Ethical Leadership and Rebuilding Trust in Government

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Stephen M. King
June 17, 2024

According to Pew, since the late 1950s there has been a dramatic decline in the percentage of citizens “who say they trust the government to do what is right just about always/most of the time.” Toward the end of Eisenhower’s second administration, nearly 80 percent said they trusted the government “always or most of the time,” but by 2023 the percentage plummeted to approximately 20 percent. While the numbers rebounded between 1994 (less than 20 percent) and 2003 (over 50 percent), by the middle of Bush 43’s second administration the numbers started falling again. By the end of Obama’s first administration (2012) the percent of citizens who trusted in government to do the right thing had plunged below 20 percent. The last twelve years have shown little, if any, improvement. What is going on?

The warning signs have been flashing for decades. Increased political polarization, lack of transparency, increase in mis-and-dis-information by mainstream and social media, increased political corruption and scandals, increased bureaucratization and poor government performance are just a few of the contributing variables. Lest we think government alone is the problem, think again. Don Kettl explains, “Trust is both cause and effect.” In other words, trust is reciprocal; it requires both parties (i.e., citizens and government) to give before there is an expectation to take. Robert Putnam’s “bowling alone” thesis proposed that citizen awareness, participation and engagement in civic matters were vital to laying the foundation for a healthy body politic. So, what do we as a nation and people do to change the tide?

Ethical leadership is a relationship between a leader (i.e., government) and a follower (i.e., citizen). In Federalist 27, Alexander Hamilton writes “I believe it may be laid down as a general rule, that their (i.e., citizens) confidence in, and their obedience to, a government, will be commonly proportional to the goodness or badness of its administration (i.e., leadership).” At the heart of “citizen confidence or obedience” is the status of the perceived relationship between leader and follower. Without ethics leadership is soulless and disconnected from those whom it serves: the follower or the citizen. Leaders and followers lift each other. They have what James MacGregor Burns called “moral agency,” a relationship that seeks common values, such as integrity and trust. So, how might ethical leadership contribute to rebuilding citizen trust in government?

Max DePree, formerly CEO of Herman Miller, notes, “The leader’s touch must match his or her voice.” Saying one thing and doing another is dishonest and opaque; it deliberately misleads followers. The heart of a leader’s character is their integrity to match what “we say we are and what we say we believe, i.e. our “voice,” to our behavior, i.e., our “touch.” As important as integrity of character is to the relationship between private sector managers and employees, it is even more important to solidifying trust between administrative or political officials and their trustees. If we as citizens cannot believe in or trust those officials who hold a constitutional responsibility to act on our behalf, then what confidence do we have in what they say or do?

Ethical leadership commands loyalty to authority, not authoritarianism. Authority is most often recognized as positional; however, authority is much more. It is the essence, intention and action demonstrated between leader and follower. Political scientist Carl Friedrich argues that authority “is associated with, even attached to, ethical reasoning.” For Friedrich authority is specific, deliberate and distinct; it is a form of communication that is “reasoned, and worthy of acceptance.” Yet, authority is also a moral endeavor, where trust between leader and follower is put to the test. Ethical leaders not only exhibit the willingness to communicate directly and appropriately, particularly during times of challenge or crisis, but they set aside their authoritarian urges and ideological dispositions and embrace the moral commitment to enhance citizens’ belief in and trust for what is good and right about government.  

Finally, the responsible measure of ethical leadership extends beyond organizational and institutional jurisdiction. Ethical leadership engages with and participates in the wider community. Ethical leaders are committed and responsible to address needs wherever they find them. Sociologist Philip Selznick notes that “community is about respect and nurture…” The measure of community is the “moral ethos…of open-ended obligation.” Ethical leadership represents and serves the interests of those who are receptive to outreach, drawing solidarity from a common core of virtues and values, while infusing followers with a spirit of hope and resolve. Rebuilding trust in government without solidifying responsibility to community is an empty endeavor.

In conclusion, to rebuild citizen trust in government, our nation requires leadership that is morally centered and ethically directed; whose authority is anchored in a reasonable expectation of virtuous intention and action; and who is morally responsible to the communities they serve.

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Author: Stephen M. King is Professor of Government at Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA. He teaches undergraduate courses in American politics, state and local government, and public policy, and graduate courses in public policy analysis and ethical leadership and administration. He frequently publishes on the topics of ethics and public administration and leadership, and spirituality in the public workplace. He was elected President-Elect (AY23-24) for the Hampton Roads Chapter of ASPA. He also serves on the Advisory Council for SEIGov, ASPA. His recent book, Ethical Public Leadership: Foundation, Organization, and Discovery, published by Routledge, came out in September 2023. Contact him at [email protected].

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