Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Consumers are seeking brands that support well-being, sustainability and social justice, realizing that brands that care about these things are more likely to have the best interests of consumers and society at heart. Brands will be well served to assess their alignment between values, culture and strategy.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
We have become a divided society that seems to have lost its collective center in values. But we have worked globally for many years to define that center. I wrote an article for the Non-Violent Change Journal about creating a better world through values. Here is an excerpt from that article:
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Tomorrow is World Values Day, an annual campaign to increase the awareness and practice of values around the world. This year’s core theme is about reconnecting. Here are some insights about World Values Day from worldvaluesday.com, as well as a new article I wrote for World Values Day on the theme of Reconnecting Through Values.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I was driving recently when the car beside me started to veer over into my lane. I was able to avoid an accident, but it made me think about what happens when employees start “crossing the line” in organizations. When someone becomes aware that another employee is doing something that goes against the company’s values, what happens then?
There are things leaders can do. Unlike the car example, the conditions needed to avoid a problem when an employee starts to cross the line are more complex. And the potential problems that can happen (if an employee crosses the line and does something unethical) are numerous. Under the right conditions, employees may nudge each other to stay in the lane, and a positive, high trust culture helps create those conditions.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
of values as a critical element in enabling and focusing individual and collective success. Values shape your life, leadership, career and relationships.
If you are currently going through life without knowing what your values are, you’re missing out on a powerful force for good that can offer a turbo-charged boost to propel you to where you want to go.
This week I’m sharing how values change everything. Take a look at some of the many ways that values are transformational, and if you haven’t identified yours yet, I’ll share some advice on how to get started.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Most people think about ethics, at least some of the time. Ethics comes to mind during ethics training, ethics conversations, when people are thrown into ethically complex situations, and when trying to understand current events.
While we may think about ethics from time to time, ethical thinking is different. It is the process of actively considering how our choices align with ethical principles, and how those choices could impact our constituents. It is proactive, intentional and consistently applied.
Senior leaders set the tone for the organization’s ethics, but the senior leadership responsibility for values leadership includes much more than that. Today, I’ll look at the senior leader responsibility for sharing clear expectations, and explore more important roles that go well beyond setting the bar for expected behavior.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
As we all grapple with the pandemic, I am grateful to see so many businesses sharing resources and ideas freely and
finding a way to do some good for others. Our current challenges can only be managed with everyone pulling together to make good choices.
Today I’m sharing three key values that should drive our decision making at this time when everything we carefully planned has been turned upside down.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
With all the inappropriate behavior in the news, I thought it would be a good time to explore the difference between actions that are CONVENIENT and those that are APPROPRIATE. Instead of saying “I’ll know appropriate when I see it” it seems necessary to break it down and articulate the difference clearly. So here goes…
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Every leader has a values equation. It can be calculated by the day, week, year and lifetime. In the ideal situation, a leader’s values equation is consistently positive.
How do you calculate your values equation?
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Deloitte’s 2016 Millennial Survey Executive Summary reported that according to responses from 7700 employed millennials from 29 countries, “the values that support long-term business success are people treatment, ethics, and customer focus. While people treatment, ethics, and customer focus may be the values that drive business success, that only works if they’re applied across the organization.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I have noticed that when people speak from LABELS (their group identity, their belief system, their affiliation), they are talking from the interests of that label. This can quickly become divisive if that label doesn’t include everyone. If a label is broad enough – like the label “human” – it can automatically be an ethical and inclusive conversation. But since most labels aren’t that broad, we need to use ethical values to guide us.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
My Applied Ethics students asked a great question that I want to answer in today’s post: “Which Values Are Ethical Values?”
Quick Overview
Not all values are ethical values. Some values, such as efficiency, do not have an ethical component. Some ethical values involve qualities of an ethical self (such as honesty and integrity). Others describe positive and ethical behavior toward others, the environment and society.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
It would be “easy […] for organizations and leaders to become frozen by the magnitude of the changes under way” (McKinsey & Co., Management Intuition For the Next 50 Years). Success in future leadership requires being nimble and adaptive, flexing with constant change, and being ready for anything.
How should we stay grounded as we avoid crises and manage our way through a maze of increasing expectations?
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I believe that values-based leadership is gaining momentum. Recently I was asked to explain why I think so, and I thought I would share my answer in today’s blog post.
Values-based leadership is gaining momentum, and it’s fueled by a convergence of positive trends.
Here are a number of trends that I see that are working together to fuel the movement toward leading with positive values. They are coming from various directions and perspectives, all leading toward positive, proactive values-based leadership.
Leading in Context 