International Journal of Servant-Leadership
Abstract
Organizations are becoming more and more data-focused. Everything online, from shopping habits to social networks, can transform into “detailed, computer-processable, indexed by name, and potentially permanent” (Nissenbaum, 2009, p. 28) data points. Organizations use these data points to determine success on a multitude of strategic initiatives through the creation and development of metrics of success, also known as key performance indicators (KPIs). However, while many organizations see the benefit of folding data into daily operations, fewer organizations are focused on data ethics, which are the “data-related practices that seek to preserve the trust of users, patients, consumers, clients, employees, and partners” (Edquist et al., 2022). When analyzing or utilizing data without specific consideration of ethical practices, potentially biased methods and data sources could drive decisions, damage an organization’s credibility, and negatively affect thousands, if not millions, of people. How can data leaders ensure that their data analysis and metrics of success have a strong ethical backing? This article will address why ethics are central to organizational life, how to use servant-leadership principles as a guideline for an ethical approach to developing metrics of success, and how a data professional can address potential limitations of servant-leadership when presenting this approach to stakeholders.
Recommended Citation
Bridston, Olivia
(2025)
"The Data Professional as a Servant-Leader: How the Pillars of Servant-Leadership Can Advance the Development of Ethical Data Analysis and Metrics in Organizational Life,"
International Journal of Servant-Leadership: Vol. 19, Article 14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64749/2160-8172 & 2160-8164.1438
Available at:
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/ijsl/vol19/iss1/14
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Information
Copyright 2025 The Author(s).