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This chapter focuses on a proposed framework of irresponsible leadership (IRL) that might emerge in our schools under certain circumstances. A second purpose is to analyze potential ways to prevent its rise, based on previous models of educational leadership. Broadly, IRL is composed of five elements: narrow view of education, a business-like view of the teacher–student relations, a Narcissist and ego-centrist view, self-centered decision making, and emotional unawareness and poor emotion regulation. Unsurprisingly, IRL results in decreased levels of teachers’ and students’ well-being, unethical school climate, a lack of social responsibility in the teacher lounge, and school failure. To prevent these and related results, three major leadership models in education – participative, moral and social justice, and instructional – were analyzed.

The purpose of this paper is to expand attention to responsible leader behavior in the world’s health sectors by explaining how this concept applies to health sectors, considering why health sector leaders should behave responsibly, reviewing how they can do so, and asserting potential impact through an applied example.

This paper is a viewpoint, reflecting conceptualizations rooted in leadership literature which are then specifically applied to health sectors. A definition of responsible leader behavior is affirmed and applied specifically in health sectors. Conceptualizations and viewpoints about practice of responsible leader behavior in health sectors and potential consequences are then discussed and asserted.

Leadership failures and debacles found in health, but more so in other sectors, have led leadership researchers to offer insights, many of them empirical, into the challenges of leadership especially by more clearly delineating responsible leader behavior.

Much of what has been learned in the research about responsible leader behavior offers pathways for health sector leaders to more fully practice responsible leadership.

This paper asserts and provides a supporting example that greater levels of responsible leader behavior in health sectors hold potentially important societal benefits.

This paper is the first to apply emerging conceptualizations and early empirical findings about responsible leader behavior specifically to leaders in health sectors.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

In the cult book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy it took a computer seven and a half million years to come up with an “answer to life, the universe, and everything”. And a pretty confusing answer it was too. If they had asked it to come up with an unambiguous and straightforward answer to “what makes a good leader?” it might have taken even longer and been even more confusing in its response.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to understanding of responsibility – specifically exploring responsibility in higher education.

The paper details a research project undertaken in a higher education institute (HEI) in the UK. The research adopted a case study approach and gathered data through 15 semi‐structured interviews.

The paper discusses four key findings. Major differences in how responsibility is understood and communicated by students, staff and leaders are highlighted, together with the challenges this creates. A model is proposed that may assist with a greater understanding of responsibility.

The research is a small‐scale study involving 15 interviews in one HEI in the UK, therefore generalisations must be treated with caution. The research offers valuable insights into this under‐researched area, together with recommendations for further research.

The paper highlights key factors that HEIs may wish to consider in terms of how responsibility is understood, adopted and communicated.

There is typically a low level of appreciation of what responsibility means. This paper raises this awareness and identifies what responsibility looks like within higher education. It emphasises the importance of engraining a responsibility culture in the organisation that not only takes account of staffs' and students' immediate responsibilities, but also their responsibility towards broader global issues.

There is a paucity of exploration concerning responsibility within higher education and this paper highlights some specific areas of focus which have been drawn from research in this field.

This paper aims to investigate whether gender-diverse boards and top management teams (TMTs) reduce undesirable environmental social governance (ESG) behavior and whether a critical mass of women in leadership is necessary to influence this outcome. In addition, the authors study whether differences in the levels of national commitment to gender-equality policies affect the effectiveness of gender-diverse boards and management in curbing ESG misconduct.

This study examines the role of women directors and women executives in ESG misconduct using a European sample of analysis of 2,994 firm-year observations from 2015 to 2020.

The authors find that gender diversity effectively prevents ESG misconduct only in countries with strong national policies supporting gender equality. Specifically, women directors and executives significantly reduce ESG misconduct in these countries, demonstrating the complementary role of gender diversity and national equality policies. In addition, female chief executive officers are more likely to curb negative ESG practices in firms operating within gender-equal corporate environments, noting that female chief executive officers are not effective in reducing irresponsible ESG behavior when they are not supported by a critical mass of women directors or executives.

This paper finds novel evidence that the influence of female representation on ESG misconduct is not linear but conditional on the level of female proportion; women in the minority (usually under 3) can scarcely influence group decisions because their specific female attributes are only evident when the visibility and legitimacy of the female group are high enough. Firms led by female chief executive officers seem to reduce ESG misconduct, especially when their chief suites are above a critical threshold. But queen bee female chief executive officers are not effective in reducing adverse ESG activity if their boards and TMTs are not gender diverse; the joint effect of women in different hierarchical positions contributes to decreasing ESG failures.

These findings are useful for policymakers because they show that although there is growing social concern about business gender equality and increasing regulatory efforts through soft/hard gender quotas, stakeholders will not completely benefit from firm gender diversity without national support for gender equality.

This study contributes to the sustainable development literature by examining the direct effects of gender diversity at multiple levels of a firm’s hierarchy (chief suite, board, TMTs), as well as addressing the gap between firm gender diversity and national gender equality policies as mechanisms to reduce ESG misconduct. It also explores the queen bee phenomenon, noting that female leaders in non-diverse organizations often adapt their leadership style to align with masculine corporate cultures.

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a link between responsible leadership and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Luxembourg and also to determine Luxembourg’s specifics in the field of CSR.

This is a qualitative study. In total, 64 semi-structured interviews were conducted from January to August 2017 with four culturally different samples: Luxembourgers with Luxembourgish nationality, foreigners who reside in Luxembourg, cross-borderers and the rest of the world.

Responses from all four samples were similar on the one hand and quite contradictory on the other. Three groups were formed: euphoric respondents who said it is the authenticity of the leader and his modelling role in lived CSR; moderate respondents; critical respondents who deny any link between responsible leadership and CSR and claim for change and innovation, accusing the high Uncertainty Avoidance Index. In their opinion, there is an urgent need for managers to learn responsible leadership and CSR.

This paper contributes to the discussion on change and innovation in the field of leadership theory with particular emphasis on responsible leadership following Michael Maccoby, on multilingual and multicultural Luxembourg in the middle of Europe following Geert Hofstede and Edgar Schein and on CSR following Thomas Maak and Nicole Pless.

This study is a combination of research on responsible leadership and CSR in Luxembourg in connection with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions: high long-term orientation, high uncertainty avoidance and high collectivism (low individualism).

Background: Amid increasing leadership failures in the global business context, the mining industry is one of the industries with many adverse incidents, affecting employee safety, the environment, and surrounding communities. Emerging economies tend to have unique socio-economic challenges and greater relative economic dependence on mining, presenting unique challenges to leaders. The purpose of this research was to study the realities of responsible leadership in the mining industry in an emerging economy.

Methods: A qualitative research study, consisting of semi-structured interviews was conducted. Nine senior mine managers were selected to represent perspectives from different operations and mining houses. Data was gathered from August to October 2020 in South Africa, an emerging economy with significant mining operations. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts was conducted through the use of software, rendering five themes, with 12 sub-themes.

Results: The research found that requirements on mining leaders in emerging economies demand consistent balancing of a complex set of competing risks, whilst attending to paradoxical requirements among operations, and internal and external stakeholders. Leaders face several competing requirements from stakeholders, the environment, mining practices, and time frames. Responsible leaders must navigate a paradoxical maze of needs and time horizons, with several conflicting forces and dilemmas, and dichotomous relationships. Responsible leadership in the mining industry of an emerging economy is a proverbial minefield of paradoxes and dilemmas between responsible intentions and practical realities. These paradoxes and dilemmas are specifically acute in the context of emerging economies due to the dire socio-economic situations. A total of 10 competencies emerged as essential responsible leadership requirements in this context.

Conclusions: The study provides an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of responsible leadership in the mining industry of an emerging economy. This understanding will contribute to capacitating leaders in the mining industries of emerging economies to act responsibly.

This study aims to provide a point of reference and another of guidance for future research on the topic of responsible leadership by exploring its challenges, outcomes and practices.

A systematic review of the literature, originally adopted from the medical sciences but also used in management and leadership studies, was conducted to integrate research in an organized, translucent and reproducible manner. The final sample of 46 empirical and conceptual studies were scientifically screened and synthesized.

The synthesis revealed that balancing stakeholder needs, personal characteristics and organizational structures are the main challenges against responsible leadership, whereas financial benefits, employees-related benefits and reputational gains among others are the main outcomes. Practices pinpointed, while scarce, are represented in nurturing a stakeholder culture, and engaging employee-related and human-resource-responsible functions.

This study contributes to the development of responsible leadership.