A rigorous qualitative study completed by Plinio, Young, and Lavery (2010) found that one of the most serious problem facing organizations today is impoverished ethical behavior and nonexistent ethical leadership. Consequently, the authors note that trust in leadership is waning and the situation is worsened by a weak economy. The authors also noted an alarming increase in misconduct by employees at all levels.
Darcy (2010) confirms that the current climate of organizations is skeptical regarding ethics. In a qualitative study completed by the author, it was discovered that sixty-six per cent of people question if ethics within leadership even exists. This is what the author refers to as “a crisis of trust” (p. 200). The conclusion of the study found that the biggest problem in organizations and individuals today is a lack of trust.
This lack of trust can be attributed to what Frank (2002) calls the “shadow side” of leadership. These shadows include the negative influences of “power, privilege, deception, inconsistency, irresponsibility, and misplaced loyalties” (p. 81). Unfortunately, over time followers become exposed to the consequences these shadow behaviors cause, and lose trust in the integrity of their leader.
This has ignited a slew of research and articles regarding the topic of ethical leadership. How does one lead a company in an ethical manner while also producing a plethora of profits? In order to answer this question, one must first gain an understanding of what the literature defines as ethical leadership. Yukl (2006) summarizes the ethical leader as one who promotes honesty, and mirrors his or her actions with their values and beliefs. However, the author acknowledges the field of ethical leadership is an ambiguous construct, which includes various constituents. As a result, ethical leadership may be difficult to evaluate.