Virtuous leadership is the first systematic and holistic approach to leadership from the point of view of aretology, which is the science of the virtues developed by the Ancient Greeks.
Virtue is more than a value. It is a dynamic force which allows us not only to achieve human excellence, but also to become effective as human beings. Virtue means excellence in being (aretē, in Greek) and effectiveness in action (virtus, in Latin).
Virtue makes you an effective human being, because it gives you a specific spiritual power: the power to make right decisions, to stay the course, to run risks, to energize your passions and direct them to the fulfillment of the mission at hand, to give people their due and communicate effectively, to achieve great things and serve people by bringing out the greatness in them.
The virtues of prudence (practical wisdom), courage, self-control and justice constitute the foundations of leadership, and the virtues of magnanimity (greatness) and humility (service) constitute its essence.
Virtue is a habit acquired through practice. Leadership is a question of character (virtue, freedom, growth) and not of temperament (biology, conditioning, stagnation). Leaders are trained, not born.
Leadership is a life ideal, which recognizes, assimilates and propagates the truth about man.