What does it mean to be responsible? Addressing the missing responsibility dimension in ethical leadership research

Abstract

This paper extends research on ethical leadership by proposing a responsibility orientation for leaders. Responsible leadership is based on the concept of leaders who are not isolated from the environment, who critically evaluate prevailing norms, are forward looking, share responsibility, and aim to solve problems collectively. Adding such a responsibility orientation helps to address critical issues that persist in research on ethical leadership. The paper discusses important aspects of responsible leadership, which include being able to make informed ethical judgments about prevailing norms and rules, communicating effectively with stakeholders, engaging in long-term thinking and in perspective taking, displaying moral courage, and aspiring to positive change. Furthermore, responsible leadership means actively engaging stakeholders, encouraging participative decision making, and aiming for shared problem solving. A case study that draws on in-depth interviews with the representatives of businesses and nongovernmental organizations illustrates the practical relevance of thinking about responsibility and reveals the challenges of responsible leadership.

Retraction: Leaders and decision making: a study of the drivers of courage

“…Therefore, courage is present in these theories. In ethical leadership, moral courage plays a role in long-term decision-making (Voegtlin, 2016). The construct of courage is found within Idealized influence and Inspirational motivation of transformational leadership (Bass, 1990) because they both require for leaders to act in the benefit of the group, and to provide assurance (Dionne et al, 2004).…”

How Responsible Leadership Motivates Employees to Engage in Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment: A Double-Mediation Model

“…Traditional leadership (e.g., ethical leadership) overemphasizes its influence and does not adequately recognize the surrounding environment on which the leadership depends and the other stakeholders with which it interacts. In addition, such leadership forms ignore the responsibility dimension, which has been a focus of studies on responsible leadership [23]. Therefore, responsible leadership transcends the binary leadership-employee relationship that has been the focus of traditional leadership studies and emphasizes multiple leader-stakeholder relationships, paying attention to not only the interests of shareholders in decision-making but also the needs of multiple stakeholders.…”

Professional Aspirations as Indicators of Responsible Leadership Style and Corporate Social Responsibility. Are We Training the Responsible Managers that Business and Society Need? A Cross-national Study

“…The premise adopted here, which is consistent with the stance held by other authors (e.g., Voegtlin, 2016), is that a) RL can be defined as attitudes and values that denote a willingness to relate to and work in conjunction with internal and external stakeholders to effectively achieve strategic objectives and personal goals and b) RL can be inferred from an analysis of people's behavior or their expected or intended behavior. Further to that premise, the paper pursues a two-fold aim: (1) to identify possible RL profiles or behavioral styles characterizing business school undergraduates by exploring their expectations around workplace behavior and achievement and (2) to analyze the relationship between RL style and the importance attached to CSR as a company responsibility.…”

“…In synthesis, the foundational idea on which our study is built is that the personal values and attitudes indicative of a willingness to relate to and work with others, including internal and external stakeholders, constitute the fundamental, overarching dimension that defines and is requisite to RL. Acknowledgement of this fundamental relational dimension and analysis of the results of interaction and connectedness with stakeholders have inspired a great deal of RLrelated research (e.g., Doh & Quigley, 2014;Maak & Pless, 2006, 2009Maak et al, 2016;Miska et al, 2014;Miska & Mendenhall, 2015;Pless & Maak, 2011;Stahl & De Luque, 2014;Voegtlin, 2016;Voegtlin et al, 2012). Likewise, enlightening in the context of the relational element that defines RL and with respect to the aims of this study are the proposals put forward by Maak & Pless (2006, pp.…”

“…Such aims can be met by following the SDG Compass protocol (https:// sdgcompass.org/). Responsibility is deemed to be a key element in effective leadership (see e.g., Voegtlin, 2016;Waldman & Galvin, 2008). Responsible leadership (RL) can be viewed as an answer to society's persistent demands for organizational responsibility.…”