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Chapter 2. Stepping Out of the Shadows

This chapter looks at why leaders cast shadows insight of light and how they can master these forces.

Shadow casters include 1. unhealthy motivations 2. faulty decision making caused by mistaken

assumptions and failure of moral imagination 3. lack of ethical expertise 4. contextual (group, organizational, societal) pressures

that encourage people to set their personal standard aside

© 2015 SAGE Publications, Inc.

Shadow Casters

Unhealthy Motivations

Internal Enemies or Monsters Monster 1: Insecurity Monster 2: Battleground Mentality Monster 3: Functional Atheism Monster 4: Fear Monster 5: Denying Death Monster 6: Evil


Shadow Casters

Unhealthy Motivations Selfishness (manifests through pride, greed,

narcissism, and Machiavellianism) Pride: proud of themselves and their accomplishments;

lack empathy for others and cannot see their points of view or learn from followers

Greed: driven to earn more and to accumulate additional perks, focuses attention on making the numbers

Narcissism: in love with the image of himself, are self-absorbed and constantly seeking positive feedback

Machiavellianism: skilled at manipulating others for their own ends; engage in lots of self-promotion, are emotionally cold, and are prone to aggressive behavior


The Susceptible Follower

A group of scholars from Penn State University argues that we can gain a better understanding of the process of destructive leadership by identifying the factors that make followers susceptible to the influence of destructive superiors.

They place susceptible subordinates into two categories: conformers and colluders

Conformers engage in destructive behavior while obeying their leaders. Colluders actively support or contribute to the leader’s destructive mission.



Conformers: Lost Souls: these individuals are needy and are vulnerable to destructive leaders because they have basic unmet needs

Conformers: Authoritarians: authoritarians believe that leaders have a right to demand obedience and it is their belief in the legitimacy of the leader that triggers their obedience.

Conformers: Bystanders: bystanders, perhaps the largest group of susceptible followers, are generally passive and motivated by fear.



Colluders: Opportunists: opportunists carry out the destructive directives of their leaders because they believe that they will be rewarded for doing so; they are ambitious, greedy, and manipulative, lacking in self-control

Colluders: Acolytes: acolytes are “true believers;” they actively partner with the leader because they share the leader’s goals and values.


Focus on Follow Ethics

Follower Motivations and the Dangers of Toxic Leadership A Need for Parent Figures: negative role models

(authoritative, abusive, demeaning) often encourage followers to seek out similar toxic leaders later in life

Exchanging Freedom for Security: insecure followers often give up their freedom in order to join unethical leaders and destructive causes

The Need to Feel Chosen: bad leaders take advantage of the need to feel special convincing followers that they are part of a unique organization or cause that is better than all others


Focus on Follower Ethics

Follower Motivations and the Dangers of Toxic Leadership (cont’d) The Need for Community: people will sacrifice to

belong to a group including enduring abusive treatment from their leaders, obeying unethical orders, accepting low wages and so on

Fear of Ostracism, Isolation and Social Death: speaking out against an unethical leader, organization, or cause brings ostracism (social death) that keeps followers from dissenting

A Sense of Personal Weakness and Powerlessness: followers who otherwise feel competent find it intimidating to challenge a toxic leader


Faulty Decision Making

Mistaken Assumptions

Theories About How the World Operates: these assumptions have to do with determining the consequences of choices, judging risks, and identifying causes

Theories About Other People: ethnocentrism and stereotyping are particularly damaging

Ethnocentrism: the tendency to think that we are better than “they” are, that our way of doing things is superior to “theirs”

Stereotypes: our beliefs about other groups of people



Mistaken Assumptions (cont’d) Theories About Ourselves:

Faulty theory that involves self-perceptions Executives tend to think they are superior and can

control events Overconfidence is a problem Likely to interpret new information according to their

existing biases Unrealistic self-perceptions of all types put leaders at

ethical risk They may justify immoral behavior Powerful leaders are particularly likely to think they are

godlike



Failure of Moral Imagination

Many ethicists believe that moral imagination—sensitivity to moral issues and options—is key to ethical behavior and works hand in hand with moral reasoning in the decision-making process.



Failure of Moral Imagination (cont’d) Three-part definition of moral imagination:

Reproductive imagination is being aware of elements of the context (participants, setting, etc.), what schemas (scripts, ways of thinking) are operating, and what ethical conflicts are present.

Productive imagination is reframing the problem from a variety of perspectives and revamping one’s current schemas.

Creative imagination is coming up with new and morally sound solutions that can be justified to outsiders.



Moral Imagination:

Facilitates ethical reasoning because it helps leaders step away from their typical mental scripts or schemas and to recognize the moral elements of events.

Moral imagination enhances moral reasoning by encouraging the generation of novel alternatives.


Moral Disengagement

Moral disengagement helps account for the fact that individuals can have a clear sense of right and wrong yet engage in immoral activities

These individuals convince themselves that their immoral conduct is moral, they minimize their role in causing harm, and they devalue the victims of their destructive behavior


Turning Immoral Conduct into Moral Conduct

1. Moral Justification: Leaders persuade themselves that their harmful behavior is actually moral and beneficial

2. Euphemistic labeling: Euphemistic language has a

sanitizing function, making harmful behavior appear more respectable and reducing personal responsibility.

3. Advantageous comparison: Contrast involves

comparing unethical or criminal acts with even worse activities, thus making them appear more tolerable.


Minimizing Harm

4. Displacement of responsibility: These individuals often put the blame on someone else so as to minimize their responsibility for doing damage to others.

5. Diffusion of responsibility: Diffusing or spreading out responsibility also lessens personal accountability for immoral behavior.


Devaluing Victims

6. Dehumanization: It is easier to mistreat others if they are seen as less than fully human

7. Attribution of blame: Blaming others is an expedient way to excuse unethical behavior


Leadership Ethics at the Movies: Lord of War

Discussion Questions:

What unhealthy motivations drive Orlov? What moral disengagement mechanisms

does Orlov use to justify his actions? Did Yuri’s wife deliberately remain

ignorant about his activities in order to maintain her family and lifestyle?


Lack of Expertise

Leaders may unintentionally cast shadows because they lack the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience.

We may not have ever followed a formal, step-by-step approach to solving an ethical problem in a group.

We may not know what ethical perspectives or frameworks can be applied to ethical dilemmas.


Contextual Pressures

Conformity is a problem for many small groups.

Some groups might pressure dissenters, shield themselves from negative feedback, keep silent when the disagree, and so on.

Top managers at some organizations may fire employees who talk about ethical issues so that they can claim ignorance if followers do act unethically.



Key Terms Ethical segregation: leaders and followers may have

strong personal moral codes that regulate their personal lives, but act much less ethically at work

Socialization: the workplace socialization process may blind members to the consequences of their actions

Co-option: organizational leaders use rewards to reduce new employees’ discomfort with immoral behaviors

Incrementalism: gradually leads new members up the “ladder of corruption”

Compromise: backs members into corruption as they deal with dilemmas and conflicts



Cultural differences can also encourage leaders to abandon their personal codes of conduct.

Leaders can be victims of contextual pressures as well as the architects of the unethical climates, structures, policies, and procedures that cause groups and organizations to fail in the first place.

Corporate scandals: typically the result of leaders who not only engage in

immoral behavior but also encourage their followers to follow their example


Stepping out of the Shadows

Mastering the shadows leaders cast

Need to look inward to address our motivations We also need to improve our ethical decision

making Resist negative contextual influences at the same

time we create healthy ethical climates View your ethical development as part of your

overall development as a leader


3 Elements to Increase Your Ethical Competence

Assessment Feedback about how well you handle ethical

dilemmas, how others perceive your character, and how your decisions affect followers

Challenge You need the challenges and practice that come from

moving into new leadership positions

Support You need the support of others to maximize your

development


Become an Ethical Expert

Learn in a well-structured environment (like a college or university

Master both moral theory and skillsLearn how previous experts have dealt with

moral problems and how some choices are better than others

More experience means you will get better at solving ethical problems and better able to explain your choices

Put in the necessary time and focused effort


Ethical Skills: A Sampler

Ethical Sensitivity (recognition of ethical problems)

Understanding emotional expression Taking the perspective of others Connecting to others Responding to diversity Controlling social bias Interpreting situations Communicating effectively



Ethical Judgment (decision making)

Understanding ethical problems Using codes and identifying judgment criteria Reasoning generally Reasoning ethically Understanding consequences Reflecting on process and outcome Coping and resiliency



Ethical Focus (motivation to act ethically)

Respecting others Cultivating conscience Acting responsibility Helping others Finding meaning in life Valuing traditions and institutions Developing ethical identity and integrity



Ethical Action (following through on moral decisions)

Resolving conflicts and problems Asserting respectfully Taking initiative as a leader Implementing decisions Cultivating courage Persevering Working hard


CASE STUDY: A MODERN DAY LIBERTINE

Discussion Questions What other powerful leaders have apparently engaged in

sexual misconduct out of a sense of entitlement? What can followers do to prevent their leaders from feeling

entitled? What other factors, besides power, might encourage leaders

to believe they are entitled to ignore the rules that apply to everyone else?

Do you think that powerful men are more likely to engage in sexual infidelity than powerful women? Why or why not?

Does being a libertine automatically disqualify someone from becoming a leader?

How much should citizens be concerned about the private lives of their political leaders?


CASE STUDY: The $300 Sneaker

Based on this case study from the book discuss the following scenario and question:

Imagine that you are a top level Nike executive. Would you produce and market the LeBron X Plus?


CASE STUDY: Death by Peanuts

Discussion Questions: What factors described in the chapter contributed to top

management’s decision to ship contaminated products? What factors encouraged plant workers to keep silent about

conditions at the plant? Were employees justified in keeping their concerns to themselves? Should former PCA employees face criminal charges for failing to

report the conditions at the plant to outside authorities? Why or why not?

How can leaders encourage followers to report unethical and illegal behavior?

What advice would you offer to employees who must decide whether or not to report unethical behavior or situations?

What leadership/followership ethics lessons do you take from this case?


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