ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors set out to explore how the banking industry has been dealing with the leadership tensions that it continues to face. The authors draw on Coldwell, Joosub, and Papgeorgiou’s assertion that responsible leadership (RL) plays a key role in handling the tensions brought about by organizational crises. The authors describe the former as a leadership style focused primarily on business performance, task-oriented leadership visions, transactionalism, and limited attention to non-primary stakeholder groups or issues that are not directly related to the economic profitability of the firm. By contrast, the integrative RL approach focuses on balancing business objectives and positive societal impact. It emphasizes collaborative interaction with diverse stakeholder groups and considering their potentially conflicting demands and interests. The authors have sought to contribute to the empirical dimension of the responsible global leadership research, by exploring leadership challenges, paradoxes, and opportunities in the real-life organizations shaken by major ethics crises and reputational setbacks, namely the financial industry after 2008.
