Understanding Responsible Leadership:
Role Identity And Motivational Drivers
Ó Springer 2007
Journal of Business Ethics (2007) 74:437–456
DOI 10.1007/s10551-007-9518-x
Understanding Responsible Leadership:
Role Identity and Motivational Drivers
Nicola M. Pless
The Case of Dame Anita Roddick, Founder of The Body Shop
ABSTRACT. This article contributes to the emerging discussion on responsible leadership by providing an analysis of the inner theatre of a responsible leader. I use a narrative approach for analyzing the biography of Anita
Roddick as a widely acknowledged prototype of a responsible leader. With clinical and normative lenses I explore the relationship between responsible leadership behavior and the underlying motivational systems. I begin the article with an introduction outlining the current state of responsible leadership research and explaining the kind of magnifying glasses used to examine the case. I continue with a brief summary of Anita Roddick’s development from childhood to adulthood, which provides the biographical background for exploring her motivational systems as a leader. Against this backdrop, I analyze the relationship between motivational drivers and a responsible leadership identity as revealed by Roddick in different behavioral leadership roles. I conclude the article by providing a number of lessons learned for responsible leadership and the development of future global leaders.
KEY WORDS: responsible leadership, corporate social responsibility, citizenship, clinical psychology, narrative analysis, moral development, female principles
Dr. Nicola M. Pless is a former Vice President of leadership development at a large financial services institution. Currently she is Reader in Responsible Leadership at the University of
St. Gallen and Research Director of the HSG-INSEAD
Initiative on Responsible Leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in organizational theory and social issues from the University of
St. Gallen and a diploma in clinical organizational psychology from INSEAD where she is a Visiting Senior
Research
Journal of Business Ethics (2007) 74:437–456
DOI 10.1007/s10551-007-9518-x
Understanding Responsible Leadership:
Role Identity and Motivational Drivers
Nicola M. Pless
The Case of Dame Anita Roddick, Founder of The Body Shop
ABSTRACT. This article contributes to the emerging discussion on responsible leadership by providing an analysis of the inner theatre of a responsible leader. I use a narrative approach for analyzing the biography of Anita
Roddick as a widely acknowledged prototype of a responsible leader. With clinical and normative lenses I explore the relationship between responsible leadership behavior and the underlying motivational systems. I begin the article with an introduction outlining the current state of responsible leadership research and explaining the kind of magnifying glasses used to examine the case. I continue with a brief summary of Anita Roddick’s development from childhood to adulthood, which provides the biographical background for exploring her motivational systems as a leader. Against this backdrop, I analyze the relationship between motivational drivers and a responsible leadership identity as revealed by Roddick in different behavioral leadership roles. I conclude the article by providing a number of lessons learned for responsible leadership and the development of future global leaders.
KEY WORDS: responsible leadership, corporate social responsibility, citizenship, clinical psychology, narrative analysis, moral development, female principles
Dr. Nicola M. Pless is a former Vice President of leadership development at a large financial services institution. Currently she is Reader in Responsible Leadership at the University of
St. Gallen and Research Director of the HSG-INSEAD
Initiative on Responsible Leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in organizational theory and social issues from the University of
St. Gallen and a diploma in clinical organizational psychology from INSEAD where she is a Visiting Senior
Research