As leaders, principals have a special responsibility to exercise authority in an ethical way. Coercion through bureaucratic authority will seldom have a positive, lasting effect. Dilemmas arise when cherished values conflict. A principal who values both teacher autonomy and student achievement will face a dilemma when teachers want to enact a policy that lowers expectations. This kind of conflict is heightened because school leaders are public officials with obligations to many people who often have competing values or interests.
Some studies suggest that obligations to superiors put special pressure on ethical decision-making.
Kirby and her colleagues speculate that these hypothetical colleagues actually reflect the norm. But a number of thinkers have suggested some guidelines. First, leaders should have and be willing to act on a definite sense of ethical standards. Second, leaders can examine dilemmas from different perspectives. Kidder describes three.