Allan Gray Centre for Leadership Ethics (AGCLE)

Department of Philosophy. In creating the Allan Gray Centre for Leadership Ethics (AGCLE), Gill and Allan Gray and Rhodes University are of one mind: our vital task is to imaginatively investigate and conceptualise what constitutes ethical and responsible leadership, to promote such leadership in diverse contexts, and to develop education and training programmes to foster such leadership. A differentiating mark of the AGCLE is that, although it is a trans-disciplinary space, it is based in a philosophy department, so its guiding concerns are philosophical. The distinctive contribution that this philosophical perspective can make to the field of leadership ethics is to focus on and develop cutting-edge work in the moral psychology of leadership and to design interventions that will promote effective ethical agency. But the relevant concerns with moral psychology cannot be separated from concerns with the external conditions that play crucial roles in the formation of minds. Minds are not formed in a vacuum. Political, economic and cultural conditions play crucial roles in their formation. Racist cultures, for instance, promote the formation of racist minds. And sexist cultures promote sexism. Generally, exploitative cultures promote exploitative mindsets where the humanity of those being exploited is at best a fleeting concern. And hyper consumerist cultures tend to form hyper consumerists who see their value in terms of their material possessions and the power that comes with wealth. These cultures need to be resisted, but in order for them to be properly resisted we need to be aware of how precisely they are able to affect us. https://www.ru.ac.za/agcle/