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.
Category: Context
Building Trust: What to Weed Out
By Linda Fisher Thornton I was weeding in the garden this week, and I discovered two new weeds that were taller than I was. I started thinking about how quickly things can get away from us, in the garden and in our organizations. There are things we must do to build a high trust workplace. But there are equally important things that we must prevent or weed out for trust to flourish.
The Trouble With Oversimplified Conversations
By Linda Fisher Thornton Sometimes in the rush to make a quick leadership decision, we end up "dumbing down" an issue to speed up the process. "Dumbing down" an issue may make the decision easier to make, but it may also lead us to make choices without considering current information, trends or context. Decisions made that way can cause problems.
Can a Toxic Leader Be Ethical? Yes and No.
"Can someone who uses toxic leadership still be an ethical leader?"The answer to this important question is "yes and no."
5 Leadership Development Priorities
By Linda Fisher Thornton The recent post "It's Not About Us" was the most popular post of all time on the Leading in Context Blog. It described how our understanding of leadership has moved beyond a focus on the leader to a focus on creating shared value for others.
Ethics is Contagious
By Linda Fisher Thornton I must admit that I can't take the credit for coming up with the catchy title of this post. A group of attendees at a recent keynote I delivered came up with it as a way to describe what they had learned. And it makes perfect sense. Ethics is catching, and leaders set the tone for the ethics of the organization. What would happen if everyone in the organization followed our lead? Would the organization be more or less ethical? What kind of ethics are people catching as they work in our organization?
In Conversation About Ethics
By Linda Fisher Thornton This week Realizing Leadership: Everyday Leaders Changing Our World published a cover story interview with Laurie Wilhelm. We talked about what ethical leadership really means, how ethics and trust are related, and how leaders can learn to be more ethical from wherever they are.
How Current is My Message About Ethics?
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical expectations are continually increasing, and it is not always easy for leaders to keep up with the changes. This week, I'm sharing an assessment to help you answer the question "How current is my message about ethics?"
What is the Ultimate Goal of Leadership?
By Linda Fisher Thornton What is the ultimate goal of leadership? This is an interesting question that seems simple enough at first, and then begins to get tricky as we think more about it. The tricky part is that we can't answer it in one simple statement. Is it to provide direction and show the way? Is it to respect and serve? Is it to support others and remove obstacles? Is it to teach and mentor? Is it to help bring out the best in those we lead as we work toward a common purpose? Of course, leadership is about all of those things and more. So what is its purpose? Here are four very different ways of thinking about the purpose of leadership.
Understanding (and Preventing) Ethical Leadership Failures
By Linda Fisher Thornton Understanding What Causes Ethical Leadership Failures Ethical leadership failures can be caused by different types of problems that may compound. Some of these problems are individual and others may be embedded in the organizational culture.
10 Ethical Leadership Questions For the New Year
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership is evolving, and expectations are increasing. Will we be ready? As we go into the New Year, here are some questions we should be considering:
16 Trends Shaping the Future of Ethical Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton Today, I want to share with you the picture of the future that I see, based on a powerful movement toward positive, proactive ethical leadership. As a global community, we are increasingly aware of the impact of our choices on others. We are more aware of our human connection and our responsibilities to one another. There is a trend toward considering our responsibilities broadly, beyond making profits to also making a difference. As we head into the New Year, let's help our leaders be ready for this positive, proactive "ethical leadership future."
Ethics is About What’s Right (Not Who’s Right)
By Linda Fisher Thornton If you've read the news lately, you've noticed that there is a lot of discussion about who is right. Each person has an individual perspective that seems to be right from where they sit. Each group has values and norms that seem right. How can we make sense out of it all? When we need to make a critical decision, and everyone around us is arguing passionately for a different approach, how will we know which one is most right?
The 7 Lenses Story – A Closer Look Radio Interview
By Linda Fisher Thornton ThorntonI am honored to have had the opportunity to do a radio interview with Pam Atherton of A Closer Look Radio. She invited me to talk with her about my new book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership. In the interview she asked questions that some of you may have about ethical leadership, and I walked listeners through the book's framework for leading ethically in a complex world (click below to listen).
Bringing Out the Best in People and Organizations
After 4 years of researching and writing, I am proud to announce that my new book, 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership is in print! 7 Lenses proposes a framework for learning the kind of ethical leadership that brings out the best in people and organizations. It is written for leaders who want to build ethical companies and cultures, stronger communities and a better world. It provides a road map for learning how to lead in ways that fully honor personal, interpersonal and societal dimensions of ethical responsibility. The four-quadrant model and case studies give readers a clear picture of the kind of ethical leadership we need.
Leading in Context 