Leading in Turbulent Times: The Moral Entrepreneur

Gretchen A. Jessel

School of Foundations, Leadership, and Administration, Kent State University 

EHHS 75502: Ethical Leadership in Education

Dr. Kimberly S. Peer

March 22, 2022

  The term entrepreneur is no longer associated with starting one's own business. In an

article by Pozen (2008), he asserts, 'We are all entrepreneurs now.' Pozen (2008) describes

multiple forms of entrepreneurship, including social entrepreneurs, policy entrepreneurs, norm

entrepreneurs, moral entrepreneurs, ethnification entrepreneurs, and polarization entrepreneurs

(Pozen, 2008). The term entrepreneur has reached beyond the business world and now can be

found throughout the social sciences, specifically moral entrepreneur and its connection to

ethical leadership (Hollows & Jones, 2010; Kaptein, 2019).

The term moral entrepreneur can be defined as a person who can identify a moral threat,

address the issue, enlists the help of others to make a change, thereby creating a new moral norm

for the well-being of others (Fuller, 2013; Hollows & Jones, 2010; Kaptein, 2019; Pozen, 2008;

Yurtsever, 2003). Additionally, a moral entrepreneur is valued in the community and perceived

as an ethical leader, as someone who is making a difference in the community (Anderson &

Smith, 2007; Hollows & Jones, 2010). Kaptein (2019) identifies a moral entrepreneur as the third

component of ethical leadership, the moral person and moral manager being the first two. The

moral entrepreneurs component broadens the definition of ethical leadership put forth by Brown

and colleagues as cited by Brown and Trevino (2006). It opens a space for creating new norms

developed by the ethical leader (Kaptein, 2019).

Kaptein (2019) emphasizes the difference between the social entrepreneur (agents of

change and innovation) and the moral entrepreneur (introduces new ethical norms). He asserts

the moral person and moral manager who keeps to the status quo of existing norms is not an

ethical leader, nor does it make someone unethical. It is the job of moral entrepreneurs to right

the wrongs of the world (Fuller, 2013), a job that cannot be fulfilled unless an opportunity

presents itself. Therefore, the moral entrepreneur will need to recognize potential issues and
begin the process of mediating the issue(s). James Rest developed a model to demonstrate how

leaders use moral reasoning to address everyday ethical dilemmas (Johnson, 2007; Small & Lew,

2021). Lincoln and Holmes (2008) contend that when faced with a dilemma, individuals begin

the process of ethical decision-making, moving through the four components of the Rest Model.

The components include Moral Awareness, Moral Judgement, Moral Intention, and Moral

Action (Lincoln & Holmes, 2008). Here in Rest's model, I would agree with Kaptein (2019) that

we find room for the term moral entrepreneur. Moral entrepreneurship goes one step further and

challenges leaders to go beyond moral action in addressing dilemmas. Moral entrepreneurship

challenges leaders to persevere and stay focused on the issue, build and gain the power to

influence others (followers) to adopt the new norms, and understand the purpose of the new

norm in the global society (Kaptein, 2019).

Although I understand where moral entrepreneurship fits into ethical leadership, as

Kaptein (2019) described, I struggle with Kaptein's assertiveness in the tenant a moral

entrepreneur must create 'new ethical norms.' While reading the manuscript, I envisioned myself

progressing through the processes of becoming a moral entrepreneur and was unable to get past

the creation of new ethical norms. If I can navigate through Rest's model of moral reasoning and

take moral action, have I created a new moral norm in my organization?

Fuller (2013) likens moral entrepreneurs to superheroes. Anderson and Smith (2007) also

write about the metaphors used to describe entrepreneurs as heroic, including sportsmen, players,

adventurers, warriors, and battlers. Hollows and Jones (2010) assert at times, society aligns with

moral entrepreneurs who are seen as 'to be doing something' instead of just talking about

problems. This is true even if the moral entrepreneur's actions toward change are contradictory,

as described by Hollows and Jones (2010) article on Jamie Oliver's rise as a moral entrepreneur
tackling a small community's health and nutrition issues in the UK. Further, Pozen (2008) writes

moral entrepreneurs need not be virtues and cites Hitler as a moral entrepreneur in contrast to

Jesus Christ. Both of them motivated societies to follow them in newly created social norms.

Both were able to break through long-held societal norms and create something new.

Again I ask myself, considering all Kaptein (2019) and others write on moral

entrepreneurs as the third component of ethical leadership, am I able to identify potential

dilemmas within my educational organization, take action, create new norms, establish personal

power to gain followership, and have a positive influence on the entirety of the educational

society? To answer this question, I turn to Anderson and Smith (2007) in their exploration of

moral space, the space that lies between the individual and society (Anderson & Smith, 2007).

The moral space recognizes the social values of the society. The authors present two case stories,

one of a community businessman the other of a self-proclaimed gangster. The story of Bill

resonated with me. Bill is a humble, self-made businessman who is considered honest and fair.

Bill is also a mentor for his employees and has helped nine start their own small businesses.

Bill's moral entrepreneurship in business can be translated into moral entrepreneurship in

education. As a teacher, my business is children and their families. Honest, fair practices that

allow for social and educational growth for all is what I strive for as an educator. In a previous

paper, I wrote about the importance of play for children and framing play as a right versus a

privilege. I challenged the norm of the school society and created a new social norm, albeit a

small change; nevertheless, it is still a change for the betterment of the organization. Indeed the

majority of educators have adopted the new ethical norm.

The second application of moral entrepreneurship in my organization is our

paraeducators' reconfiguration, classification, and development. Paraeducators are vital to

education, exceptional education. Paraeducators provide support to students with developmental

disabilities in all areas of education, from the classroom to the playground to extracurricular

clubs., I and others recognized this marginalized group's importance and advocated for an audit

of our paraeducator practices. I see our team as moral entrepreneurs. We are stretching the

boundaries of the paraeducator system and redefining what it means to be a paraeducator,

including enlisting paraeducators to sit at the table to assert their power to create the new ethical

norm.

I am not going to pretend I understand or agree 100% with Kaptein (2019); however, I

believe there is a space for moral entrepreneurs. The space lies beyond the moral action (as

described in Rest's model) of one individual to make a wrong a right. Moral entrepreneurship

requires the moral person and moral manager to go one step further and make a change that

breaks the status quo for the betterment of society. With that said, I do have difficulty

understanding why Hitler is classified by Pozen (2008) as a moral entrepreneur. In response to

my thoughts, it could be Hitler was able to use his power to convince others his new moral

norms were indeed for the betterment of society. If this is the case, he was indeed a moral

entrepreneur. Kaptein (2019) asserts that to be an ethical leader, you need to be a moral person, a

moral manager, and a moral entrepreneur, but having all three does not mean you are an ethical

leader.

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