Ethical Leadership Under Duress: An Exegetical Study of Daniel 1-6

Ethical Leadership Under Duress: An Exegetical Study of Daniel 1-6

Robert D. Ball | 2016

Abstract

Leadership is often exercised in environments where there are expectations that clash with a leader’s personal, moral, and ethical standards. A leader may feel the pressure or even coercion to sacrifice certain ethical standards for the sake of expediency in advancement, achievement of goals, financial gain, or even preservation of personal comfort and status. This study employed the combined application of socioscientific and sociohistorical exegetical analysis to examine ethical leadership under duress in the life of Daniel as described in the first six chapters of the Book of Daniel. This study adds to the body of literature concerning ethical leadership with findings that show ethical leadership is (a) fully functional when exercised in environments of coercion and duress, (b) fully effective when exercised in environments of coercion and duress, and (c) powerfully influential when exercised in environments of coercion and duress. Furthermore, this study shows a close connection between ethical leadership, servant leadership, and spiritual leadership.