Introduction The Wells Fargo scandal, uncovered in 2016, marks a pivotal moment in the discourse on corporate ethics, exposing the profound consequences of ethical negligence at the heart of corporate culture ("Wells Fargo Banking Scandal," 2018). At the center of this controversy stood CEO John Stumpf, whose leadership ethos, encapsulated by the aggressive sales method "Eight is great," not only prioritized financial gains over ethical standards but also focused on widespread unethical practices among employees. This referred to the ambitious goal of having every Wells Fargo customer use eight financial products the bank provided - a target that epitomized the company's push to get profits at any cost ("Wells Fargo Banking Scandal," 2018). While ostensibly aimed at deepening customer relationships, this policy instead led to a pressure-cooker environment where achieving sales targets trumped ethical considerations, catalyzing the creation of millions of unauthorized accounts …show more content…
Under the stewardship of Stumpf, Wells Fargo's laser focus on financial achievements, embodied by the push to increase the number of products per customer, inadvertently promoted a culture where ethical considerations were sidelined (Skeet, 2017). This culture of ethical neglect was manifested in the creation of over 2 million unauthorized customer accounts, a direct fallout of the undue pressure on employees to meet unrealistic sales targets (Fox, 2016, p. 10). Such practices underscore the necessity for leaders to embody and promote ethical behavior, demonstrating that ethical leadership is not merely about setting ethical standards but living by them. Ethical leaders serve as paragons, shaping the moral compass of their organizations and guiding employee behavior through the exemplification of ethical values (ELAlfy & Weber, 2019, p.