Rethinking ethical leadership in Kenya: adopting a new paradigm

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to encourage students and scholars in the field of ethics to re-think and develop new approaches concerning the actual practice of ethical leadership. While many authors have written on the subject of leadership values and ethics, this paper examines, in particular, the works of Aristotle, James Burns, James O’Toole, John Kotter, Edgar Schein, as well as other notable scholars. Additionally, it attempts to add to the body of knowledge an ethical leadership approach that could assist those in positions of power and influence to more effectively link theory to practice. The author argues that a leader who espouses and upholds values in an organisation is not sufficient to transform a corrupt system. This individual must indeed directly model the desired behaviour, create a sense of urgency within the entity to develop and embrace a new principled culture, and form a team of like-minded co-leaders and followers. The paper postulates that the application of the Theory of Mechanical Advantage would help usher an organisation into a state in which a firm foundation for ethical leadership could be established. This paper finally formulates what the author refers to as the Law of Pseudo- Revolutionary Change which states that change that does not directly impact the core of the organisational culture never effects real and fundamental change within that entity.