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Full-Text Articles in Leadership Studies
Understanding Why Some Whistleblowers Are Venerated And Others Vilified, Christopher D. E. Atkinson, Eric D. Wesselmann, Daniel G. Lannin
Understanding Why Some Whistleblowers Are Venerated And Others Vilified, Christopher D. E. Atkinson, Eric D. Wesselmann, Daniel G. Lannin
Heroism Science
Whistleblowers are individuals who witness a moral infraction committed within their organization and report this infraction publicly to hold the group accountable. Whistleblowers often face ridicule, vilification, and exclusion both within their group and sometimes within broader society. Thus, whistleblowers put themselves at personal risk to adhere to their moral code and protect others; these criteria commonly classify someone as a hero. We argue diverse reactions to whistleblowers are influenced by numerous situational factors that influence perceptions of a whistleblower’s intentions as well as the expected consequences of their whistleblowing. Whether a whistleblower is viewed as a virtuous reformer (i.e., …
Self-Directed Universalists: Social Heroes And Value-Oriented Challenges To Authority, Michael Condren
Self-Directed Universalists: Social Heroes And Value-Oriented Challenges To Authority, Michael Condren
Heroism Science
This study investigates the role of values in the actions of social heroes, which previous research has suggested may play a role in motivating principled challenges to authority. Kelman and Hamilton’s (1989) orientation to authority framework was used to identify when value-oriented challenges to authority – suggestive of later social heroism – first emerged in their lives, and the values associated with those behaviors. Analyses of archival interviews with 15 leaders of a social activist group found that all participants acted on a value orientation to authority, and they considered these actions to be important experiences in their development as …