By Linda Fisher Thornton I was originally going to used the words "ethics-infused leadership" in this post, but I realized that would treat ethics a little bit like a lime twist in a cold drink. The drink would hint of lime, but it wouldn't be FULL of lime. So I chose to use "ethics-rich" leadership instead. I think you may already be looking for the ethics-rich leadership I'm talking about.
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How You Can Stop The “Fake News” Madness
By Linda Fisher Thornton We all need to know how to tell what's real news and what's not. While a headline may be compelling, we can easily damage our personal reputation and brand if we share it and it turns out to be "fake news." It's our job to "check stories out" to be sure that what we share is real. Our "Human Software" is Buggy While it's important for us to tell the difference between the real and the fake, our "human software" comes with bugs. One type of bug we all have is cognitive biases, and one of our biases causes us to readily believe headlines we already agree with (confirmation bias).
5 Sites for Globally Responsible Business Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton It has become clear that a global economy requires more than local or regional thinking. Our information and commerce are globally connected. Our greatest human challenges are global and must be solved globally. We are connected…
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Do Laws Set the Standard For Ethics?
By Linda Fisher Thornton "Do Laws Set the Standard For Ethics?" may be a simple question, but the answer is complicated. They do and they don't set the standard.
How Balanced is Your Ethical Diet?
By Linda Fisher Thornton By Linda Fisher Thornton It's easy to understand that ethics has various "requirements." What isn't as obvious is that it takes effort on all of them to maintain the ethical well-being of people and organizations. Just as we need to eat from a variety of food groups to get balanced nutrition, we need to honor more than one ethical dimension to get balanced ethics.
Yes, Leaders. Behavior Matters
By Linda Fisher Thornton As leaders, we are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior, and that includes interpersonal behavior (HOW we get the results we get, and how our behavior impact others). This week I'm sharing a review of behaviors that are a "NO GO" for ethical leaders. Click on each link to learn about why the behavior is outside the bounds of ethical leadership.
Everyone is a Stakeholder at Some Level
By Linda Fisher Thornton "Everyone is a stakeholder at some level, and all stakeholders are important. We should consider all stakeholders as we lead – those we serve, those we lead, the powerless, the silenced, the planet, and all of humanity." I shared this important statement in a previous post - it was an aha moment from a Tweetchat I guest-hosted on Leading With Ethics. To reflect on where you are in the journey to leading with the mindset that "everyone is a stakeholder at some level," explore the answers to these important questions:
4 Connected Trends Shaping the Future of Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton Our understanding of good leadership is advancing. In this video, I describe 4 powerful trends that are increasing leadership expectations and shaping what leaders need to be prepared to handle in the future. By Linda Fisher Thornton Our understanding of good leadership is advancing. In this video, I describe 4 powerful trends that are increasing leadership expectations and shaping what leaders will need to be ready to handle in the future. These 4 trends shaping the future of leadership are connected and accelerating. They give us a clear picture of where we need to take our leadership.
Great Leaders Unite
By Linda Fisher Thornton The most capable and ethically competent leaders reach for unity, which represents the highest levels of interpersonal and global responsibility. While it would be much easier, the best leaders don't just aim for "getting along" or "getting by."
Values Drive Business Success (But Only If They’re Clear and Applied)
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.
Ethical Leaders Take The Hidden Path
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leaders seek shared value. They look for ways to meet the needs of others while they champion their own projects and ideas. Why? Because they understand that they are responsible for making choices that honor their well-being AND the well-being of others. Because they see beyond the one-dimensional false dichotomy "I Win, You Lose" that is based on the zero-sum mentality "I can only win if you lose."
9 Ethical Roles: Is Your Leadership Team “All In”
By Linda Fisher Thornton I blogged a while back about the Critical Roles of the (Ethical) CEO. I realized later that these important ethical roles apply not just to CEOs, but also to all senior leaders in an organization. And if the leaders they manage don't carry these roles throughout the organization, there will be gaps in the culture.
Labels Divide, Values Conquer
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.
How Do You Make Better Decisions?
By Linda Fisher Thornton How do you make decisions? Do you consider a series of important questions? Do you find out the needs of the people involved? Do you consult a diverse group of advisors? Or do you just wing it? Some of the ways we may be tempted to think through our challenges (how to stay within budget or how to be most profitable, for example) leave ethical values out of the equation. Ethical thinking helps us make good leadership decisions. When we use intentional ethical thinking, we make decisions based on ethical values. Using ethical thinking doesn't just help us do the right thing. It also helps us resolve our most difficult leadership problems by broadening our awareness.
The Evolving Purpose of Leadership: Why More is Expected Now
By Linda Fisher Thornton What ever happened to command-and-control (transactional) leadership and what has taken its place? How is our understanding of the purpose of leadership changing? Where is it headed? In this video, I explain our evolving understanding of the purpose of leadership, and provide a context that explains why more is expected of leaders now.
Leading in Context 