The echo of conscience: why responsible leadership should aim to change the rules

Abstract

Academic work on responsible leadership has emphasised two aspects: the value orientation of leaders, and the scope of interests they consider in their leadership – the range of stakeholders, current and future, human and non-human. I address these via two questions that are equally important but different in scale: one is about the motives for individual action and the other about the coordination of multiple organisations. Possible answers are considered in the context of leadership development: the developmental pathways, and the structure of leader and leadership development programmes, that are most likely to promote responsible leadership. On the question of moral motivation (drawing on the work of Paul Ricoeur) I suggest four influential factors: witnessing the suffering of others, admonitions of 'masters of justice', welfare of loved ones, and networks within which to discuss these matters. These I summarise as 'the echo of conscience'. On the question of coordinated change at a systemic level, I review several approaches commonly found in leadership development programmes, interpret these as emerging from four 'logics' and consider the implications for responsible leader development. The four logics are: systems are so complex that entrepreneurial innovation is a primary mode of responsible leadership; specific issues might be resolved by bringing 'the system in the room'; sector-specific organising to change the rules of the game towards greater social responsibility; identifying 'positive tipping points' and seeking triggers for change. I conclude with a meditation on idealism in responsible leadership.