European Values and Good Leadership: Facing up to Role Distance

In this essay, I would like to use concepts from role theory to show how executives can deal with irreconcilable contradictions and value conflicts. The answer lies in the maintenance of one’s own identity through sovereign role distance. Humanist values are most likely enforceable when the actors involved consistently address their own values and acknowledge what is right or wrong from their point of view. A certain amount of distance is required in order to be able to look at oneself from within the role, and to look at the role from within oneself.