‘Moral Beacons’ Provide Ethical Leadership in the Workplace

Summary: Recent research suggests that individuals of high moral character who are also prominent within their social or work environment have the capability to increase the moral awareness and positively encourage the moral actions of those around them.

Describing such individuals as ‘moral beacons’, a recent study considered both how to identify them and to what degree they provide moral leadership within their peer networks. Understanding this concept provides valuable insight for leaders concerned to ensure high moral standards are upheld in their organizations.

A great deal has been written about the importance of values and ethics in the context of organizational culture—particularly today when consumers and companies alike are increasingly focused on social good and public scrutiny of social impact in business is high. 

Senior leaders concerned about the ethicality of their organizations need to understand how to act as guides themselves, and also to encourage colleagues to act as guides in raising moral standards. 

In the complex and highly competitive modern workplace people are under great pressure to deliver results, both for their organization and for their personal career advancement. With this comes the temptation to cut corners and consequently to cross ethical boundaries. Countering these tendencies and creating organizational cultures where attention is given to the moral aspects of all situations and decisions is a key leadership priority, one addressed by recent research from Erik G. Helzer, a faculty affiliate of the Center for Innovative Leadership at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, in collaboration with Taya Cohen, Brandy Aven, Yeonjeong Kim, and Alessandro Iorio.

The research team studied the capacity of ‘moral beacons’—socially prominent individuals of high moral character—to influence the development of stronger moral consciousness in people around them in their workplace or social network. For the purpose of this study the research team used data from personality questionnaires and social network surveys completed by graduate business students at two universities to identify individuals classified as moral beacons, and then observed how students influenced one another when discussing business cases involving ethical trade-offs. 

The three dimensions of the ‘moral beacon’ 

1. Morality

To identify people with high morality three widely recognized attributes of character were examined: 

Guilt proneness. A tendency to feel guilty over one’s own wrongdoing. Research suggests these individuals are likely to be trustworthy organizational citizens, honest and ethical in business decisions.

Honesty–Humility. These individuals tend to be more honest, fair, sincere, and humble, as well as less greedy and manipulative. 

Moral Identity. These individuals tend to hold morality as an important aspect of their sense of self and strive to live up to moral values, such as generosity and kindness, in daily life.

2. Social Prominence

If the uncertain and morally hazardous world we live in today can be compared to a turbulent sea with a rocky coastline, moral beacons are there to assist navigation by pointing out hazards,  which in a business context might include unseemly practices that violate an organization’s moral values and/or ethical and legal standards. As on the coastline, the effectiveness of beacons to serve as guides depends on their prominence in the environment. To determine a person's capacity for exerting moral influence on others it is not only important to assess their moral character and ethical beliefs, understanding their social standing is also key. Individuals positioned at prominent places in their social networks are better guides for others than less visible characters on the periphery. 

In this research study, individuals’ social prominence was assessed through social network maps, which revealed the degree of connectedness of any one individual to others in the network. A highly prominent individual was one who had more connections to others in their peer group.

3. Influence

A final dimension examined in this research is the extent to which those in contact with moral beacons are in fact morally influenced by them. For this study the research team used peer nominations and an in-class business case discussion exercise to assess moral influence.

Overall, Helzer et al.’s study broadly supports the concept of ‘moral beacons’ as important influencers. The study shows that moral beacons can be distinguished from their peers by both moral character and social prominence and can act as guides, encouraging greater attention to moral considerations in their social or working environments. These individuals were much more likely to be nominated by their peers as “guides for moral thought and action” and showed the capacity to influence peers’ awareness of moral issues. There was however one caveat. ‘Context’ appears to have a moderating effect on the degree of influence. This was demonstrated in the results of two business case discussions. In one business case concerning moral issues around a manufacturing plant where workers were exposed to life-threatening lead poisoning, the influence of a moral beacon was clear. In a second business case, involving unethical practices in an insurance company, the influence was not clearly demonstrated. 

Application by leaders

Based on the evidence presented in Helzer et al.’s study, there is a strong case for organizational leaders encouraging individuals with high moral character to take on central positions in their peer networks, where their direct influence along with potential cascading effects can lead to increased moral awareness. Leaders aiming to enhance moral behavior in the workplace should note that morality spreads through social ties, and that being able to identify and target moral beacons can be a way to leverage social ties to achieve their desired outcomes.

The Center for Innovative Leadership (CIL) at the Carey Business School aims to advance knowledge and build capacity for innovative leadership in modern organizations. CIL is a hub for new ideas and insights on leadership, combining faculty-led research, student-facing programming, and community-focused impact.