Ethical leaders manage conflict to develop trust

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose that effective ethical leaders develop high quality relationships with team members; in particular, they manage their conflicts with team members cooperatively. Design/methodology/approach: The authors empirically tested this hypothesis with responses from 117 managers and 302 subordinates. Findings: Through cooperative conflict management, leaders develop trusting, mutually committed relationships. Ethical leaders and their employees avoid competitive conflict where they try to impose their ideas and resolutions on each other. Practical implications: The findings suggest that ethical leaders can have a significant impact by fostering cooperative conflict management and reducing competitive conflict management. Thus, organizations are encouraged to adopt training and selection procedures to develop more ethical leaders. Originality/value: This study adds to leadership research that effective leaders develop high quality relationships that help them influence employees as well as to be open and influenced by them.