Twentieth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations

Abstract

Ethical stewardship is a governance model that generates long-term organizational wealth by increasing employee commitment. Ethical stewards seek to bridge gaps of trust between themselves and their followers by helping each person reach their highest potential. Weaknesses in trust cause employee commitment and organizational profitability to suffer. Leaders who portray high levels of trustworthiness are considered ethical stewards by their followers and earn the trust and followership of their associates. Since trust is so critical in the leader-follower relationship, the ethical steward must know what things create and destroy environments of trust. Attendees of this workshop will gain an understanding of how the application of ethical stewardship can improve leader-follower relationships in a unique way. The speaker will interactively review the six primary components of ethical stewardship. Also, there will be discussion regarding five characteristics that ethical stewards can develop to establish or rebuild trustworthiness. Additionally, the presenter will share how attendees can use expectancy theory to measure trust within followers. Honoring models of leadership that rise to the level of ethical stewardship enables organizations to build trust, improve profitability, and achieve long-term results.