LDSP 442 FINAL

Ineffective:

Fails to produce the desired change

Unethical:

Fails to distinguish between right and wrong

7 types of bad leadership

Incompetent, rigid, intemperate, callous, corrupt, insular, and evil

Incompetent

Stupid

Rigid

leader and some followers are stiff and unyielding (unable to adapt)

Intemperate

the leader lacks self-control and is aided and embedded by followers (followers are just as guilty)

callous

a leader who is uncaring and unkind (disregarding what is best for followers) to a particular follower (lack of sensitivity)

corrupt

will lie, cheat, and steal to a degree that exceeds the norm, put self-interest ahead of public/follower interests, and is heavily motivated by power and greed

insular

leader and some followers minimize or disregard the health and welfare of others (protect their own and inner circle, everyone outside is not concerned with)

Evil

use pain as an instrument of power, harm is severe and can be physical/psychological - the ultimate product is death

3 follower types

bystanders, evildoers, acolytes

Bystanders

went along with Hitler and Nazi regime, but they were not Nazis. Their motivations ranged form self interest (on matters relating to stability and security) to being part of a national group that was cohesive and provided a sense of identity.

Evildoers

were members of units with goals such as to massacre as many soviet Jews as possible. Some of the reasons people thought they did this was because they were genuine sadists, that they were killing vermin, yet some still turned brutal because they themselves were being brutalized by violence or the threat of violence. They were soldiers, they were told what to do and they did it.

 Acolytes:

were true believers, followers deeply committed to Hitler personally and his political program. Most of them were mesmerized by his charisma and ideas long before realizing rewards such as money and power.

Why do we follow bad leaders?

According to Kellerman, they will often follow their leader even when they know that their leader is corrupt or misguided. As humans, we have certain needs that we want to be satisfied

1. individual needs

2. group needs

individual needs

safety, certainty, simplicity

Group needs

maintaining order, providing cohesion and identity, doing collective work

Why followers still follow leaders

1. Not following is not in the followers' best interest

2. Not following can entail risk to family, position, and even to life. In particular, actively protesting against the powers can take time, energy, and courage

Hitler’s ghost 

if we pretend bad leadership is unrelated to good leadership, we will distort the field

• We cannot distance ourselves from the most extreme example of bad leadership - Hitler - by bestowing on him another name such as "power wielder."

  • Hitler was brilliantly skilled at inspiring, mobilizing, and directing followers

• Thus, to deny bad leadership in the curriculum is tantamount to a medical school that would claim to teach health while ignoring the disease

Altruism

refers to acts that are carried out voluntarily by individuals who have no concern for themselves and who have no expectations of any kind of reward."

Social Intuitionist Model (Haidt)

• Moral decision-making is the product of intuition, not reason

• We decide first, then justify our choice

• Moral dumbfounding - we can't explain our strong opinions

• Social norms shape our moral determinations

Moral Decision

making is the product of intuition, not reason

Moral Dumbfounding

we can't explain our strong opinions

Article by Kanungo and Mendonca

(Hedonistic Paradox: various types of altruism)

Hedonistic egotism

helping self, harming others (thieves)

Apathetic egotism

helping self, no concern for others (priest and Levite)

Vindictive/self-destructive egotism

harming self and others, "take you down with me"

Utilitarian/mutual altruism

 helping self and others (innkeepers)

Genuine/moral altruism

helping others at expense/harm of self (Samaritan) 

hedonistic paradox

Although directed towards others, altruistic action satisfies some need of the actor, this questioning existence of "pure" altruism

• All behavior/action seeks to satisfy some internal need

Reciprocity norm

Help those who have helped you

Social responsibility norm

Help others without any consideration in return in a moral imperative

Pay it forward norm

Help someone new based on help you received

Prosocial behavior vs. altruism

Need to consider the role of selflessness and an individual's motivation for helping

Prosocial behavior

a broader category of helping behavior that does not stress personal motives, whereas altruism must involve some kind of clear self-sacrifice

Intentions

dispositional intent to help others; sacrifice of own welfare; benefit to others without external reward

Action

 behavior and its consequences without a reference to one's dispositional intentions (difficult to identify disposition) 

Moral Courage:

Standing up for what is right even when it’s unpopular or risky.

• Involves defending ethical principles and acting with integrity despite fear of negative consequences (like social rejection, job loss, or personal danger).

  • Example: Whistleblowing unethical practices at your workplace even when it could cost you your job.

Physical Courage

Facing physical danger, pain, or death for a cause.

• It’s about bravery in physically threatening situations.

  • Example: Running into a burning building to save someone.

Egotistic

excessively self-centered, focused on one's own needs, desires, or importance. tends to prioritize themselves over others and may lack empathy or concern for others' well-being.

Genetic basis for altruism

• Altruists have a larger amygdala on the right side of their brain

  • Psychopaths have a significantly smaller, less active amygdala

    • The amygdala processes emotion

Extreme altruism

• Desire to action in kidney donations

• Major surgery

• Anonymous donation

• Not paid

Types of altruism

1. Mutual (Utilitarian)

2. Moral/ Genuine

3. Extreme

4. Nepotistic

5. Reciprocal

6. Group-Based

Nepotistic altruism:

based on family. Typical between parents/children. Self-sacrifice to care for the well-being of children

Reciprocal altruism (mutualism)

a give-and-take relationship (seen in the parable of the good Samaritan as utilitarian altruism)

Group-based altruism

more recently gaining credibility. When one sacrifices themselves for the good of the group

Moral Altruism

• uniquely human. Entails sacrifice for others mediated via the individual's justification system (justification hypothesis)

Ethical Egoism

is the philosophical theory that individuals ought to act in their own self-interest. According to this view, it is morally right to prioritize your own well-being, even if it doesn’t always benefit others.

Descriptive or 'psychological egoism'

Human motivations for action are based on self-interest

Psychologically, people do, or can only, act in their self-interest

Normative egoism or 'ethical egoism'

• To act morally, a person ought to behave in his/her self-interest

• Makes no claims about motivations for actions

• One ought to act only in his or her self-interes

Followers of Ethical Egoists

Followers believe that acting in one’s own self-interest is morally correct.

• They argue that individuals have no moral obligation to help others unless doing so benefits themselves.

• Famous supporters include philosophers like Ayn Rand, who promoted rational self-interest as a virtue.

Subfield of Ethics

• Ethical egoism falls under is normative ethics.

• Normative ethics explores how people should act and what behaviors are morally right or wrong.

• Ethical egoism is a normative theory because it prescribes that individuals ought to act in their own self-interest.

Ethic of Care

Focus on morality in personal relationships

Feminist Ethics

• developed by Carol Gilligan 

• Created in the 1980s, Gilligan argued that if women are ‘more emotional’ than men, and pay more attention to relationships rather than rules, this is not a sign of their being less ethical, but rather of different values that are equally valuable

Benevolence

Well-being; kindness
 Virtuous act
 The virtue of being disposed to act to benefit others

Beneficence

Core component of bioethics
 Actions aimed at benefiting others
 Exceptional beneficence- behavior linked to
Aristotelian ideas of moral excellence

Key Ideas Carol Gilligan Focused on:

• How women deal with moral dilemmas differently from men. She highlights her points by using the virtues of benevolence and beneficence. The core focus is on kindness and care. 

• While one component focuses on how men and women differ in ethical decision-making, this perspective prescribes how both men and women can engage in ethical decision-making by putting themselves in another’s shoes and acting on feelings of empathy. 

Charismatic Leadership

• coined by Max Weber (1947) - It refers to a special personality characteristic that gives a person superhuman or exceptional powers and is reserved for a few. Is of divine origin and results in the person being treated as a leader

  • According to Weber, ______ occurs during a social crisis when a leader emerges with a radical vision that offers a solution to the crisis, attracts followers who cling to or believe in the vision

Conger’s 3 Stages

1. A leader understands the environment

2. Goals/vision

3. Followers are aligned

A leader understands the environment

• Targeted followers who have no hope

• Increased need for a charismatic leader

Goals/vision

• Establishing vision - followers connect

• A leader is recognized as being different than other leaders

Followers are aligned

• Trust between the leader and the follower

• They experience some success with the vision that makes it appear attainable, thus seeing the leader as extraordinary

Awestruck effect

 occurs when followers of charismatic leaders suppress their emotions, leading to reduced mental capacity, impaired judgment, and lower workplace performance.

• Charismatic leaders often inspire awe, which reinforces their power—but also causes followers to suppress emotional expression

Suppressing emotions:

• Consumes mental resources, weakening memory, creativity, and decision-making.

• Reduces information exchange, lowers job satisfaction, and increases psychological strain.

• Makes followers less likely to scrutinize the leader’s ideas, increasing blind endorsement.

• This suppression is not necessarily intentional—it’s driven by intimidation, admiration, or social norms

Conger-Kanungo Model

• Three-stage model:

  • Evaluating the current situation, including resource availability and constraints, and the needs of followers

  • Formulating goals

  • Developing the methods to achieve these goals

Klein theory:

• Charisma is not a thing someone “has”—it’s an emergent phenomenon created when three elements come together:

  • The Spark = The leader who displays charismatic traits (confidence, vision, communication skills, etc.)
    
    

  • The Flammable Material = The followers who are receptive—emotionally, psychologically, or situationally open to being inspired
    
    

  • The Oxygen = The environment (e.g., times of uncertainty, crisis, or change) that enables charisma to take hold

• Charisma is not any one element—it’s the result of their union. Like fire, it only exists when spark, fuel, and oxygen come together.

Dark Side/Habituated followership

• Followers are in awe of their "gifted" leaders - less likely to speak up against the ideas, refrain from offering criticism

• Can result in serious failures and/or catastrophic and irrecoverable losses

• Adoration by followers creates delusions of the leader's infallibility

Habituated followership

blind, unquestioning trust in the leader

What is Charisma?

• A fire that ignites followers' energy, commitment, and performance

• the product of three elements

  • A spark - a leader who has charismatic qualities

  • Flammable material - followers who are open or susceptible to charisma

  • Oxygen - an environment conducive to charisma

• the product of the union of the spark, flammable material, and oxygen 

Toxic Leadership

(Coined in 1996 by Marcia Whicker of VCU and popularized by Lipman-Blumen)

Toxic followers

• Many followers remain because the barriers to escape appear much too high, be they psychological, existential, political, or social - worse yet, some overwhelming combination of these formidable forces

• More often than not, we simply wait (and the wait can be long) for others to bring destructive leaders to justice

Toxic triangle

1. Destructive leaders

2. conductive environments

3. susceptible followers

Destructive leaders

charisma, personalized powers, narcissism, negative life themes, ideology of hate

Conductive environments

 instability, perceived threat, cultural values, lack of checks and balances and ineffective institutions

Susceptible followers

Conformers & Colluders

Conformers

unmet needs, low core self-evaluations, low maturity

Colluders

ambition, similar world-view, bad values

Dark Triad

• Developed by Delroy Paulhus and Kevin Williams in 2002, the dark triad of personality consists of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy

• "power corrupts, and absolutely power corrupts absolutely" - Lord Action

• Does power attract people who are already corrupt? And become more corrupt once they attain power?

Lust for Power  (Kellerman)

• "a psychological drive that produces intense wanting, even desperately needing to obtain an object or to secure a circumstance. When the object has been obtained, or the circumstance secured, there is a relief, but only briefly, temporarily"

  • When it comes to lust, the underlying issue is control - an attempt to bend reality to your wishes

  • Power can lead to corruption

  • Power is often relational (power over someone else) 

Pathocracy

A government made of individuals with dark triad personalities. Once dark triad leaders gain power, moral and responsible people rapidly fall away

Types of Egoism:

1. Hedonistic

2. Apathetic

3. Vindictive/ Self- Destructive

4. Descriptive “psychological”

5. Normative “ethical”