Key concepts of ethical leadership: A review of the literature

Abstract

Leadership styles are closely related to policy-making decisions and management of human resources. Services’ efficiency, organisational sustainability, quality improvement and staff retention are affected by the leadership practices and the specific attributes that leaders possess. Ethical leadership is valued for its components of moral excellence, authenticity and integrity. It is suitable for the development of staff and organization and has a positive influence on employees and service users. The aim of this review is to identify and synthesize the key concepts of ethical leadership as well as issues of practicing ethical leadership in the contemporary organisational and social contexts. A literature search was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar to identify studies published from 2014 to 2023. The keywords used were “ethical leadership”,“leadership styles”, and “ethical leaders”. Following the examination of the relevant literature, three main categories emerged, namely: a) Ethical leadership in the era of change, b) Key-elements of ethical leadership, and c) Preparing ethical leaders. The results highlighted that elements of ethical leadership are valued more in our contemporary era where ethical principles are strongly challenged in working and social environments. Development of ethical leaders is a priority for higher education institutions and for organisations that intend to promote ethical practices, value-driven employees and an ethical culture in their mission and philosophy.