Ethical Forces and Leadership

How Personality, Spiritual Resources, and Organizational Engagement Shape How the Individual Ethical Leader Engages the Organization and Others.

A decision from a very senior-level meeting would introduce a new dynamic to ensure the appropriate level of readiness before third-party audits. After I received the update and rationale, I began pushing back on ownership, as my staff was already fully stretched. While my initial objections faced resistance, we eventually made progress by offering concrete ways to support the launch and sustain the process. This story illustrates a recurring dynamic in my leadership. A quiet, introverted personality that consistently challenges the traditional organizational expectation that effective leadership requires aggressive advocacy. My approach relies on thorough groundwork that leads to an informed position, one-on-one relationship building, and a calm demeanor that maintains respect while keeping both business needs and employee well-being at the forefront. The integration of authentic personality, spiritual grounding rooted in accountability to God, and principled organizational engagement creates a paradoxical leadership model that is both less traditionally rewarded and more ethically effective.

Factors

Personality

Personality is a significant factor in determining who becomes a leader and how effective they are, with Big Five traits strongly linked to leadership outcomes. However, these relationships are shaped by context, culture, and leadership style. For example, Damti and Hochman (2022) summarized that while agreeableness and conscientiousness strongly predict ethical leadership in normal times, their influence diminishes during crises, suggesting that organizations cannot rely solely on personality traits. Instead, they must establish structures and practices that consistently reinforce ethical leadership across all contexts. While extroverted traits often align with traditional leadership expectations, introverts bring valuable strengths, including reflective thinking, strategic decision-making, and active listening, that can enrich organizational culture when recognized and leveraged (Westover, 2024).

Spiritual Foundation

Confidence to challenge senior leadership stemmed from an accountability model that extended beyond organizational hierarchies. Leaders guided by texts like "Do all you do as unto the Lord" (English Standard Version, 2016, Colossians 3:23), and “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (English Standard Version, 2016, 1 Corinthians 15:58) lead with responsibility that goes beyond serving organizational missions to ensuring their work honors God through excellence and integrity.

Foundational Christian characteristics are evident in ethical leadership qualities such as integrity, honesty, fairness, accountability, empathy, and conscientiousness (Banks et al., 2020). Ethical leaders are not only moral individuals but also demonstrate ethical behavior and encourage it in others through open communication, principled decision-making, and systems that support ethical actions (Banks et al., 2020). A key aspect of this role is the courage to act on moral convictions even when under pressure (Blaich et al., 2023), a trait that closely aligns with a spiritually rooted commitment to integrity and responsibility before God.

Johnson (2024) notes that ethical competence also develops as leaders embrace new challenges that stretch their character and decision-making, while a fixed mindset resists such growth. A scripturally grounded perspective views challenges as opportunities for stewardship and maturity in living out God-honoring purpose. This spiritual foundation fosters principled and enduring ethical leadership, creating the courage to serve and advocate authentically, even when challenging organizational expectations.

Organizational Engagement

Ethical leadership also serves as a catalyst for organizational engagement by fostering trust, fairness, and perceived support (Islam et al., 2023). Ethical leaders influence commitment and enhance employee confidence, which in turn drives job satisfaction and work passion. These dynamics contribute to higher levels of organizational trust, stronger citizenship behaviors, and innovation, ultimately improving both performance and well-being (Ilyas et al., 2020; Ashfaq et al., 2021). Research also highlights that the relationship between ethical leadership and engagement is consistent across sectors and roles, although its strength may be culturally context dependent (Sarwar et al., 2020). The net impact is that employees are motivated, committed, and passionate about their work, and they buy into the organizational mission and goals.

Interrelationship of Factors

The interrelationship of personality, spiritual foundation, and organizational engagement in ethical leadership is significant. Leaders with a worldview that endorses humanity created in God's image (Genesis 1:27) develop confidence in their identity, seeing innate traits as strengths rather than limitations (Keller, 2012). A personality type does not eliminate the responsibility to steward leadership opportunities, contrarily, it enhances that calling. Understanding this perspective reframes personality traits as strengths to be stewarded, with the primary focus on accountability to the Lord. This allows unique, personality-based approaches to be valued for their spiritual integrity rather than dismissed as cultural misfits.

In addition, accountability to God fundamentally reshapes organizational engagement by establishing standards that align with or exceed organizational expectations. My organizational engagement style emerges as the natural expression of an integration of personality and spiritual foundations. Biblical principles, which advocate for treating others with respect, striving for peace, and practicing humility (Matthew 7:12; Romans 12:18), encourage prioritizing dialogue over confrontation and relationship-building over power struggles. Trust becomes the foundation, earned through the authentic integration of spiritual accountability and thoroughness.

These connections demonstrate that ethical leadership transcends traditional effectiveness measures, creating a model that challenges conventional assumptions while aligning with both biblical principles and ethical leadership theory. The most visible tension lies in how authentic personality expression can challenge conventional organizational expectations while simultaneously proving more effective in building trust and generating sustainable solutions.

Conclusion

These factors demonstrate that ethical leadership is shaped by more than organizational expectations or performance measures. Personality influences the leader's approach, while the spiritual foundation anchors accountability to God, fostering courage and integrity that goes beyond organizational pressures. This is reflected in an organizational engagement style characterized by trust-building, humility, and a commitment to the well-being of others. They form a leadership model that challenges traditional assumptions of effectiveness while aligning with both biblical and ethical leadership principles. Leaders who integrate their personality, spiritual foundation, and ethical engagement can foster trust, resilience, and commitment to a shared mission within an organization.

References

Ashfaq, F., Abid, G., & Ilyas, S. (2021). Impact of Ethical Leadership on Employee Engagement: Role of Self-Efficacy and Organizational Commitment. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 11, 962 - 974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe11030071.

Banks, G., Fischer, T., Gooty, J., & Stock, G. (2020). Ethical leadership: Mapping the terrain for concept cleanup and a future research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2020.101471.

Blaich, C., Kenny, B., & Jimenez, Y. (2023). Leadership in ethical practice: Students learning outcomes. Journal of Academic Ethics, 21, 719 - 741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-023-09479-3.

Damti, S., & Hochman, G. (2022). Personality characteristics as predictors of the leader’s ethical leadership in regular times and in times of crisis. Sustainability, 14(16), 9800. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169800.

English Standard Version. (2016). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com

              (Original work published 2001)

Ilyas, S., Abid, G., & Ashfaq, F. (2020). Ethical leadership in sustainable organizations: The moderating role of general self-efficacy and the mediating role of organizational trust. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 22, 195-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.03.003.

Islam, T., Khatoon, A., Cheema, A., & Ashraf, Y. (2023). How does ethical leadership enhance employee work engagement? The roles of trust in leader and harmonious work passion. Kybernetes, 53, 2090-2106. https://doi.org/10.1108/k-09-2022-1343.

Johnson, C. E. (2024). Organizational Ethics (6th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781071904206

Sarwar, H., Ishaq, M., Amin, A., & Ahmed, R. (2020). Ethical leadership, work engagement, employees’ well-being, and performance: a cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28, 2008 - 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1788039.

Westover, J. (2024). Harnessing the power of quiet: How introverts can make a big impact in organizations. Human Capital Leadership Review. https://doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.11.3.14.