Why Do Good People Do Bad Things?

Understanding ethics in order to become a better leader

People often think in simplistic terms about whether leaders are “good” or “bad.” In fact, our research suggests that followers’ determination of the “goodness” of a leader is mainly affected by their personal feelings for the leader.

Why might otherwise good persons engage in bad behavior?

Leadership ethicist, Craig Johnson37, argues that in many cases, leaders and followers are not initially bad or corrupt people. Instead, Johnson argues that processes occur that allow leaders and followers to disengage their moral reasoning and principles to justify their bad behavior. What are some of these processes?

Belief that the Ends Justifies the Means. We become overly focused on achieving outcomes and rationalize the means.

Advantageous Comparisons. We downplay our bad behavior by comparing it to worse behavior by others (“sure, I did X, but he did Y!”).

Diffusion of Responsibility. “Everyone is doing it.”

Devaluing the Victim. “They deserved it.”

Euphemistic Language. It is easier to rationalize harm to others if we refer to it as “collateral damage.” Or, we label a person a “troublemaker” to rationalize treating them badly.

For Development: What is the antidote to moral disengagement? The key is to take personal responsibility for our actions. When others encourage you to bad behavior, realize that you have a personal responsibility to behave morally. Ask yourself, “would I normally consider this action to be wrong? Am I excusing the harm I may be doing by blaming others?”