The values challenge for developing ethical leadership: research and practice agenda for values-based leadership. Part 2

The authors argue that to achieve the shared aim of shifting'from value to values' a move towards «moral capitalisms would be less constructive than embracing values-based leadership for sustainability. This paper draws on a review of the nature of development, leadership development practice, empirical work and the use of metaphor to illustrate how morality varies by personal value systems. The Objectivists' view of the development and character of a person stemming from an external source including the Ten Commandments is juxtaposed to the Integrationists' viewpoint of modern science adopted by this paper; that leadership development is best guided not by moral norms but values-based leadership where motivational sources of human behaviour influence the actions of individuals and groups. This paper explores three propositions: (i) Moral capitalism is over-simplistic when using ecological science to explore the relationship of leadership development to business, (ii) Moral development is less helpful than values-based leadership development, and (iii) Morality varies by leader's personal values. Building on previous work of motivational and values theorists with our own research and practice, we examine the moral dynamic of how definitions of morality and moral capitalism vary by leader's personal values. For researchers, a review and extension of values-based leadership is provided, relevantempiricaldata presented and areas for further research are indicated. For practioners, an assessment framework to track the invisible forces influencing perspective and behavior is given with questions of how to be authentic whilst pursuing a sustainable agenda amongst stakeholders with different values.