Moral Humility: In Life and at Work

Keywords

moral humility, behavioral ethics, ethics, morality

Abstract

If behavioral ethics research from the past two decades has taught us nothing else, it has made it abundantly clear that humans are morally fallible. Indeed, there are everyday examples—in the workplace and beyond—of people who unwittingly violate their personal moral values, finding numerous ways to rationalize and justify otherwise morally objectionable behavior. In this article, we argue that acknowledging one’s own moral fallibility and developing moral humility can be an influential step in helping bridge the gap between a person’s values and behaviors. Specifically, we define and make the case for moral humility as a fundamental virtue that can help people better avoid unethical behavior and enable virtuous behavior. Specifically, we explore the potential effects of having low (insufficient), high (optimal), and extremely high (excessive) levels of moral humility on multiple outcomes at the individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels. Our hope is to encourage future research on this important but underexamined construct.

Original Publication Citation

"Smith, I. H., & Kouchaki, M. (2018). Moral humility: In life and at work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 38, 77–94."

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

Research in Organizational Behavior

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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