The centrality of ethical leadership

Purpose The central argument in this paper is that ethical school leadership is imperative in a context of increasing performance-driven accountability. The purpose of this paper is to focus on school principals’ perceptions of how they understand ethical leadership and how they lead the ethical use of data. Design/methodology/approach This study utilises semi-structured interviews with six state school principals (one primary and six secondary) to explore their perceptions of ethical leadership practices; and how they balance current competing accountabilities in a context of performance-driven accountability. Findings There were four key findings. First, principals used data to inform and direct their practices and their conversations with teachers. Second, while ethics was a central consideration in how principals’ led, practising in an ethical manner was identified as complex and challenging in the current context. Third, Starratt’s (1996) ethical framework proved to be relevant for interpreting principals’ practices. Finally, all of the principals referred to dilemmas they faced as a result of competing priorities and all used a variety of strategies to deal with these dilemmas. Originality/value While there is a small body of research that explores school leaders’ understandings of ethical tensions and dilemmas, there is little research that has focused on school leaders’ understandings of the ethical use of data. This study, then, contributes to this area as it provides a discussion on school principals’ leadership practices in the current climate driven by data use.

Ethical leadership in a time of increasing accountability

Australia, like many other countries, has embraced national testing as part of wider reforms and increased accountability in schooling. Results for standardised testing programs, such as NAPLAN, are widely published yet form only one part of accountability for educators. We argue that accountability also has moral, ethical and professional dimensions. In this paper we offer a discussion of background to our study of ethical leadership in a time of data driven or contractual accountability. Based on Starratt’s (1996) model, we define ethical leadership as a social, relational practice concerned with the moral purpose of education (Angus, 2006). Our central thesis is that given increasing accountabilities, school leaders need to consider approaches to ethical leadership to improve quality and equity in education and achieve equitable outcomes for all students. The paper concludes with key implications for school leaders.

(Un)ethical leadership, organizational identification and sensemaking: the BES case and its impact on employees

This paper provides an ongoing analysis to one of the biggest ethical and financial scandals in Portugal – Banco Espírito Santo (BES). BES was considered one of the three best banks but it went bankrupted and its employees were transferred to a new entity – Novo Banco. This study was conducted in order to provide an understanding of the employees’ side, which has been forgotten so far. An ethical scandal (sensebreaking) creates ambiguity and uncertainty which triggers new sensemaking processes in order to understand and derive meaning from the new reality. The methodology followed was semi-structured interviews to employees both from the branches and the central services. We found evidence that in organizations with strong identification, unethical behavior has a significant impact on followers’ – the new process of sensemaking is particularly important in this situation because employees suffer more from the disruption of their reality.

Ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior: A moderated mediation model of affective commitment and authenticity at work

Recently, unethical conduct in the workplace has been a focus of literature and media. Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) refers to unethical conduct that employees engage in to benefit the organization. Given the complexity of UPB, there is an increasing need to understand how and under what conditions this attitude originates within organizations. Based on a sample of 167 employees and seven organizations, results support the moderated mediation model. An ethical leader increases employees’ organizational affective commitment which increases the likelihood to engage in UPB. However, the indirect relationship diminishes when employees feel authentic at work.

Linking Ethical Leadership and Employees’ In-Role Performance: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Psychological Capital and Follower-Leader Relational Capital

This study investigates the mediating impact of psychological capital and follower-leader relational capital on the relationship between ethical leadership and in-role performance through the lenses of social exchange theory, social information processing theory, and psychological resources theory. Analysis of data collected from a sample of 171 employees and 24 supervisors from Pakistan reveals that ethical leadership has a positive effect on followers’ in-role job performance, yet this effect is fully explained through the role of psychological capital and partially through follower-leader relational capital. Significant implications of these findings for further research and practice are discussed.

The shift of paradigm in the organizations like foundation of the style of ethical leadership

La presente investigación tiene por objeto analizar el cambio de paradigma en las organizaciones como fundamento del liderazgo ético desde una realidad postmoderna a fin de detectar la necesidad de un liderazgo ético en las organizaciones donde los líderes sean formadores de valores a través del modelaje directivo; es un estilo de liderazgo en el que la visión ética, sistémica e integradora son unas de las principales aptitudes que el líder ético ha de poner en la práctica. Se han desarrollado teorías de liderazgo centradas no tanto en los rasgos o comportamientos de los líderes, sino en la relación entre líder y sus seguidores

Jesus the worker, studies in the ethical leadership of the Son of Man,

Mode of access: Internet.

The shift of paradigm in the organizations like foundation of the style of ethical leadership

La presente investigación tiene por objeto analizar el cambio de paradigma en las organizaciones como fundamento del liderazgo ético desde una realidad postmoderna a fin de detectar la necesidad de un liderazgo ético en las organizaciones donde los líderes sean formadores de valores a través del modelaje directivo; es un estilo de liderazgo en el que la visión ética, sistémica e integradora son unas de las principales aptitudes que el líder ético ha de poner en la práctica. Se han desarrollado teorías de liderazgo centradas no tanto en los rasgos o comportamientos de los líderes, sino en la relación entre líder y sus seguidores

The shift of paradigm in the organizations like foundation of the style of ethical leadership

La presente investigación tiene por objeto analizar el cambio de paradigma en las organizaciones como fundamento del liderazgo ético desde una realidad postmoderna a fin de detectar la necesidad de un liderazgo ético en las organizaciones donde los líderes sean formadores de valores a través del modelaje directivo; es un estilo de liderazgo en el que la visión ética, sistémica e integradora son unas de las principales aptitudes que el líder ético ha de poner en la práctica. Se han desarrollado teorías de liderazgo centradas no tanto en los rasgos o comportamientos de los líderes, sino en la relación entre líder y sus seguidores

Managing Ethical Dilemmas

This chapter reviews almost a decade of research and writing undertaken by the authors into ethical dilemmas faced by leaders in a number of different operational contexts, including schools, universities and the public sector. The importance of this body of work is emphasised by one of our research participants who argued that ethical dilemmas were the 'bread and butter' of what leaders do. The chapter comprises four main sections. The first section overviews key theoretical aspects as background to the chapter, including relevant discussions about ethics and ethical decision-making. The second section synthesises the research findings from our work in the three contexts noted above, drawing out a set of learnings that contribute to better understandings of the nature, complexities and challenges of ethical dilemmas. This section is followed by a discussion of an explanatory conceptual model of ethical dilemmas that was developed initially from the literature and confirmed by our research. The model reminds us of some of the critical issues at play in ethical dilemmas, and some of the consequences and implications for organisational culture building they can generate. By way of a short scenario, the final section provides a theory-to-practice illustration of an ethical dilemma in action. A set of recommendations, drawn from the ideas of school leaders who have worked with this and similar dilemmas, is offered as a way forward to better understanding and resolution of such dilemmas so prevalent in our schools today.

An ethical approach to sharing school successes in times of high-stakes accountability

High-stakes testing has become an important element of the Australian educational landscape. As one part of the neo-liberal paradigm where beliefs in the individual and the free market are paramount, it is of concern how school leaders can respond to this phenomenon in an ethical manner. Ethics and ethical leadership have increased in prominence both in the educational administration literature and in the media (Cranston, Ehrich, & Kimber, 2006). In this paper we consider ethical theories on which school principals can draw, not only in the leadership of their own schools but in their relationships with other schools. We provide an example of a school leader sharing a successful intervention with other schools, illustrating that school leaders can create spaces for promoting the public good within the context of high-stakes testing.

Entreprise mythique et leadership éthique

Le présent article a pour objectif de mieux saisir les enjeux philosophiques qui sont intrinsèquement liés à la transformation progressive d’une méga-corporation en entreprise « mythique », et par conséquent de décrire les temporalités propres à l’entreprise mythique, de sorte à pouvoir mieux reconnaître comment des méga-corporations sont en voie de devenir des entreprises dites « mythiques ». Nous ferons également état des défis que la méga-corporation en voie de devenir mythique doit assumer afin d’éviter de tomber dans les pièges idéologiques typiques de sa mythicisation, plus spécifiquement le défi d’assumer un leadership éthique de type transformationnel, en tant qu’expression de l’essence de l’organisation, ou de sa raison d’être.

Transformational leadership and moral reasoning

Terms such as moral and ethical leadership are used widely in theory, yet little systematic research has related a sociomoral dimension to leadership in organizations. This study investigated whether managers' moral reasoning (n=132) was associated with the transformational and transactional leadership behaviors they exhibited as perceived by their subordinates (n=407). Managers completed the Defining Issues Test (J. R. Rest, 1990), whereas their subordinates completed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (B. M. Bass & B. J. Avolio, 1995). Analysis of covariance indicated that managers scoring in the highest group of the moral-reasoning distribution exhibited more transformational leadership behaviors than leaders scoring in the lowest group. As expected, there was no relationship between moral-reasoning group and transactional leadership behaviors. Implications for leadership development are discussed.

Shall we dance? The story of The Radiance Dance Project

Community workers are often described as unsung heroes who work for, with, and alongside others in order to make qualitative differences to the communities they serve. This paper reports on the story of a community based arts educator, Morgan Jai-Morincome, winner of the ACT Adult Learners Week Award for an outstanding program in 2007. This program, referred to as The Radiance Dance Project, is an inclusive performance project open to women with and without disabilities that culminates in a yearly performance. Via an interview with Morgan, observations of a workshop she provided for the women in her 2009 program, and a viewing of a DVD of the 2008 dance performance, this case study provides an illustration of the power of arts based educative processes for breaking down barriers between people with and without disabilities. It draws upon constructs from ethical leadership theory and empowerment theory to interpret her ideas and practices.

Leading with moral purpose : insights from community leaders

Leadership has been described as having a moral purpose. This paper argues that theoretical insights from ethical leadership theory and empowerment theory are useful for understanding the work of community leaders. Community leaders tend to be people who are known mainly to their immediate community, work in a voluntary capacity and are committed to a particular goal or cause. The paper begins by referring to Starratt’s (1996) framework that comprises three inter-related ethics: an ethic of care, critique and justice, each of which is said to constitute ethical leadership. It then explores insights from empowerment theory since it is argued that it has some strong connections to ethical leadership. Central to both perspectives is the notion of relationships and ‘power to’ where power is shared and where people work together for change. Based on interviews with nine grassroots voluntary community leaders, this paper contributes to the limited research in the community leadership field by understanding more fully their values, beliefs and leadership practices. It is argued that the insights of ethical leadership and empowerment theory are highly relevant to explain their work and practice. The paper concludes by discussing some implications for leaders in educational settings.