Ethical Challenges In The Leader Follower Relationship - Hollander

This 1995Business Ethics article, from one of the leading writers in the area of followership, discusses the impact of ethical challenges on the leader follower relationship. Surveying the literature and contemporary ethical challenges such as enormous executive compensation at a time of massive layoffs and economic downturn, Hollander concludes "where the leader is seen to be power-oriented, exploitative, and self-serving, especially in the face of failures, the goal of mutual identification is hardly attainable. Instead, followers may feel alienated and ultimately take their allegiance elsewhere. That prospect poses an essential challenge today."

Almost fifteen years later, I would echo this concern. If anything, these words are even more true today. So what are followers to do? As courageous followers, how do we meaningfully address the issue of bloated executive compensation? Hollander mentions several flagrant cases, still evident in today's corporate world today. What is a follower to do about such situations? Do we simply refuse to work in a company with this sort of inequity or do we need a radical reorientation of our thinking on the ethics of compensation issues? Is there some way in which these inequities are ethical?

Some interesting questions.