The Leadership Characteristics and Ethical Leadership of Julian Assange

This debate focused on the Wiki Leaks founder, Julian Assange. It provided a discussion regarding the leadership characteristics of Julian Assange as well as supporting an argument of whether he is an ethical leader. This reflective journal critiques both sides for Assange's argument of an ethical leader, it concludes with him not supporting the practice of being ethical.

When starting Wiki Leaks in 2006, Julian Assange possessed a strong personality and vision, standing by his beliefs. For example, Assange believed publishing pieces of information should shed light on revealing the truth to the public with free information and creating an approach for freedom of expression. This was a main goal for setting up the Wiki Leaks organisation, exposing what shouldn't be hidden. This is a key trait for an effective leader, demonstrating a transformational leadership style. However, Assange did not embrace change when needed to support this vision which as a result contributed to his downfall. A transformational leadership style is also concerned with ethics, Assange failed to maintain this characteristic. Therefore a pseudo- transformational leader is reflected because Assange is being consumed with power as well as being focused on himself instead of others.

An example of this took place in 2010, when Assange was held responsible for publishing sensitive information of informants in documents-this posed a threat to people and the national security of the countries which were involved. By exposing this material to the public may be seen as ethical because people will demand transparency from the government. It can be argued a utilitarianism approach is used because it creates greater good for the majority of people because Assange believed the public should be aware of this information. In this case, material and information had been exposed to the public at the expense of the national security. These publications have been leaked which benefits society as a whole. However, the release of these documents has caused a threat towards society, putting the national security at risk. As result this can lead to decreased integrity within society and higher restrictions.

The deontology theory refers to the responsibilities of doing the right thing, independent of the consequences within an ethical situation. Assange acquired material of confidential information regarding the Bank of America, which was mentioned in a 2009 interview. This relates to the deontology theory because it is the responsibility of the organisation to protect and maintain the security as well as welfare of the corporation. In this instance, the Bank of America stopped its services with Wiki Leaks in terms of their payments. The decision made does not link to the consequences Wiki Leaks may experience due to their actions. Wiki Leaks also justify their actions of duty to providing information to the public which they thought may be useful for them. The organisation has the authority to expose information, so they are acting within the legal framework if the documents are exposed.

Adair highlights the seven qualities of leadership which include: enthusiasm, integrity, toughness, fairness, warmth, humility and confidence. Assange does not portray some of these qualities such as integrity, humility and warmth. Integrity reflects through goodness and truth which Assange ignores, claiming precautions had been taken to protect any harm to the individuals that were exposed. This also indicates Assange misusing his power and not taking responsibility for his actions which is important for a leader, otherwise the success within the group would diminish.

Humility is recognised through the needs of people. Unfortunately, Assange does not reflect this trait as he dismisses those that are close which have lead to negative accounts, due to his ego. Being concerned about the well-being of the team holds an importance, for Assange to be effective as a leader this trait should be considered. If the subordinates do not feel supported it can have negative impact on their productivity as well as their loyalty towards their leader. Assange clearly demonstrates a pseudo- transformational style by dominating and controlling his colleagues, he will eventually lose their respect.

Similarly, the character of warmth is not recognised, as Assange would threaten employees or those close to him when it came to his personal life- yet he would release the details of others. This causes employees to feel alienated and resented. Maintaining a positive interpersonal relationship with others is an important factor regarding an effective leader. This also reflect ethical egoism, in Assange's case he portrays high self interest and low concern for others. Threatening those around him shows a selfish characteristic; this is because the power he has within the organisation gives him the authority to make such decisions, again Assange misuses his power. It reflects a coercive power because members within the group are being harmed.

An effective leader should be able to adapt to the leadership style according to their situation. From an ethical perspective Julian Assange adopts a transactional leadership style, which is related to self interest. Assange believes himself to be beyond the law with such an inflated ego.He continues to justify the criminal charges that he is accused of which makes him in some way a prisoner of his own philosophy. The idea of Assange being engulfed in his ego has resulted in destructive relationships with those he knew. For example, a former spokesperson for Wiki Leaks had been faced with an agreement to sign, by Assange. Refusing to do so he had left the organisation claiming Assange is a 'blatant self-interest and egomaniac.' This behaviour has cost Assange the relationships of his colleagues and subordinates, which will eventually leave him standing alone.

Assange also portrays a hypocritical character which is a disregarded leadership quality. Andrew O’Hagan, a ghost-writer for Assange refers to him as 'the man who put himself in charge of disclosing the world’s secrets simply couldn’t bear his own.” This relates to the published documents which have harmed the people that were mentioned, yet Assange is not willing to risk putting himself in danger. O’Hagan has described Assange as an 'egotistical tyrant interested more in his own self-publicity, turns on his friends with increasing regularity.'

In 2010, Assange was accused of sexual assault allegations, which he denies. He has been seeking protective asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, to avoid extradition in Sweden. He still remains at the Ecuadorian Embassy till today. Assange has been describe as being 'quite interested in the concept of ethics, concepts of justice, what governments should and shouldn't do.' These offenses Assange has been accused of do not demonstrate an ethical practice in anyway. Julian Assange has an agenda of serving himself and not taking accountability for the actions he has carried out. Again this reflects a hypocritical and weak leader in Assange's case, given the assault allegations that were made against him. He is a man who believes in the idea of ethics and justice but turned against these practices by falling into these allegations. By remaining within the Embassy, Assange is seen as a weak and guilty leader because there is no justification on the charges made against him. He also refuses to cooperate with the investigations which make him look guilty for the alleged offences.

On the other hand, the serious allegations Assange is faced with could be based on a conspiracy theory regarding the US authorities. This makes it seem as if Assange is being framed by them, considering he was a priority for the US government due to the diplomatic cables which were released. Despite some of Assange's negative attributes and unethical behaviour, there are qualities which he does possess as a leader. For example, Assange has been an inspiration towards the era of whistle-blowers.

There has been leaked illegal footage from the UK as well as US from Edward Snowden to global tax avoidance being published by Panama Papers. However, at that time he was viewed as powerful, drawing his attention on a global scale. If this information had not been made public, then the families of the killed civilians would not have been informed about their deaths. Assange exposed the truth about the corruption within governments as well as corporations; in this case how the US military had been operating in Afghanistan. His vision had become an inspiration towards people, when starting Wiki Leaks. This has driven them to work together so that the common goals of the organisation could be achieved.

Even though Assange may hold qualities of an effective leader, the events that have taken place over the past decade do not support the practice of being an ethical leader. The opposing side for the argument was not supported sufficiently, giving a weak argument on the discussed situations Assange had been involved in. As a result, the argument for Assange to be considered as being ethical cannot be supported- given the situations he was faced with.