This is my first crack at an issue essay. Would someone be kind enough to review it or give me a score.Thank you.

This is the issue prompt.

Although sound moral judgment is an important characteristic of an effective leader, it is not as important as a leader’s ability to maintain the respect of his or her peers.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

Here goes my response

A leader who is well respected amongst his peers is a motivated and happy person thus proving very effective in motivating his subordinates/peers as well. But, if garnering respect comes at the cost of him having to choose between being moral or not, the person is better off being morally sound.

A leader who is not morally sound is inefficient in his task as a leader and this fact will always fill them with guilt. People will look down upon them. A leader's ego is most satisfied when he garners respect from his/her peers, but if it were to be compared to the moral judgement of a person, moral judgement according to me always comes out on top.
When a leader is morally sound, he exudes a positive vibe that is infectious to his/her followers, thus creating a culture of morality amongst his followers in their judgements.
Another compelling argument to support my position would be that when a morally sound person make important decisions he considers the interests of all the stakeholders without being selfish or biased. This, in turn promotes a culture where no one's interests is neglected.

A decision taken with a moral outlook, might even do as to harm a leader's standing amongst his peers, when they see him neglecting a popular decision in favor of a decision which is morally sound.At this point, the individuals approach should be towards being moral rather than impressing his peers.
But if we consider the other side of the argument, a leader who garners less respect from his peers,is mostly unhappy, there is lack of motivation in his/her worklife thus impacting the overall well being of the person and his family, hence being immoral to himself and his family.

But, all facts considered a person is better off being occasionally unhappy from loosing respect amongst his peers because he took an unpopular decision, rather than go for a popular decision which is morally wrong.