By Linda Fisher Thornton How will we know if our leadership is "good?" Since there are conflicting opinions about what good leaders do, we need an understanding of the context to answer this important question.
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The “Less Than” Fallacy
By Linda Fisher Thornton Anytime we think about another person or group as "less than," or treat another person or group as "less than," we are unethical. It's very simple, really. We are all human, and as humans, we all have rights and dignity. We all have a right to be here and to be treated with respect and fairness.
“Great Leaders” Find Gold Within
By Linda Fisher Thornton Great leadership is often defined based on efficiency, effectiveness or profitability, but that's no way to define a journey of character building and authenticity. There's much more to the story that needs to be told.
5 Things Money Can’t Buy (Even Now)
By Linda Fisher Thornton I had the opportunity a few years ago to hear Michael Sandel, a professor from Harvard and author of What Money Can't Buy, speak about "the sky-boxification of society." He talked about how in many cases now you can buy your way into a better situation (or a sky box). This week, I'm in the process of reading Tom Friedman's book Thank You for Being Late and in it Friedman refers to and builds on Sandel's observations. I started thinking about some of the qualities that are highly valuable and make leaders great that money can't buy - some of the priceless qualities that define great leadership.
400th Post: The Journey to Meaning (Growth Required)
By Linda Fisher Thornton I didn't set out to become a top blogger or thought leader. I set out to answer a question. In the process of answering the question, I started a journey that has changed my life. There's no fairy tale story here (is there ever?). It wasn't all by conscious choice, and it wasn't always a logical progression. It happened the way that life happens to all of us.
Ethical Leadership: The “On Switch” For Adaptability
By Linda Fisher Thornton The post "Leader Competence: Will It Be A Multiplier or Divider?" generated some great discussion on social media. Here's a quote from the post: "Leader competence is either going to be a multiplier or a divider. When you have it, you multiply performance and trust, with exponential results. Without it, you divide your possible results by the incompetence factor." After reading it, one reader requested that I write more on the topic. This week I'm digging deeper into the multiplying and dividing effects of leader (in)competence, looking at how a leader's ethical competence impacts trust, people, bottom line results and organizational adaptability.
Inclusion: The Power of “Regardless”
By Linda Fisher Thornton Some inclusion statements begin with "we respect all people and treat them fairly, regardless of..." and then include a long list of differences that we should overcome. These lists are hard to communicate, difficult to remember and ever-changing as we expand our understanding of human rights.
Do Good Things Come to Those Who Wait?
By Linda Fisher Thornton I don't particularly like the quote "Good things come to those who wait." This quote, attributed to British author Violet Fane (Mary M. Singleton) in 1892, may be true but it leaves out important parts of the story. Good things may come to those who wait, but only after certain important conditions have been met:
Every Decision Changes The Ethical Culture Equation
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethics has a compounding effect on culture, and our leadership choices determine whether that effect will be positive or negative. Being diligent about ethics in every decision brings the culture ethics dividends. Being careless about ethics brings ethics penalties. The tricky part about managing ethical culture is that every leader decision and action throughout the organization is changing the equation. The "ethical culture equation" is changing in real time, every day.
Leader Competence: Will it Be A Multiplier or a Divider?
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership competence is an issue that is gaining attention. Expectations of "good leadership" are increasing and leaders and organizations are scrambling to keep up. While sometimes people disagree about implementation, there is a strong consensus among scholars and research organizations that today's leadership requires broad, high level thinking. With expectations for good leadership continuing to expand, some organizations still do not have leader competence on their strategy agendas.
The Rise of Pay to Play
By Linda Fisher Thornton It is sometimes difficult to sort out "pay to play" awards (you pay someone to say good things about you and give you an icon to put on your website) from legitimate awards (the judging process is objective -- if you win you have actually earned it). "Pay to Play" is On the Rise
Ethical Leadership is About Service, Not Privilege
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I was noticing how many drivers seem to be in a hurry, and I realized that some people are rushing so quickly that they don't stop to consider their impact on others (on the road or elsewhere). They just want to get wherever they're going as quickly as possible.
Some (who aspire to be) leaders act this way, too. While their purpose should be to enable the success of those they lead, they stop their circle of purpose at themselves and don't let concern for anyone else's well-being slow them down. I wonder what values are at the center of that kind of leadership? Speed? Money? Power? Efficiency?
Trust Energizes Organizations
By Linda Fisher Thornton
How transformational is the power of trust in organizations? It increases capacity and improves performance. It improves work satisfaction and quality of life:
Ready to Change the Ethics Quo (For Good)? Part 4
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Leadership is not easy. Leaders need to be inspired to lead with positive values while dealing with the goals and expectations of multiple stakeholders.
Here are the previous posts in the series if you missed them:
Ready to Change the Ethics Quo (For Good)? Part 1 (Improve Accountability)
Ready to Change the Ethics Quo (For Good)? Part 2 (Improve Leader Impact)
Ready to Change the Ethics Quo (For Good)? Part 3 (Manage the System)
The focus of this week's post is on Ways to Inspire Leaders to Lead With Positive Ethical Values. Here are 3 ways to inspire leaders to reach for positive values - that also help you "do good" in your organization, community and world.
Top 10 Posts 2016: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Of the 52 posts published on the Leading in Context Blog in 2016, these 10 were the most popular. See if you notice a theme that connects these topics that readers accessed most frequently:
Leading in Context 