How Is Hannibal A Ethical Leader?

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Although a genius on the battlefield, where he used surprise and maneuver to overcome the relatively small size of his force, I do not believe that Hannibal was an ethical leader. He did not always exhibit the essential intellectual traits of critical thinking, nor did he always enforce ethical standards. To clarify, Hannibal’s vision was for independence for territories. But based on some of his actions, the concept of ‘freedom for all’ was not a part of that vision. Hannibal exhibited the trait of intellectual hypocrisy; he didn’t hold himself to the same standards that he fought for when he was faced the ethical dilemma of feeding, equipping, and paying his troops for their service; or selling Roman captives into slavery. In an effort to take care of his men, he succumbed to the latter, after the failed attempt to negotiate a ransom with Rome. And so, Roman captives were sold to a local slave trader (Commire & Klezmer, 1994). Perhaps, he fell prey to ethical relativism, using this ethical trap as a way to justify the inconsistency between his thoughts and his actions. Or maybe he didn’t care; but we’ll never know. What we do know is that this lack of intellectual integrity is opposite of the behavior that is required of an ethical leader (CF03SG, 2013, p. 7). Most assuredly, his actions confused his team of warriors, and affected their view of his professional character, especially since non-Roman captives had been released to their respective countries. You just found out that the bully in the hood is coming to reclaim the marbles he gave you last week. This happens to be the same bully that stole the little guy’s lunch money last week; and oh, by the way, you’ve had a sincere dislike for him ever since you were ... ... middle of paper ... ... believe that he was an ethical leader. I have also discussed the personal relevance of Hannibal’s leadership to my leadership; and I have discussed how his actions have impacted me. Hannibal, the great strategic commander, took the fight to Rome to carry out his vision of independence within the Mediterranean region. He didn’t give up the vision simply because he lacked sufficient resources. Instead, he used the resources he had. Unfortunately, for all his greatness, he had some slips in ethical judgment that will forever stain his reputation as one of the great generals of antiquity. At the beginning of this essay I told a story about the bully and how you stood up to the bully because of your vision to make the neighborhood a better place. What a shame that you ultimately lost your fight because of your inability to remain ethical during the battle.

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