In Search of Ethical Leadership: If not now, when?

by Torin M. Finser

Recently, a chasm has opened between many of our leaders and those who work for them. We have witnessed the sacrifices of airline workers and the unconscionable compensation of top executives; the ideals of Olympic Games and the conduct of certain committee members; the sacrament of religion and the priests who abused the sanctity of the human body; the needed services of United Way and their extravagant executive “perks”; and hopes for a democratically fair system versus the 2000 presidential election. The values of hard work, inalienable rights, fairness and public service held by most Americans is often lacking in our leaders. An ethical chasm has opened up in our midst, and unless we do something, our future will fall victim to our inadequacies. Our standing in the world in years to come will depend less on our military might, and more on our moral strength. We need to begin a united search for ethical leadership. As we take Torin’s journey of discovery with him, we see the roots of this loss of ethical leadership and begin to understand that there is a way out of this situation―by applying the spiritual principles of Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual science. In Search for Ethical Leadership is grounded with practical tools that offer us real hope for the future of ethical leadership.

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Torin M Finser received his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Union Graduate School, his M.A. in education from Adelphi University, and his B.A. from Bowdoin College. He taught at the Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School, where he also served as faculty chairman. Torin has done extensive consulting with schools in organizational dynamics and leadership development and has been a keynote speaker at conferences all over the world.

He is the author eleven books, beginning with School as a Journey, which has now been translated into Mandarin, Farsi, Thai, Arabic, Korean and Spanish. Other books include: School Renewal, Organizational Integrity, A Second Classroom, Parent Teacher Relations in a Waldorf School, Leadership Development and Education for Non-Violence. His Guided Self Study is used by many as an introduction to Anthroposophy.

Torin has served as General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America and Chair of the Education Department at Antioch University New England. A founder of the Center for Anthroposophy, he has recently pioneered their new Building Bridges Program for practicing teachers in independent and charter schools.