ABSTRACT

Professional refl ection on unethical or negative organizational issues is absolutely essential in a strategy for the development of ethical leadership. For several reasons, it is diffi cult for leaders to have important critical conversations with employees in regard to the perceived quality of their performance. It can, therefore, be diffi cult to build a solid base for ethical decision making so that important meetings supporting moral learning do not take place. Some people blame these communication diffi culties on organizational structure or the personality of the leader. Another perspective on the problem is that there are hidden mechanisms within the organization that prevent transparency about diffi cult issues. Th e fact that these mechanisms are hidden makes it diffi cult for leaders to expose them.