2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Making Room for Followers: A Grounded Theory Study of Ethical Followership Among Professional Engineers

Presented at Broader Approaches to Engineering Ethics Education

[Full Research Paper, Organizational Ethics]

In the last twenty-five years of organizational research, ethical leadership figures prominently as an answer to the question, “How do workers learn how to do the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma?” However, enthusiasm for a leader-centric view of ethics at work has outpaced the potential to explore the ways that followers navigate ethical dilemmas. To date, the literature has not defined and operationalized “ethical followership” as a construct, and as a result, it remains unclear what behaviors an ethical follower applies in response to an unethical directive or request. The antecedents and outcomes of these ethical follower behaviors also remain unclear. This article provides an introduction to the literature on ethical leadership and ethical followership. It then outlines the methods and results of a grounded theory study on ethical followership among professional engineers, including a definition and theoretical framework for ethical followership. Finally, it discusses implications for theory and practice, chief among them validating, integrating, and enhancing previous conceptual work related to ethical followership and making a case for follower development programs.

Authors

Dr. Kyle Payne Collins Engineers [biography]

Kyle is a strategic talent development leader and consultant with fifteen years of experience driving process improvement and behavior change through training, coaching, and kaizen events. He draws upon his experience managing quality in the structural steel industry – building high-quality structures that stand the test of time in any environment – to building high-performing and continually-improving teams. As a coach and facilitator, Kyle has established a strong reputation for fostering a safe and productive environment for participants to find clarity and direction on their own terms.

As a researcher of organizational behavior, Kyle focuses on unethical behavior at work and examines the behaviors of “ethical followers” who have the courage to resist unethical behavior and call into question unethical thinking. He has published and frequently gives talks on unethical behavior and other topics of concern to organizations. He serves on the Ethics & Professional Practice Committee for the Association for Materials Protection and Performance, and he has served as a volunteer exam developer for several professional associations.

Kyle lives in Chicago with his partner Sid and their two cats Queso and Fundido. Outside of work, you’re most likely to find him visiting the Field Museum or the Art Institute, walking along Lake Michigan, or cheering on the Chicago Sky.

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