By Linda Fisher Thornton Leaders interpret "harm" according to the perspective on ethical leadership they are using to make decisions. They may consider harm narrowly (only what would harm them) or broadly (what would harm others and society). At its most narrow, harm could be interpreted as harming me or my company's profitability.
Category: Context
5 Questions For Leaders Seeking Insight In The New Year
By Linda Fisher Thornton Grateful For The Conversation Many thanks to Leading in Context friends and followers for a wonderful 2015. I am grateful for the lively global conversation about the leadership we need for a better future. I appreciate your active involvement in the movement. Special thanks to all of you who have shared my blog posts and let me know what you want to learn more about in the future. Some thoughts as we head into a new year:
What is Ethical Thinking?
By Linda Fisher Thornton Today I'm taking you inside the mind of the ethical leader to explore ethical thinking. Inside the Mind of an Ethical Leader “I make decisions based on values, not money pressures.” “I need to constantly learn in order to stay ethical.”
“Is It Ethical?” (Decision Tool Based on the Book 7 Lenses)
By Linda Fisher Thornton A new ethical decision-making tool is available for readers of 7 Lenses!
Are You Approachable?
By Linda Fisher Thornton The pace of change is out of control in the workplace. Have any of you learned more than three new software programs this week? Have you had to deliver on deadline in spite of being completely new to a project? Have you struggled to get the attention of colleagues when you need their input, only to find that they are too busy to make the time to meet?
What is Research?
By Linda Fisher Thornton What is research? The answer depends on your perspective. Some people believe the definition is very narrow, and only if you "do it right" in the scientific sense does it meet the requirements of proper research. Others believe that it includes paying attention to messages from all areas of our lives and using that information to achieve insight and understanding.
Forbes Business Article: “So You’d Like To Work in a More Ethical Culture?”
By Linda Fisher Thornton Forbes Business Leaders published an article by Victor Lipman last week responding to my post 40 Ways To Build an Ethical Culture. In the article, he discusses how leaders can use the practical list to build a better workplace.
40 Ethical Culture Gaps To Avoid
By Linda Fisher Thornton Leaders set the tone for how ethical values are applied. They mentor those they lead, and serve as positive role models. It is not enough, though. for them to talk about ethical values and model what they look like in action. They must also fiercely protect the ethics of their organizations. They are the caretakers of ethical culture.
11 Paths To Ethical Leadership Competence
By Linda Fisher Thornton Developing competent ethical leaders is a huge challenge. Why is it so difficult? We live in a globally-connected society, and are expected to be globally-aware. We are dealing with catastrophic change and uncertainty. We fill roles in many different settings including in our organizations, industries and communities. Competence in all of these areas is not simple to achieve.
7 Questions For Ethical Culture Building
By Linda Fisher Thornton We create organizational culture through strategic choices and daily actions. If we imagine building our culture as creating an elaborate painting, what will we depict on the canvas? Will we work together to carefully paint a background theme of positive values, or will we just give everyone brushes and "see where it goes?"
Want To Thrive in Leadership Future? Tether Yourself To Values
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?
Global Sentiment About Taking Responsibility
By Linda Fisher Thornton A clearer picture of global ethics is coming into view. In this clearer picture, we know what's important and see how far our responsibilities extend into the global community. We understand that business leadership includes responsibility for much more than just making a profit and obeying the law. Ethical leaders have begun to realize how connected our global community is. Customers for our products may live in 50 or more countries. Product parts may be made in multiple countries, each with different laws and regulations.
7 Definitions of “Good” (Why We Disagree About Ethics)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Why is it so difficult to agree on the right thing to do? One of the reasons we may not agree is that each of us may be using a different definition of what is "good." Here are 7 different interpretations of what is ethically good, based on the framework in 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership (2013). Which ones are you using in your leadership?
Leading For Ethics Future? (Or Ethics Past?)
By Linda Fisher Thornton We are expected to make ethical decisions in a rapidly changing global society, where there is increasing awareness of what "ethical" means. The question of where ethics is headed has been the focus of my research over the last four years. I have learned that to be considered ethical, we must consider more constituents, honor more dimensions of ethics, and lead ethically through higher levels of complexity. How do we prepare for that? We reach higher and think longer-term.
Ethics and Trust are Reciprocal
By Linda Fisher Thornton I was asked recently to explain in simple terms how ethics and trust are related. It is a great question, because we define trust and ethics in so many different ways. Here are some observations about how trust and ethics are related, and what their relationship means for us as organizational leaders.
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