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Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law

Faculty Books

Aspects of leadership

Aspects of Leadership: Ethics, Law and Spirituality

Carroll Connelley and Paolo Tripodi

Carroll Connelley and Paolo Tripodi The Aspects of Leadership: Ethics, Law and Spirituality is a blended collection of scholarly works that address issues in the area of ethics, law and spirituality that affect military leaders at all levels. This book was created to provide Professional Military Educational institutions and the operating forces a resource of thought provoking material on the challenging ethical and legal considerations facing Marine leaders today.

This project was inspired by the Commandant of the Marine Corps General Amos who in his planning guidance told the Corps that we must "better educate and train our Marines to succeed in distributed operations and increasingly complex environments." With that in mind, the editors of this work gathered 20 academic and military professionals to provide their reflections on their area of expertise to create a coherent volume with true value for the military practitioner.


On Being a Mentor

On Being a Mentor

W. Brad Johnson

On Being a Mentor is the definitive guide for faculty in higher education who wish to mentor both students and junior faculty. It features strategies, guidelines, best practices, and recommendations for professors who wish to excel in this area.

Written in a pithy style, this no-nonsense guide offers straightforward advice about managing problem mentorships and measuring mentorship outcomes. Practical cases studies, vignettes, and step-by-step guidelines illuminate the process of mentoring throughout.


The Elements of Mentoring

The Elements of Mentoring

W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley

Patterned after Strunk and White's classic The Elements of Style, this new edition concisely summarizes the substantial existing research on the art and science of mentoring. The Elements of Mentoring reduces this wealth of published material on the topic to the sixty-five most important and pithy truths for supervisors in all fields.

These explore what excellent mentors do, what makes an excellent mentor, how to set up a successful mentor-protégé relationship, how to work through problems that develop between mentor and protégé, what it means to mentor with integrity, and how to end the relationship when it has run its course. Succinct and comprehensive, this is a must-have for any mentor or mentor-to-be.


The Elements of Ethics for Professionals

The Elements of Ethics for Professionals

W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley

Patterned after Strunk and White's classic The Elements of Style, this handy guide pulls the existing research on the delicate balance of professional ethics into one concise source. Johnson and Ridley explore seventy-five of the most important and pithy truths for supervisors in all fields, including questions of integrity, loyalty, justice, respect, and delivering one's best in the business environment.

Succinct and comprehensive, with examples and takeaway advice, this is a must-have for any professional or business leader striving to create an ethical workplace.


Ethical Conundrums, Quandaries and Predicaments in Mental Health Practice

Ethical Conundrums, Quandaries and Predicaments in Mental Health Practice

W. Brad Johnson and Gerald P. Koocher

In Ethical Conundrums, Quandaries and Predicaments in Mental Health Practice, real-life scenarios constitute a comprehensive and definitive ethics casebook for mental health professionals. Inspired by the many difficult situations they themselves have faced, an eminent group of accomplished mental health clinicians provide first-hand accounts of ethical problems that defy boilerplate solutions.

Each chapter begins with a compelling and ethically complex case followed by an illustrative yet succinct analysis of the key ethical issues present and a personal reflection on the case itself, along with the process of ethical reasoning used to arrive at a final decision. Every case concludes with key recommendations for promoting ethical practice within an often challenging work setting.

Highlighting the human aspect of ethics in mental health practice through the use of mesmerizing narratives while also provoking the reader to reflect upon what is the "right" thing to do, Ethical Conundrums, Quandaries and Predicaments in Mental Health Practice offers trainees and seasoned professionals alike invaluable informative models for dealing with ethical dilemmas, as well as the inspiration to confront seemingly insurmountable clinical problems.


Becoming a Leader the Annapolis Way

Becoming a Leader the Annapolis Way

W. Brad Johnson and Gregory P. Harper

Today, more than ever, businesses need leaders with a rare blend of strength, capability, and integrity. Unfortunately, they're not always easy to come by. Becoming a Leader the Annapolis Way details how the U.S. Naval Academy builds quality leaders from the ground up, instilling in them the habits and tools required for outstanding leadership in any pursuit. 

Using real-life vignettes and examples of USNA graduates who experienced breakthrough success in combat, government, and business, this timely book looks beyond just the military aspects to explore:

  • Techniques for teaching honor, duty, and commitment
  • Empowerment strategies proven to work over centuries of use               
  • Insights for overcoming the perils of blind obedience 

An Ethics of Interrogation

An Ethics of Interrogation

Michael Skerker

The act of interrogation, and debate over its use, pervade our culture, whether through fictionalized depictions in movies and television or discussions of real-life interrogations on the news. But despite daily mentions of the practice in the media, there is a lack of informed commentary on the moral assumption undergirding interrogation: that there are times when a state is entitled to know a person’s thoughts.

Moving beyond the narrow focus on torture that has characterized most work on the subject,An Ethics of Interrogation is the first book to fully address the complex set of issues associated with interrogation at home and abroad, including the rights to privacy and silence, the privilege against compelled self-incrimination, police and military ethics, prisoner and detainee rights, and the legal consequences of different modes of interrogation. Thoughtful consideration of these issues leads Skerker to specific policy recommendations for law enforcement, military, and intelligence professionals. 


Leadership Explored: Lessons in Leadership from Great Works of Literature

Leadership Explored: Lessons in Leadership from Great Works of Literature

Joseph J. Thomas

In the military context, management is of critical importance, but leadership is the specified mission. Effectiveness rather than efficiency is the final measure. The stories collected here are designed to inspire junior and future officers in their duties.

The use of historical or literary example is an attempt to inspire the reader as well as it is to inform. Use this text to inspire yourself, your subordinates, in fact, anyone who could benefit from the timeless lessons contained herein.


Leadership Embodied: The Secrets to Success of the Most Effective Navy and Marine Corps Leaders

Leadership Embodied: The Secrets to Success of the Most Effective Navy and Marine Corps Leaders

Joseph J. Thomas

It is through inherent talent, arduous preparation, and practical experience that we become capable leaders. The reader brings the first to the table, and then we offer a small token in the second pursuit; circumstances enable the third.

All of the historical selections included in this book have dramatically shaped today’s institutions, practices, and customs within the naval services.  These are not marginal figures with marginal influence. Each has a particular lesson for midshipmen on their journey to becoming a U.S. Navy or Marine Corps officer.


Leadership, Ethics, and Law of War Discussion Guide for Marines

Leadership, Ethics, and Law of War Discussion Guide for Marines

Joseph J. Thomas

The primary purpose of this guide is to provide small unit leaders the tools with which to address the leadership and moral dilemmas of military service, particularly those dilemmas encountered on the battlefield.  Marine leaders owe their subordinates and the institution a sound and fully prepared program of development.

This book should be part of that program.  The secondary purpose of this effort is to introduce those yet to go into harm’s way to the nature of the decisions potentially encountered. It is always difficult to simulate combat in a training environment. It is particularly difficult to simulate ethical decision making in combat. Informal discussion and “hip pocket” classes by experienced and thoughtful leaders fill in the gaps.

This collection introduces those who have not undergone formal training to the nature and variables of decision-making as well as the standards and expectations of the institution. Finally, an added benefit of this book is that it gives the non-uniformed reader an appreciation for the difficulty, complexity, and consequences of the decision making that young Marines, sailors, and soldiers encounter daily in the course of their duties.

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