Professional Discussion 1 — Hard Skills, Soft Skills, and Moral Authority

Overview

An organization is considering promoting its strongest technical performer into a leadership role. The candidate consistently delivers results but has a documented pattern of dismissing colleagues, withholding information, and reacting poorly to challenge.

Should technical performance remain the dominant promotion criterion? Develop a recommendation that distinguishes leadership from management and evaluates competence, character, trust, standards, and moral authority. Identify what evidence decision makers should verify before acting and what safeguards should accompany the decision.

Requirements

Your initial post must:

Contain approximately 450–600 words.

Present a clear recommendation supported by defensible reasoning.

Apply at least two leadership concepts or ethical frameworks from the course.

Cite at least two credible sources using APA 7 citations. At least one source must be peer-reviewed, governmental, professional, or from an authoritative institution.