{"title":"领导者可以真实而残酷吗?当恶习变成美德时会发生什么","authors":"Graham Sewell","doi":"10.1177/17427150241283135","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"There is now a substantial literature on the desirability of authentic leadership. While the concept has its critics, overwhelming this literature sees authentic leadership as a virtuous practice that benefits all: the leaders themselves, their followers, and the organizations they lead. But what if were possible for a leader to be seen as both authentic and cruel? For this to happen it would require a vice to be reconstrued as a virtue. Drawing on the work of Judith Shklar, I argue that it is indeed possible for a leader to be both authentic and cruel under circumstances where cruelty is seen by followers as a legitimate means to a desirable end. I support this claim by examining the way that some political leaders advocate cruelty toward refugees in the name of the common good. Shklar has shown that, under such circumstances, a leader is more likely to be challenged by their followers for being hypocritical (the antipode of authenticity) than for being cruel. From this I draw conclusions about the nature of authentic leadership as a performative and productive practice. I end by encouraging research on the organizational and institutional antecedents that enable leaders who are deemed to be authentic to thrive, even when they act cruelly.","PeriodicalId":2,"journal":{"name":"ACS Applied Bio Materials","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Can a leader be authentic and cruel? What happens when a vice becomes a virtue\",\"authors\":\"Graham Sewell\",\"doi\":\"10.1177/17427150241283135\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"There is now a substantial literature on the desirability of authentic leadership. While the concept has its critics, overwhelming this literature sees authentic leadership as a virtuous practice that benefits all: the leaders themselves, their followers, and the organizations they lead. But what if were possible for a leader to be seen as both authentic and cruel? For this to happen it would require a vice to be reconstrued as a virtue. Drawing on the work of Judith Shklar, I argue that it is indeed possible for a leader to be both authentic and cruel under circumstances where cruelty is seen by followers as a legitimate means to a desirable end. I support this claim by examining the way that some political leaders advocate cruelty toward refugees in the name of the common good. Shklar has shown that, under such circumstances, a leader is more likely to be challenged by their followers for being hypocritical (the antipode of authenticity) than for being cruel. From this I draw conclusions about the nature of authentic leadership as a performative and productive practice. I end by encouraging research on the organizational and institutional antecedents that enable leaders who are deemed to be authentic to thrive, even when they act cruelly.\",\"PeriodicalId\":2,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"ACS Applied Bio Materials\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":4.6000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-09-17\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"ACS Applied Bio Materials\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"91\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1177/17427150241283135\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"MATERIALS SCIENCE, BIOMATERIALS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"ACS Applied Bio Materials","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/17427150241283135","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, BIOMATERIALS","Score":null,"Total":0}
Can a leader be authentic and cruel? What happens when a vice becomes a virtue
There is now a substantial literature on the desirability of authentic leadership. While the concept has its critics, overwhelming this literature sees authentic leadership as a virtuous practice that benefits all: the leaders themselves, their followers, and the organizations they lead. But what if were possible for a leader to be seen as both authentic and cruel? For this to happen it would require a vice to be reconstrued as a virtue. Drawing on the work of Judith Shklar, I argue that it is indeed possible for a leader to be both authentic and cruel under circumstances where cruelty is seen by followers as a legitimate means to a desirable end. I support this claim by examining the way that some political leaders advocate cruelty toward refugees in the name of the common good. Shklar has shown that, under such circumstances, a leader is more likely to be challenged by their followers for being hypocritical (the antipode of authenticity) than for being cruel. From this I draw conclusions about the nature of authentic leadership as a performative and productive practice. I end by encouraging research on the organizational and institutional antecedents that enable leaders who are deemed to be authentic to thrive, even when they act cruelly.