Leadership: Trustworthiness and Ethical Stewardship
Trustworthiness and Ethical Stewardship
The problem to be investigated is to address the relationship between “leadership behavior, perceptions about [a] leader’s trustworthiness, and the ethical duties” (Caldwell, Hayes & Long, 2012, p.497) associated with interdependent leadership style. As this author reflects upon the different leaders that he has served under over the past forty years, the good ones were epitomized by assigning responsibility and expecting subordinates to live up to those responsibilities, keep their word, and being congruent in keeping their own. On the other hand, the worst leaders were characterized by being unfaithful in keep their word, appearing not to care about those that worked for them, in being mediocre in their jobs, and tolerating mediocrity in others. This author realizes that principles are not established by individual experience, but the findings of Caldwell, Hayes, and Long, among others, empirically support the subjective experience of the author.
Ethical Stewardship
The idea of ethical stewardship is presented in Caldwell et al. (2010), who indicate that there are leaders who strive to “maximize long-term wealth creation” through “creating relationships that maximize stakeholder ownership and commitment” (p.501). Ryan, Buchholtz & Kolb (2010) reviewed research drawing from stewardship theory and “its assumptions of executive good will and firm-interest-maximizing motivation” (p. 681) in discussing relationships between CEOs and corporate boards. This is consistent with the author’s own experience – good leaders are ethical leaders. As the leader establishes a strong personal relationship, they exert a positive influence on followers to commit and remain motivated to the leaders’ goals and focus. Those leaders, who were most influential and able to call on the time, dedication, and commitment of the author, seemed to have a style of serving together, rather than a me-first attitude (Block, 1993). Poor leaders,
The problem to be investigated is to address the relationship between “leadership behavior, perceptions about [a] leader’s trustworthiness, and the ethical duties” (Caldwell, Hayes & Long, 2012, p.497) associated with interdependent leadership style. As this author reflects upon the different leaders that he has served under over the past forty years, the good ones were epitomized by assigning responsibility and expecting subordinates to live up to those responsibilities, keep their word, and being congruent in keeping their own. On the other hand, the worst leaders were characterized by being unfaithful in keep their word, appearing not to care about those that worked for them, in being mediocre in their jobs, and tolerating mediocrity in others. This author realizes that principles are not established by individual experience, but the findings of Caldwell, Hayes, and Long, among others, empirically support the subjective experience of the author.
Ethical Stewardship
The idea of ethical stewardship is presented in Caldwell et al. (2010), who indicate that there are leaders who strive to “maximize long-term wealth creation” through “creating relationships that maximize stakeholder ownership and commitment” (p.501). Ryan, Buchholtz & Kolb (2010) reviewed research drawing from stewardship theory and “its assumptions of executive good will and firm-interest-maximizing motivation” (p. 681) in discussing relationships between CEOs and corporate boards. This is consistent with the author’s own experience – good leaders are ethical leaders. As the leader establishes a strong personal relationship, they exert a positive influence on followers to commit and remain motivated to the leaders’ goals and focus. Those leaders, who were most influential and able to call on the time, dedication, and commitment of the author, seemed to have a style of serving together, rather than a me-first attitude (Block, 1993). Poor leaders,
References: * Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: Choosing Service over Self-Interest. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. * Caldwell, C., Hayes, L * Chemers, M. M. (1997). An Integrative Theory of Leadership. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. * Collins, J * Collins, J. (2005). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, 83(7), 136-146. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11189464 * Goleman, D * Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An Integration Model of Organizational Trust, Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709-734. doi:10.2307/258792 * Primeaux, P., Karri, R., & Caldwell C