Most people would agree that leaders need ethics. There is disagreement on the kind of ethics leaders need but not about the fact that leadership requires ethics. This paper challenges this agreement. Leaders need ethics, but does ethics necessarily call for leadership? How ethical is the concept of leadership really? In this paper I argue for ethics that, rather than requiring leadership, entails what I call 'bearership'. First I examine some concepts, questions and challenges of leadership ethics. Then I explore and advocate with examples a conception of 'bearership ethics' in critical comparison to leadership ethics.
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