Abstract:
Combating the widespread issues of accountability avoidance, dishonesty, corruption,
and regulatory noncompliance within local government necessitates the continual
presence of ethical leadership. Scholars emphasise the importance of conducting
rigorous empirical research using signaling theory, a powerful approach required in
revealing reliable insights. Such efforts are crucial to improving service delivery
standards and strengthening good governance.
The research aimed to investigate the influence of ethical leadership behaviours on team
effectiveness within local government, focusing on senior and middle managers.
Specifically, it sought to understand how these behaviours affect both individual and
team performance. The study employed qualitative methods to explore the impact of
ethical leadership behaviours on team effectiveness. The data was gathered through
conducting semi-structured interviews with senior and middle managers from Gauteng
Municipalities. Phenomenology was utilised to explore participants’ experiences in
depth, providing a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. The study
included 22 participants holding different leadership roles across Local, District, and
Metropolitan Municipalities.
The findings highlighted that ethical leaders strive to exhibit exemplary behaviours
towards their followers by encouraging teams to behave morally and with integrity. The
qualities that promote team performance were found to be actively participating in the
team journey through promoting growth, empowerment, and motivation. Through the
evaluation of the research results and the literature analysis, a comprehensive
organisational framework for ethical leadership behaviours and team effectiveness was
proposed, which distinguishes between perceptions, beliefs, personality traits, and
actions to provide a more cohesive
