The use of benevolent leadership development to advance principles of responsible management education

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to proposes benevolent leadership development as a framework to incorporate principles of responsible management education to mainstream management curriculum, specifically within the context of leadership courses.

Design/methodology/approach: The illustrative processes, exercises, and projects in this paper come from leadership development courses offered in Turkey and in Canada.

Findings: This paper presents four anchors that support benevolent leadership development: ethical sensitivity, spiritual depth, positive engagement, and community responsiveness.

Research limitations/implications: The paper develops the framework of benevolent leadership as a means to impart the principles of responsible management.

Practical implications: The paper shares pedagogical strategies to incorporate benevolent leadership in leadership development courses through use of individual and team projects and exercises.

Originality/value: The paper shares a theoretical framework and practical insights for incorporating multiple literacies and sensitivities – namely morality, spirituality, positivity, and community – in leadership development.