an
individual and simple process) but about leadership (a
collective and complex process). Leadership should be
viewed not as a heroic exterior intervention but as an
evolving and internal process in an organization.
The vision statement is not so important any more.
Importance is attached to the underlying idea of this
vision, how vision is related to creating the meaning
and the two components of the organisation’s internal
life: attention and intention. Attention helps to
perceive the reality, to be sensitive without making
quick judgements or putting labels on what is seen.
Intentionisindependentfromallexternalmotivations
and is driven solely by internal motivations.
In this sense, two clear factors of success are the
abilities to demonstrate sincerity and coherence
between what is said and what is done. However, we
can see that corporate statements of vision, mission
and values are becoming homogeneous –they are
inspirational, but very similar– and the mismatch
between the intentions and actions of an organization
is a clear sign that the company is moving in a wrong
direction.
To Know, to Do and to Be
Partly, this coherence is achieved by passing through
a sequence of stages in leadership from knowledge
and interpretation of reality through experimenting
and action to clear positioning and commitment.
That’stheonlywaytoconnecttheactions’objectives
with the means of achieving these objectives and
eventual actions.
Leadership development and training should not
remain in the theoretical and analytical domain. It
shouldspreadandreachthepracticalandexperimental
ground (role plays, case method, competitive
simulation, negotiation, mediation, communication,
etc.) keeping in mind that apart from doing and
knowing, leadership is a way of being.
The greatness of leadership is not about achieved
results or objectives. It is about the people who achieve
these objectives, about their identity, character
and sincerity as well as self-awareness and wisdom.
Leadership is also a matter of intelligence in terms of
formal logic, executive practice and social awareness.
“The key
is the
underlying
idea of this
vision, how
vision is
related to
creating the
meaning
and the two
components
of the
organisation’s
internal life:
attention and
intention”
Prinicipios
y valores
Principles
and values
Construction
of meaning
Personal
skills
Interpersonal
skills
Solidarity
People’s well-being
Social justice
Coherence
Service-orientation
Humanism
Honesty
Generate and share:
passion, illusion,
faith, belief, trust,
mediation, mobilisation,
availability, coordination,
task distribution,
consensus building,
negotiation, conflict
management, team
building, multi-relation
skills, communication,
enticement, awareness.
Hyper liability, self-
demandingness, confidence,
perseverance, high level of
engagement, positive energy,
strength, boost, balance,
serenity, suggestiveness,
risk, boldness, innovation,
entrepreneurship,
pioneering spirit, change
promotion, management
and organizational skills,
idealism, dream and also:
realism, pragmatism and
humility
Directivity
Purpose
Strategy
Vision
Thinking
Meaning
Decision
Understanding and
selection of the moment
Identification of
opportunities
Source: El poliedro del liderazgo: una aproximación a la problemática de los valores en el liderazgo, 2012.
Graph 1: Social Leadership: Common features

3. Book Reviews 3
For Leadership
Based on Values
and Quality: When
Ethics and Efficiency
Work Towards
the Same Goal
Social Leadership
If there is an area where leadership is clearly expressed,
it is the social area. Society in its entirety is the
sphere where a leader, including a business leader,
is able to demonstrate what values underlie his or
her leadership, what principles (starting with the
above-mentioned sincerity and coherence) and what
qualities (faith, passion, humanism, conviction, the
capacity to motivate others, etc.) he or she represents
better than others.
Society is the fundamental catalyst of leadership.
This is because the society and social values legiti-
mize organizations and their existence, because the
society is where leadership finds its main expression:
the commitment. Commitment with the community
focused on supporting the society and its members.
Leadership cannot be understood without the
preliminary step of achieving commitment of
those people who are members of the organisation.
Commitment means that an organization is able to act
based on profound convictions: commitment clearly
points to the vision of the world and underlying values.
Conclusion: Ethical Leadership,
Moral Reference Points
Lack of commitment, found in organisations and the
society in general, points to the ethical deficit and lack
of a supreme value, such as a role model.
With all the abundance of discussions on values and
corporate statements, there are few clear and credible
examples that are recognized and valued, examples
“Leadership
cannot be
understood
without the
preliminary
step of
achieving
commitment
which
points to the
vision of the
world and
underlying
values”
that set moral reference points for attitudes and
behavioursthat are then followed by others,encourage,
motivate and lead to internal changes.
Finally, examples result in visualisation, meaning
that an ideal can materialise and exist in the reality,
thus inviting changes and transformations in an
organisation – something that leadership should aim
at and promote.
Thus a role model is a leader who with his behaviour
can set an example of values and positively influence
the behaviour of others, thus creating a long-needed
model for attraction, admiration and imitation.
Therefore, leadership should aim to become an ethical
example and demonstrate efficiency in achieving
what represents the essence of human aspiration:
improvement and progress of life. Without ethical
leadership (collective behaviour) and without
leaders who serve as moral reference points (personal
behaviour), it is impossible to develop collective and
organizational projects able to create benefit for the
whole society.
Source: El poliedro del liderazgo: una aproximación a la problemática de los valores en el liderazgo, 2012.
Graph 2: Three models of learning
Knowing
A way of knowing
Knowledge
Learning
Description
Explanation
Translation
Doing
A way of doing
Action
Testing
Experience
Creation
Being
A way of being
Commitement
Purpose
Meaning
(Pre)dispositions

4. Leading by
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