Responsible leadership and unpopular decision-making: an analysis of decision-making by senior Australian and American leaders

What the paper says

Purpose Given how often leaders make decisions in controversial and conflict-laden situations, it is striking that there is a complete void in studying unpopular decision-making, particularly in business. Engaging responsible leadership and paradox theory, we explore how responsibility is enacted in unpopular decision-making situations and what strategies are pursued during these unpopular decision-making events. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study's sample comprised 25 senior leaders from Australia and the United States. The data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings When leaders seem to have greater control over decision-making, their responsible courage played a critical role. Responsible courage was less likely to play a critical role when more external stakeholders were likely to be impacted by a decision-making outcome. Leaders employed a combination of strategies, including inclusive stakeholder management, stakeholder buy-in and creating a vision for change. The most unique leadership strategy in our study findings was inclusive stakeholder management. It was more prevalent when involving many external stakeholders. Research limitations/implications Although some scholars have proposed the usefulness of applying paradox theory in the responsible leadership context, this is, to our knowledge, the first study to empirically explore unpopular decision-making in conflict situations. Our findings show that leaders often undertake responsibly active decisions including being responsibly reactive, responsibly assertive and responsibly courageous in unpopular decision-making situations. To what extent responsible decision-making mandates a both/and approach is a fruitful avenue for further inquiry. Practical implications Responsible courage allows leaders to act decisively while remaining open to contestation, resistance and uncertainty. Leaders sustain legitimacy by clearly explaining why no option can satisfy all demands and by acknowledging that paradoxes cannot be resolved, only navigated. Leaders could be encouraged to prioritize the organization's purpose when called upon to manage competing and contradictory tensions. Social implications The study emphasizes that leaders must be mindful of the broader societal consequences of their decisions, particularly in high-stakes situations such as mergers, acquisitions and organizational restructuring. While these decisions may be necessary for business survival, they often have significant negative impacts, such as job losses, reduced social cohesion and threats to community well-being. Leaders should not make these choices in isolation but rather consider the ethical and social implications. Originality/value The study offers novel insights into responsible leadership by emphasizing paradox theory and responsible courage in the context of unpopular decision-making. It is the first empirical study to highlight leaders' responsible courage in unpopular decision-making to manage paradoxical tensions through a both/and approach.