The ethics of leadership trust

According to Exchange Theory, leaders and followers set goals and carry out actions by calculating interests, efforts required to achieve goals, and possible payoffs. Leaders and followers negotiate a relationship based on reciprocity. If leaders or followers fail to meet mutual expectations, however, the leader-follower relationship deteriorates. Reciprocity, the paper asserts, fails to build relationships of trust. To achieve trust, leaders have an ethical responsibility to reduce fear and increase follower participation. Through this, leaders help followers re-define norms and demonstrate behaviors that achieve a more humane work environment. The article identifies 11 variables that affect leader-follower relationships of trust and suggests areas for future inquiry and organizational change.