| Due to the high number of business scandals involving unethical leadership practices, organizations are becoming concerned about characteristics ethical leaders possess. Previous research studied mainly men and has indicated that more securely attached leaders were more effective leaders. However, there remains a gap in the current literature regarding ethical leadership and attachment orientation as this relates to gender. Based on attachment theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to understand how variations in leaders' attachment orientation and gender predict ethical leadership. A convenience sample of 45 employees, with at least one employee per leader, along with 33 leaders with at least 6 months experience in a leadership position, completed the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) and the Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS), respectively. The attachment scores from leaders found to be ethical (score of 3 or higher on ELS) were analyzed using a simultaneous regression analysis and analysis of variance. The regression findings were not statistically significant. However, the analysis of variance results suggested that those with a secure orientation scored significantly higher on the ELS than those in the avoidant and anxious categories, and that the interaction between gender and attachment category significantly affects a leaders mean score on the ELS. Findings from this research help clarify how attachment style and gender may affect ethical leadership orientation. This study enhances and promotes social change initiatives by providing organizations with information on how attachment orientation and gender may be related to ethical leadership behaviors which may be used during hiring to work toward hiring an ethical workforce. |
