ABSTRACT
With the recent indiscretions of high-ranking officials in the United States, the age-old issue of the role of character in leadership is once again being raised. One of the issues being debated is whether there is a public and private character in individuals, and more specifically, whether one’s private activities affect the ability to lead. Yet it is quickly apparent that one of the central problems surrounding this issue today is the fact that it is not clear what we mean by the term “character.” The question of what citizens want with respect to the moral character of its public servants is a complex one. There is less and less agreement on the nature of character and its role in public leadership. This chapter provides a preliminary discussion of character and its crucial role in public administration by reviewing two major approaches to the study of character—philosophy and psychology. Given the conclusions of the work in these two disciplines, we end the chapter with a discussion on why good character is particularly necessary in public leadership. To begin, however, it is helpful to understand character in the context of public administration.
