By Linda Fisher Thornton 13 Leadership Temptations To Conquer In 2013 We're starting a new year, with fresh possibilities, and it is a good time to think about our leadership values. What do we believe? How do we treat others? What matters to us? Can people determine our values just by watching how we treat people? As we think about how we want to lead this year, we need to recognize that it is tempting to make easy short-term decisions that end up having ethical consequences in the long run.
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Wishing You Peace
The Peace Paradox In this season of joy, it seems like a good time to reflect on what I call "The Peace Paradox." Peace is one of those things that requires reaching out. Just as we must extend trust to receive it from others, we must extend peace in order to receive it.
What Does Respect Look Like?
By Linda Fisher Thornton The Evolving Graphic This graphic is a revision of one originally published on April 27, 2011 and includes multiple changes based on reader feedback. It was created to help leaders visualize what respectful and ethical behavior…
Our Thinking is an “Ethical Driver”
What we think influences how we behave. We could even say that our thinking is in essence an "ethical driver" in that it affects the other variables that make up our leadership. Here are some examples of how our thinking influences our ethics as leaders:
100 Trends to Watch For 2013
By Linda Fisher Thornton 100 Trends to Watch For 2013 As we head into 2013, the trend reports at the links below will give you a "business leader's preview" of what to expect in sectors that range from consumer trends,…
10 Thinking Traps (That Ethical Leaders Avoid)
Avoid These 10 Thinking Traps What are some of the thinking traps that we fall into as leaders? I'm not referring to "correlation versus causation" and other logical reasoning problems. There are some common ways of thinking about business leadership that…
Honoring Human Rights is Essential
by Linda Fisher Thornton Human Rights and Morality Business leaders have a clear responsibility to honor universal human rights. In their article The Moral Foundations of Ethical Leadership in the Values Based Leadership Journal, Hester and Killian remind us that…
What is Conscious Capitalism?
By Linda Fisher Thornton What is Conscious Capitalism? In last week's post, I explored how Ethics Means Acting Beyond Self Interest. This week, I’ll explore the same question at the organizational level. What are an organization’s ethical responsibilities? How is conscious…
“Ethics” Means Acting Beyond Self-Interest
By Linda Fisher Thornton "Ethics" Means Acting Beyond Self-Interest Ethics is fundamentally about acting beyond our own self-interests. Can we be ethical without considering others and acting in ways that benefit them? Here are some interesting questions and quotes on the subject.
Differences or Inclusion – Which Are We Focusing On?
Diversity can be Divisive When we talk about diversity, we are noticing differences. That may not seem like a profound statement at first, but think about it for a moment. Diversity is about having different types of employees, right? And that's a good thing for productivity and innovation, isn't it? It is a good thing. But it's not enough. Managing diversity without inclusion as the ultimate goal can make a big difference in the way employees experience our organization.
Twitter Helps Leaders “Think Global”
Twitter helps us learn to "think global" in a connected global society. It can transform us and the way we do business. It keeps us current, connects us with a global network of information and provides real-time data. I've sprinkled in some statistics along with my own observations about the learning benefits of Twitter.
Developing the Ethical Leader of the Future
by Linda Fisher Thornton On Thursday, I spoke about The Future of Ethics and Business Leadership at the Richmond SHRM Strategic Leadership Conference. My lens was leadership development - how to help leaders be ready to lead ethically in a highly complex, connected future. Here are some success principles for developing "Ethical Leader Future:"
What Does Ethical Consumerism Mean for Business?
What is Ethical Consumerism? Ethical consumerism means that more customers are choosing to purchase goods that are ethically sourced, ethically made and ethically distributed. In her article "Ethical Consumerism and Conservatism: Hand in Glove" in the Heinz Journal, Jacqueline Payne describes the ethical consumer this way:
What is Unethical Leadership?
Exploring "Unethical Leadership" How do we define unethical leadership? While there are hundreds of stories that illustrate examples of unethical leadership in the news, those stories taken together still do not clearly define the boundaries of what unethical leadership includes
5 More Ways to Avoid the “Rightness” Trap
By Linda Fisher Thornton 5 More Ways to Avoid the "Rightness" Trap The comments kept coming! Here here are 5 More Ways to Avoid the "Rightness" Trap based on social media responses to Is Needing to Be "Right" Unethical? They are each illustrated here with quotes.
Leading in Context 