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Authenticating the Leader: Why Bill George Believes that a Moral Compass Would Have Kept Jeffrey Skilling out of Jail

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  • Christian Garmann Johnsen

    (Copenhagen Business School)

Abstract

In the wake of a series of corporate scandals, there has been a growing call for authentic leadership in order to ensure ethical conduct in contemporary organizations. Authentic leadership, however, depends upon the ability to draw a distinction between the authentic and inauthentic leader. This paper uses Deleuze’s discussion of Platonism as a point of departure for critically scrutinizing the problem of authenticating the leader—drawing a distinction between authentic and inauthentic leaders. This will be done through a reading of Bill George’s book Authentic Leadership. Informed by Deleuze’s inverted Platonism, the paper challenges the practice by which authentic leaders are distinguished from inauthentic leaders. In conclusion, the paper suggests that an adequate concept of authentic leadership should consider how ethics can occur when the authentic leader is able to critically reflect his or her own value-commitments.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Garmann Johnsen, 2018. "Authenticating the Leader: Why Bill George Believes that a Moral Compass Would Have Kept Jeffrey Skilling out of Jail," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 53-63, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:147:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2968-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2968-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Levine & Jacqueline Boaks, 2014. "What Does Ethics Have to do with Leadership?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(2), pages 225-242, October.
    2. Dawn Eubanks & Andrew Brown & Sierk Ybema, 2012. "Leadership, Identity, and Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(1), pages 1-3, April.
    3. David Knights & Majella O’Leary, 2006. "Leadership, Ethics and Responsibility to the Other," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(2), pages 125-137, August.
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