SENIOR POLITICAL PERSONALITIES’ IMPACTS ON PUBLIC SECTOR ETHICAL LEADERSHIP PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES

Abstract

The concept of ethical leadership in the public sector is an intriguing and puzzling endeavor. It is assumed that political leaders, among other things, are first unable to distinguish between their personal and professional moral and ethical leadership dilemmas, and second, they are, either not acutely aware of, or ignorant of the effects that their personal ethical posture while in office has on the perceptions and practice of ethical behavior throughout the public sector and, thus, on the provision of the public goods and services. Leadership, who work for the government, in the public sector has a significant impact on their immediate reports and on the collective conscience of the country. Senior public sector executives naturally establish norms and values that go beyond current regulations and guide moral behavior inside and outside government. By evaluating the influences of the private and public personas of three previous South African state presidents, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma, this essay discusses the theories on which leadership is based. The conceptual basis of the research includes material that was studied from a range of sources, including scholarly publications, popular media pronouncements, and policies. The results imply that a leader’s ethical standing, conduct materialize in people’s beliefs and actions, and impact the provision of services.