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Contemplative Leadership: The Possibilities for the Ethics of Leadership Theory and Practice

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Abstract

In this paper, we offer a conceptualization of leadership as contemplative. Drawing on MacIntyre’s perspective on virtue ethics and Levinas’ and Gilligan’s work on the ethics of responsibility and care, we propose contemplative leadership as virtuous activity; reflexive, engaged, relational, and embodied practice that requires knowledge from within context and practical wisdom. More than simply offering another way to conceptualize the ethics of leadership (e.g., what leaders ought to do), this research contributes to understanding the ethics of leadership in practice. Empirically, we analyze the narratives of those in positions of formal authority and other organizational members in churches. We illustrate contemplative leadership as driven by a good purpose, derived from the unique organizational and broader societal context in which leadership occurs, and grounded in an ethical concern for the other. Contemplative leadership accounts for the complexity of experience and is discerned in mundane and everyday practices. We conclude with the implications for leadership theory, practice, and education.

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Notes

  1. There is a considerable body of research that adopts an instrumental view of ethical leadership linking ethical behaviors to various measures of leader effectiveness (e.g., Avey et al. 2012; Demirtas 2015). Much of this work uses Brown et al. (2005) 10-item ethical leadership scale that takes into account some of the aspects of character virtues (e.g., love, temperance, and honesty). While we too incorporate virtue ethics into our conceptualization of contemplative leadership, we are interested in approaching the ethics of leadership from a different, less instrumental angle, one that links human flourishing to a responsibility for the Other and considers how that relates to organization purpose.

  2. We acknowledge that in using the terms ‘leader-priest’ and ‘leader-manager,’ we are vulnerable to being criticized as supporting leader-centric approaches. We use the terms to denote those who hold positions of formal authority in organizations and do not view leadership as that which resides, solely or at all, with those who hold formal authority.

  3. Historically, one of the most influential voices to draw attention to the link between religion and organizations is Max Weber. In The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism Weber (1958) traces, the influence of religion in modern organizations back to sect membership as a marker of “moral qualifications and especially business morals for the individual” (p. 305). More recently, other writers have made similar arguments illustrating the relationship between salvation and organizational practices (Dyck and Wiebe 2012), the theological roots of accountability (Mutch 2012), and leadership (Grint 2010; Śliwa et al. 2013).

  4. In her work on the contemplative organization, Duerr (2004) notes, “the term ‘contemplative’ is inclusive of spirituality, but not constrained by it” (p. 56). See also Nolan (2013) for a detailed discussion of the connections between contemplation, contemplative practice/leadership, and the spirituality of leadership/workplace spirituality literature.

  5. There is a growing but underdeveloped area of scholarly research that looks to mindfulness and mindful leadership. Brown and Ryan (2003) refer to mindfulness as a mode of consciousness that involves being aware and attentive to happenings in the present moment. Much of the work on mindfulness and mindful leadership focuses upon contemplative practices or mindfulness-based interventions such as meditation to reduce stress, improve interpersonal interactions, and various other measures of leadership effectiveness (e.g., Dane and Brummel 2014).

  6. We distinguish our use of Aristotle’s notion of general justice here from that of the more commonly used interpretation of justice (or ethics of justice) as duty, rights, or impartiality. The latter is often associated with a deontological approach to ethics to which Kant (1785) (e.g., categorical imperative) and Kohlberg (1958) (e.g., stages of moral development), for example, subscribe.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Geoff Moore, Sandra Corlett, Peter Case, Donncha Kavanagh and Diane Holt for their invaluable feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. We would also like to thank the Editor, Deborah Poff, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback during the review process.

Funding

This research is funded by a grant provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [Grant # 410-2009-2283].

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  1. Faculty of Business Administration, University of Regina, 5th Floor, Education Bldg., 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada

    Gina Grandy

  2. Essex Business School, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK

    Martyna Sliwa

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  1. Gina Grandy
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Correspondence to Gina Grandy.

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Grandy, G., Sliwa, M. Contemplative Leadership: The Possibilities for the Ethics of Leadership Theory and Practice. J Bus Ethics 143, 423–440 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2802-2

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