Skip to main content

Relational Leadership for Sustainability: Building an Ethical Framework from the Moral Theory of ‘Ethics of Care’

Journal of Business Ethics volume 156, pages 25–43 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

The practice of relational leadership is essential for dealing with the increasingly urgent and complex social, economic and environmental issues that characterize sustainability. Despite growing attention to both relational leadership and leadership for sustainability, an ethical understanding of both is limited. This is problematic as both sustainability and relational leadership are rife with moral implications. This paper conceptually explores how the moral theory of ‘ethics of care’ can help to illuminate the ethical dimensions of relational leadership for sustainability. In doing so, the implications of ethics of care more broadly for the practice of relational leadership development are elaborated. From a caring perspective, a ‘relational stance’ or logic of effectiveness can be fostered through engaging in a reflective process of moral education through conversation. In starting this dialogue, we can begin to build capacity for relational leadership for sustainability and, thus, support the development of individual well-being and organizational and societal flourishing.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1

References

  • Anderson, R. C. (1998). Mid-course correction: Toward a sustainable enterprise: The Interface model. Atlanta, GA: Peregrinzilla Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18, 19–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bazerman, M., & Tenbrunsel, A. (2011). Blind spots: Why we fail to do what’s right and what to do about it. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, J. (1972). Dewey, John. In P. Edwards (Ed.), The encyclopedia of philosophy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall College Division.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binns, J. (2008). The ethics of relational leading: Gender matters. Gender, Work, and Organizations, 15, 600–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowie, N. E. (1999). Business ethics: A Kantian perspective. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broman, G., Robèrt, K. H., Basile, G., Larsson, T., Baumgartner, R., Collins, T., et al. (2014). Systematic leadership towards sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 64, 1–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, K. (2011). Responsible leadership as virtuous leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 98, 25–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, K. (2012). Positive leadership: Strategies for extraordinary performance. San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, K. (2013). Practicing positive leadership: Tools and techniques that create extraordinary results. San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ciulla, J. (2009). Leadership and the ethics of care. Journal of Business Ethics, 88, 3–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooperrider, D., & Whitney, D. D. (2005). Appreciative inquiry: A positive revolution in change. San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunliffe, A. L. (2009). The philosopher leader: On relationalism, ethics and reflexivity—A critical perspective to teaching leadership. Management Learning, 40, 87–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunliffe, A. L., & Eriksen, M. (2011). Relational leadership. Human Relations, 64, 1425–1449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, D., & Drath, B. (2012). Dialogue: A dialogue on theorizing relational leadership. In M. Uhl-Bien & S. Ospina (Eds.), Advancing relational leadership research (pp. 227–251). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25, 63–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DesJardins, J. (2016). Is it time to jump off the sustainability bandwagon? Business Ethics Quarterly, 26, 117–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drath, W. (2001). The deep blue sea: Rethinking the source of leadership. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drath, W. H., & Paulus, C. J. (1994). Making common sense: Leadership as meaning-making in a community of practice. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, J. E., & Spreitzer, G. M. (Eds.). (2014). How to be a positive leader: Insights from leading thinkers on positive organizations. San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eagly, A. H. (2005). Achieving relational authenticity in leadership: Does gender matter? Leadership Quarterly, 16, 459–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eames, S. M. (1977). Pragmatic naturalism: An introduction. Carbondale and Edwardsville, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld, J. R., & Hoffman, A. J. (2013). Flourishing: A frank conversation about sustainability. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisler, R. T. (2007). The real wealth of nations: Creating a caring economics. San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkington, J. (1998). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engster, D. (2007). The heart of justice: Care ethics and political theory. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, J. K. (1999). Disappearing acts: Gender, power and relational practice at work. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, J. K. (2007). A window on relational mentoring. In R. R. Ragins & K. E. Kran (Eds.), The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 373–400). New York: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, J. K. (2012). The relational practice of leadership. In M. Uhl-Bien & S. M. Ospina (Eds.), Advancing relational leadership: A dialogue among perspectives (pp. 83–106). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Friedman, M. (2002). Capitalism and freedom: Fortieth anniversary edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

  • Gabriel, Y. (2015). The caring leader—What followers expect of their leaders and why? Leadership, 11, 316–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, B. (2003). Authentic leadership: Rediscovering the secrets to creating lasting value. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4, 75–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, C. (2011). Joining the resistance. Malden, MA: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gladwin, T. N., Kennelly, J. J., & Krause, T. S. (1995). Shifting paradigms for sustainable development: Implications for management theory and research. Academy of Management Review, 20, 874–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, L. S. (1999). The relational zone: The role of caring relationships in the co-construction of mind. American Educational Research Journal, 36, 647–673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenleaf, R. K. (1977/2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness, 25th anniversary edition. New York, NY: Paulist Press.

  • Hamington, M. (2004). Embodied care: Jane Addams, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and feminist ethics. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S. (2010). Capitalism at the crossroads: Next generation strategies for a post-crisis world (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawk, T. F. (2011). An ethic of care: A relational ethic for the relational characteristics of organizations. In M. Hamington & M. Sander-Staudt (Eds.), Applying care ethics to business (pp. 3–34). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hawk, T. F., & Lyons, P. R. (2008). Please don’t give up on me: When faculty fail to care. Journal of Management Education, 32(3), 316–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Held, V. (2006). The ethics of care: Personal, political, and global. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hursthouse, R. (1999). On virtue ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Interface (2017). http://www.interfaceglobal.com/sustainability.aspx

  • Jordan, J. V., Kaplan, A. G., Stiver, I. P., Surrey, J. L., & Miller, J. B. (1991). Women’s growth in connection: Writings from the Stone Center. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelemen, M., & Rumens, N. (Eds.). (2013). American pragmatism and organization: Issues and controversies. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koehn, D. (1998). Rethinking feminist ethics: Care, trust and empathy. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development: Moral stages and the idea of justice (Essays on moral development) (Vol. 1). New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurucz, E., Colbert, B., Lüdeke-Freund, F., Upward, A., & Willard, B. (2017). Relational leadership for strategic sustainability: Practices and capabilities to advance the design and assessment of sustainable business models. The Journal of Cleaner Production, 140(1), 189–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurucz, E. C., Colbert, B. A., & Marcus, J. (2014). Sustainability as a provocation to rethink management education: Building a progressive educative practice. Management Learning, 45, 437–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurucz, E., Colbert, B., & Wheeler, D. (2008). The business case for sustainability. In A. Crane, A. McWilliams, D. Matten, et al. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook on corporate social responsibility (pp. 83–112). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurucz, E., Colbert, B., & Wheeler, D. (2013). Reconstructing value: Leadership skills for a sustainable world. Toronto: Rotman/University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, T. B., & Maitlis, S. (2012). Care and possibility: Enacting an ethic of care through narrative practice. Academy of Management Review, 37, 641–663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthans, F., & Avolio, B. J. (2003). Authentic leadership development. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 241–258). San Fransisco: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maak, T., & Pless, N. (2006a). Responsible leadership in a stakeholder society—A relational perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 66, 99–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maak, T., & Pless, N. (2006b). Responsible leadership: A relational approach. In T. Maak & N. Pless (Eds.), Responsible leadership (pp. 33–53). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mayeroff, M. (1971). On caring. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCauley, C., Van Velsor, E., & Ruderman, M. N. (2010). Introduction: Our view of leadership development. In E. Van Velsor, C. D. McCauley, & M. N. Ruderman (Eds.), The centre for creative leadership handbook of leadership development (3rd ed., pp. 1–26). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, H. (2004). John Dewey and environmental philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mill, J. S. (1969). Utilitarianism. Toronto: Toronto University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. B. (1976). Toward a new psychology of women. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. B., & Stiver, I. P. (1997). The healing connection: How women form relationships in therapy and in life. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J. P. (1990). Pragmatism: From Peirce to Davidson. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson, J., & Kurucz, E. C. (2017). Fostering an emergent mindset in leaders: The role of caring in leadership development. In R. Koonce, P. Robinson, & B. Vogel (Eds.), Developing Leaders for Positive Organizing: A 21st Century repertoire for leading in extraordinary times. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noddings, N. (2013). Caring: A relational approach to ethics and moral education. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noddings, N. (2002). Educating moral people: A caring alternative to character education. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). New York: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B. (2005). Sustainability: A philosophy of adaptive ecosystem management. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ospina, S. M., & Uhl-Bien, M. (2012). Exploring the competing bases for legitimacy in contemporary leadership studies. In M. Uhl-Bien & S. M. Ospina (Eds.), Advancing relational leadership research: A dialogue among perspectives (pp. 1–40). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oxley, J., & Wittkower, D. E. (2011). Care and loyalty in the workplace. In M. Hamington & M. Sander-Staudt (Eds.), Applying care ethics to business (pp. 221–243). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Paillé, P., Mejia-Morelos, J. H., Marche-Paillé, A., Chen, C. C., & Chen, Y. (2016). Corporate greening, exchange process among co-workers, and ethics of care: An empirical study on the determinants of pro-environmental behaviors at coworkers-level. Journal of Business Ethics, 136, 655–673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, D. E., & Stoll, M. L. (2011). Moving toward a more caring stakeholder theory: Global business ethics in dialogue with the feminist ethics of care. In M. Hamington & M. Sander-Staudt (Eds.), Applying care ethics to business (pp. 93–110). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, M. Q. (2011). Developmental evaluation: Applying complexity concepts to enhance innovation and use. New York, NY: The Guildford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2006). Evidence-based management. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 62–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poff, D. C. (2010). Ethical leadership and global citizenship: Considerations for a just and sustainable future. Journal of Business Ethics, 93, 9–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redman, C. (2014). Should sustainability and resilience be combined or remain distinct pursuits? Ecology and Society, 19(2), 37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rorty, R. (1990). Introduction: Pragmatism as anti-representationalism. In P. Murphy (Ed.), Pragmatism: From Peirce to Davidson (pp. 1–6). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sander-Staudt, M., & Hamington, M. (2011). Introduction: Care ethics and business ethics. In M. Hamington & M. Sander-Staudt (Eds.), Applying care ethics to business (pp. vii–xxii). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shotter, J., & Cunliffe, A. L. (2002). Managers as practical authors: Everyday conversations for action. In D. Holman & R. Thorpe (Eds.), Management and language: The manager as practical author (pp. 15–37). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sison, A. J. G. (2006). Leadership, character and virtues from an Aristotelian viewpoint. In T. Maak & N. M. Pless (Eds.), Responsible leadership (pp. 108–121). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slote, M. A. (2007). The ethics of care and empathy. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Slote, M. A. (2010). Essays on the history of ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. F. (1994). From the editor. Evaluation Practice, 15(3), 213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thayer-Bacon, B. J. (2003). Relational “(e)pistemologies”. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomkins, L., & Simpson, P. (2015). Caring leadership: A Heideggerian perspective. Organization Studies, 36, 1013–1031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tronto, J. (1993). Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhl-Bien, M. (2006). Relational leadership theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing. The Leadership Quarterly, 17, 654–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., & McKelvey, B. (2007). Complexity leadership theory: Shifting leadership from the industrial age to the knowledge era (p. 18). Lincoln: Leadership Institute Faculty Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhl-Bien, M., & Ospina, S. M. (Eds.). (2012a). Advancing relational leadership research: A dialogue among perspectives. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhl-Bien, M., & Ospina, S. (2012b). Paradigm interplay in relational leadership: A way forward. In M. Uhl-Bien & S. Ospina (Eds.), Advancing relational readership research: A dialogue among perspectives (pp. 537–580). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, P. (2008). Managing without growth: Slower by design and dot disaster. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werhane, P. H. (1999). Moral imagination and management decision making. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wicks, A. C., Gilbert, D. R., & Freeman, R. E. (1994). A feminist reinterpretation of the stakeholder concept. Business Ethics Quarterly, 4, 475–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, College of Business and Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

    Jessica Nicholson & Elizabeth Kurucz

Authors
  1. Jessica Nicholson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth Kurucz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica Nicholson.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nicholson, J., Kurucz, E. Relational Leadership for Sustainability: Building an Ethical Framework from the Moral Theory of ‘Ethics of Care’. J Bus Ethics 156, 25–43 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3593-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3593-4

Keywords

  • Dialogic ethic
  • Ethics of care
  • Moral education process
  • Relational leadership
  • Relational leadership development
  • Sustainability