By Linda Fisher Thornton Using an ethics of care changes how we think and act as leaders. It helps us remember that each person is important and that treating each other with care is part of our shared human experience. Caring shows that we know that people are more than task-doers and that leading is more than tactical, more than obligatory, more than just a job
Category: Purpose and Meaning
Ethical Leaders Care (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership is about much more than making good decisions and abiding by laws and regulations. One of the elements of ethical leadership that may be overlooked when we view ethics using a “legal lens” is supporting and developing the potential of the people we lead.
How Are Authenticity and Self-Actualization Connected?
By Linda Fisher Thornton Authenticity has become a common term used to describe a level of human growth or attainment. I previously wrote about the multiple dimensions of authenticity and how they relate to living an intentional, aware, and ethical life. I became curious about how authenticity relates to measures of human development and Maslow's concept of self-actualization. Scott Barry Kaufman, a humanistic psychologist who tested and built on Maslow's research, includes Authenticity in the list of 10 characteristics of Self-Actualization.
Insights For The Class of 2023
By Linda Fisher Thornton While the world will pull you in many different compelling directions, it is your values that will keep you anchored. Become aware of them. Nurture them…Know what you believe in. Live it. Set an example for others by building a good, ethical life in a chaotic world.
Difference Making Starts Small
By Linda Fisher Thornton Always remember that making a difference starts small, and builds over time. It's not just in the big grandiose projects we take on. It's also the friendship and kindness we show to others day in and day out that changes their lives for the better.
Light Bulb Moments
By Linda Fisher Thornton This week I'm sharing some thoughts about teaching and learning that have been on my mind. It is hard for me to hear about students who are struggling with teachers or professors who try to trick them with impossible tests and quizzes - where everyone does poorly and classgrades have to be rounded up. This kind of behavior in the classroom leads to stress, frustration, lack of confidence, unfairly poor grades and other negative outcomes, when students really do know the material. It can happen, though, when the focus of teaching is in the wrong place.
The Peace Imperative
By Linda Fisher Thornton "Global Peace Index 2022 results show that the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.03%. Although slight, this is the eleventh deterioration in peacefulness in the last fourteen years" - Vision of Humanity
10 Years of Top Posts: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton This week I’m sharing The Last 10 Years of Top Posts on the Leading in Context Blog. It’s a time capsule of the issues you thought were most important over the last 10 years. For each year, I have selected a theme that reflects the topics and focus of the reader's most read posts.
Leadership Questions For The New Year
By Linda Fisher Thornton What will 2023 be like? We've been through so much over the past few years. Will things be better? Whatever happens, the start of a new year is a great time to take stock of our leadership strengths and areas for improvement. Regardless of the leadership challenges we may face this year, there are important things we should be doing to make it easier for others to succeed, and our teams are counting on us to do them so that they can do their best work.
700th Leading in Context Blog Post: What If?
By Linda Fisher Thornton In my 600th post, I wrote about my top 10 Leadership Lessons Learned. In this 700th post, I want to take a moment to dream and imagine what life could be like if all leaders took the time to learn ethical thinking, decision making and leadership, and applied them every day.
Top 10 Posts of 2022: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton Of the 52 weekly posts published on the Leading in Context Blog in 2022, these 10 were the most popular. See if you notice a theme that connects these new topics that readers accessed most frequently:
Will You Give the 12 Gifts of Leadership This Year?
By Linda Fisher Thornton How do we lead when we want to bring out the best in people? These 12 Gifts of Leadership are on the wish lists of employees around the world. They aren't expensive. They don't require dealing with the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, and one size fits all. Sure, these gifts are harder to give than a fruitcake, but they will be life-changing for those you lead.
A Thankful Heart
By Linda Fisher Thornton Cicero’s quote reminds us that if we want to act on the important virtues that create a just society, we must first see the world with a thankful heart.
Non-Violence and the Greater Good (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Nonviolence provides a higher order mindset that helps us provide lasting solutions to global problems. In the process of human development, we reach a point when we become increasingly concerned about our impact on others and society. We begin to consider our impact more broadly and use a long-term perspective when we approach problems. We outgrow the notion that expedient violence will solve our problems.
Non-Violence and the Greater Good (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton When we lead for the greater good, we leave a positive legacy for future generations. At this highest level of ethical leadership, we ensure quality of life and opportunities for others we may never meet, well into the future. We intentionally create a better world.
Leading in Context 