To read this content please select one of the options below:

Ethical leaders manage conflict to develop trust

Alfred Wong (Department of Management, Lingnan University, Hong Kong)
Xiaohui Wang (Department of Management, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China)
Xinyan Wang (Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China)
Dean Tjosvold (Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong) (Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China)

Leadership & Organization Development Journal

ISSN: 0143-7739

Article publication date: 20 December 2019

Issue publication date: 27 January 2020

2734

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose that effective ethical leaders develop high quality relationships with team members; in particular, they manage their conflicts with team members cooperatively.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors empirically tested this hypothesis with responses from 117 managers and 302 subordinates.

Findings

Through cooperative conflict management, leaders develop trusting, mutually committed relationships. Ethical leaders and their employees avoid competitive conflict where they try to impose their ideas and resolutions on each other.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that ethical leaders can have a significant impact by fostering cooperative conflict management and reducing competitive conflict management. Thus, organizations are encouraged to adopt training and selection procedures to develop more ethical leaders.

Originality/value

This study adds to leadership research that effective leaders develop high quality relationships that help them influence employees as well as to be open and influenced by them.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by the General Research Fund (LU 342012) awarded by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong. The authors appreciate the support of the able research assistants in Guangzhou, China.

Citation

Wong, A., Wang, X., Wang, X. and Tjosvold, D. (2020), "Ethical leaders manage conflict to develop trust", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 41 No. 1, pp. 133-146. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-10-2018-0363

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles