It seems that we’re all getting more in touch with our “inner space” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The extensive time in isolation has given us the time and opportunity to face our truths – our beliefs, our impact and our choices.
Here are 10 trends we’re seeing during COVID-19 that show better self-awareness, other-awareness and moral awareness.
We’re more aware of the importance of science in our lives
We’re more aware (in our households, families and workplaces) that we are “all in this together”and each decision we make impacts everyone else in the group
We’re more aware of how our actions (or inactions) can harm others
We’re more aware of the importance of moral awareness in leadership
We’re more aware of societal economic disparities
We’re more aware of societal racial disparities
We’re more aware of our global connectedness
We’re more aware of what our travel lifestyle does to the planet
We’re more aware of the risks others take for our benefitand well-being
We’re more aware of the importance of taking responsibility for our actions, even under the most difficult and inconvenient circumstances
In my lifetime, I have not seen a time when we have had to come face-to-face with our own beliefs the same way we are having to now. Poor thinking is literally a health risk in these challenging times when failing to wear a mask at the wrong time can lead to illness or death.
Nancy Gibbs, Harvard Kennedy School, says about the impact of the pandemic on our thinking and leadership: “This is real. This has been a moral autopsy. Look for the common humanity. Look for the complexity, get past attributing bad motives to the ‘other side.'”
While it’s always easier to criticize others than to face our own limitations, it’s our own thinking and actions we should be examining now.
I tell my students that if you go through life just reaching for the minimum standard, you end up with a minimum standard life. The good things in life, including success and happiness are more likely to happen when we reach higher than the baseline that is expected of us.
Growth
Growth happens beyond the baseline requirements. If we aim too low, we may be content with a job that doesn’t bring out our full potential. Stretching to grow into a more demanding role, we find out what we’re capable of, and we grow. We become capable of more, which opens up new opportunities.
Opportunity
People are often tapped for new projects and promotions based on their current performance and their willingness to learn new things and take on additional responsibility. Doing these things makes them deeply valuable assets to groups and organizations.
Leadership
Minimum standard leadership doesn’t inspire others to greatness and build great organizations. It just keeps the cogs turning.
Leadership opportunities require stretching beyond the minimum standard because leaders need to do their own work and support the work of others. That means that their most important supporting tasks are evolving, not finite and collective, not individual. Leaders must embrace growth and adapt to change, setting an example for the people they lead and support.
From Minimum Standard Performance to Potential
I have been stretched beyond my comfort zone almost continuously over the past decade. I remember times when I felt like “coasting” because I was so exhausted by change and wanted things to be easier.
Overcoming that tendency to want to keep things as they are is important for breaking out of self-imposed limits on our potential and achievement. Every new opportunity will likely pull us beyond our comfort zone, stretching and expanding what we are comfortable with.
When we break away from a desire to keep things as they are, we are much better prepared to take advantage of all the good that life has to offer. And we are much better prepared to be good leaders.
This is an updated version of a post that has been a long-time reader favorite.
What is the ultimate goal of leadership? This question seems simple enough at first, and then begins to get tricky because it can’t be answered in one simple statement.
Is the goal of leadership to provide direction and model the performance we expect from others?
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 ultimate goal? Here are four very different ways of thinking about the ultimate goal of leadership. Each one is shared with a suggested theme song. As you read, think about how many of these theme songs describe your leadership.
Profit
Using the Profit perspective, the goal of leadership is to ensure that the organization makes a profit so that it can continue its work. A theme song for this perspective might be “For the Love of Money” by the O’Jays (theme song for the U.S. version of The Apprentice).
People
Using the People perspective, the goal of leadership is to bring out the best in people through respect and care, and continual support for their success. A theme song for this perspective might be “R.E.S.P.E.C.T” by Otis Redding, sung by Aretha Franklin.
Service
Using the Service perspective, the goal of leadership is to serve others in ways that uplift lives and communities. A theme song for this perspective might be “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers.
Greater Good
Using the Greater Good perspective, the goal of leadership is making choices that ensure a good life for future generations. The theme song for this perspective might be “We Are the World” by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie.
The question is not “Which one of these perspectives is right?” because they are all important ways of thinking about the goal of leadership. They are part of a bigger view that incorporates many dimensions of leadership responsibility. The question is “How can we honor all of them?”
In my book, 7 Lenses, I explore all of these concepts in a framework of 7 important perspectives on what responsible leadership includes. A 7 Lenses Book Club Discussion Guide is available to help groups discuss what they have learned and how they can apply it for individual and organizational improvement.
Leadership is multidimensional. We need to learn how to see it in multiple dimensions. If anyone tries to tell you that the ultimate goal of leadership is “one thing,” they’re missing the big picture.
Part 1 in the Truth and Misinformation: How to Spot False Narratives series explored truth and narrative, and Part 2 examined how data and motives relate to the truth. Part 3 addressed the importance of media literacy. In this follow up, we take a deeper look at truth and belief.
It turns out that beliefs are complicated. How do we know if our beliefs are actually true?
“Many people don’t realize that every thought that pops into their heads isn’t true, and they are unable to decipher authentic beliefs from false ones.”
But if we learn to manage the automatic messages popping into our heads all day long, we’ll be able to tell the difference, right? Not necessarily.
As July Beck says in This Article Won’t Change Your Mind, in The Atlantic, “There are facts, and there are beliefs, and there are things you want so badly to believe that they become as facts to you.”
At least we change our minds when presented with the facts, don’t we? If we’re presented with facts that contradict our beliefs don’t we automatically change them? Not necessarily.
“Unfortunately, we still form beliefs without vetting most of them, and maintain them even after receiving clear, corrective information.”
Daniel DeNicola writes in his Psyche article You Don’t Have a Right To Believe Whatever You Want To that “Beliefs aspire to truth – but they do not entail it. Beliefs can be false, unwarranted by evidence or reasoned consideration. They can also be morally repugnant.“
Trendwatching.com says in The Fight For Facts that “consumers’ ramped- up search for news prompted a misinformation avalanche, what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls an‘infodemic’.“
People often share a new piece of information they believe to be true in haste without considering the repercussions. Is it unethical to share a false belief that could cause harm to others? Yes. It violates many ethical principles including truthfulness, trustworthiness, respect, care, and “do no harm.”
“Information on Twitter (and other social platforms that use short and fast messages) is particularly likely to be evaluated based on emotional responses with little input from higher cognitive functions.”
We’ve been focusing on whether or not we can trust other people, but it turns out the problem is much closer than we realized. It turns out that we can’t always trust ourselves. Annie Duke suggests in her Fast Company article Why Your Brain Clings To False Beliefs (Even When It Knows Better): that “the next time you argue with someone over something you believe to be true, step back and ask yourself how you came to this conclusion.”
Ethical awareness may have been considered private in the past, but it has become easier to observe in a society that is always socially connected. Since ethical reputation is a defining element in individual and organizational success, it is time that we consider ethical awareness as a key element of experience when selecting leaders for our businesses, community organizations, governments, and nations.
Our level of ethical awareness is the rockon which we build our relationships, decisions and actions. It drives our choices and how we treat others. It informs our priorities and budget allocation. It tells us what to pay attention to and how we will handle it.
But when choosing a leader, how do we know how solid that leader’s rock isin terms of ethical awareness? To find out, we need to understand the job candidate’s worldview. How does the leader perceive the world? What does the leader consider most important? What is the leader’s definition of “good leadership?”
Assessing a Leader’s Ethical Awareness
Questions to explore by interview and observation:
How do you perceive the world and your role in it? (look for aglobal worldview)
We need ethically-aware leaders in every leadership role at every level. The pandemic has taught us that our well-being is in the hands of the leaders we have chosen. Choosing the most ethically-aware leader will lead to the most ethical long-term outcomes. We need to take the time to look under the rock.
COVID-19 has brought us many challenges including balancing economic and human factors, moving quickly but taking time to show compassion and so on. This Center for Creative Leadership video succinctly introduces 6 paradoxes in the essential leadership skills required in a post-COVID world. You can visit their website to download the related white paper.
Cultivating these qualities in ourselves and our organizations helps us build a high trust workplace where people can do their best work:
Be Dependable and Open to Change
Be Fully Present Right Now and Think Ahead
Be Crystal Clear About What’s Expected and Open to Hearing Input From Others
Be Confident and Humble
Be Decisive and Flexible
Great leaders possess seemingly paradoxical qualities. They know when to use each end of the spectrum, depending on what is most needed to move individuals and groups forward.
Leaders need to be be adaptable good thinkers to work their way through all of these paradoxes at the same time. The pandemic simply raises the stakes on us to get it right.
Lately we’ve been seeing too much content that is not grounded in understanding. Some of it is intentionally misleading and some of it is well-intentioned but misinformed.
What this means is that we have to learn how to recognize misinformation, but also, and even more importantly, carefully tend how we convey our own opinions.
“A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.”
Before sharing your opinion, use the questions in this Self-Check; make sure you are on track to sharing your opinion in a way that leads to insight and understanding.
Opinion Self-Check
Do I get angry when I think about this?
Anger clouds our judgment and bypasses our moral checks
If it makes you angry, slow down
Have I researched the issue using multiple reputable sources?
Spreading misinformation is ethically problematic
Do your research first
Have I thought it through before expressing an opinion?
Speaking without thinking is a recipe for disaster
Think about the issue and how your opinion could be perceived by others
Have I listened to what a diverse group of voices is saying on the subject?
Our social media feed will share content that agrees with what we already believe, entrenching us in a narrow perspective
Seek out differing opinions from people and groups before you make up your mind on the issue
Have I stayed open to changing my mind?
A closed mind isn’t going to change as the world changes
Stay open to changing your opinion as you learn more and reflect on the issue
As Clara Barton famously said, we “cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind.”
Who is accountable for ethical artificial intelligence? How do you build accountability into your organization’s use of AI? I was recently invited to answer those questions in a guest blog post published on the EDUCAUSE Professional Development Commons and EDUCAUSE Review.
There is more to think about when implementing AI than just efficiency and time savings. There are ethical implications at every step in the process. This article includes an overview of those ethical implications and steps organizations can take to build ethics into current and future AI projects.
“Determining who is responsible for ethical AI turns out to be more complicated than identifying the person who created the program. There are potentially multiple responsible parties, including programmers, sellers, and implementers of AI-enabled products and services. For AI to be ethical, multiple parties must fulfill their ethical obligations.… IT departments should be ready to assess and manage ethics before, during, and after AI deployment.”
While the article was written for higher education IT professionals, the principles apply to any IT department in any industry that is directly or indirectly (through vendors) using AI.
Share this article with your team to establish a baseline understanding of ethical accountability for AI, and to incorporate key steps into your planning and implementation processes.
This week I’m sharing an edited compilation of three previously published posts that are relevant for leaders and organizations wanting to honor human rights in chaotic times. The first addresses the risk of excluding any humans from our organizational statement of inclusion. The second explains why values transcend borders and boundaries, and the third explains that how we perceive people who are ‘different’ impacts our behavior and our ethics.
Inclusion: The Power of Regardless
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.
Why not aim for where the statement is going, rather than where it’s been? We can keep adding to that “regardless” list until it becomes too unwieldy to use, or we can simply say now:
“We respect all people and treat them fairly, regardless.”
I know what you might be thinking. Not everyone is ready to make this leap all at once. What we can do is make sure that we are moving our organizations in this direction with all due haste, knowing that this is the leadership mindset that is required of us in a global society, regardless.
Seeing Beyond Borders and Walls
When you make a commitment to ethical values and ethical choices, boundaries and walls only indicate the boundaries of new places to apply those ethical values and choices. Beyond them, ethical values matter just as much as they matter within your own walls. You could argue that they matter more, because you are stepping into other cultures and ways of life and need to take special care to show respect.
Any argument that we can be disrespectful or harmful to others who live outside of our borders is based on flawed thinking, self-interest, myopia and a lack of moral awareness.
Ethical leaders see beyond walls. They don’t dehumanize people to improve their own position.
Ethical leaders think beyond themselves on a global scale. They don’t excuse their own or anyone else’s bad behavior or unethical choices
Ethical Leadership: Perceptions of “Different” Impact OurBehavior
How we think as leaders directly impacts our behavior by compelling us to act based on the value judgments we make. Today’s post focuses on how we perceive “different,” how our perceptions change our leadership, and how our leadership changes the work environment in ways that may lead to unethical behavior.
Unfortunately, we don’t always use the word “different” to describe things and people and ideas that are new to us. We often use less friendly words that indicate that the person or idea is wrong, misguided or harmful. Let’s check our thinking about “different” for a moment, and consider how our perception impacts our behavior and our ethics.
If we are one of the leaders who thinks that “different” ideas and people are interesting/good/essential, then we will be open to new ideas and new information and will want to surround ourselves with people who represent different ways of thinking. We will see the value in differences of opinion. We will tolerate some level of chaos and see it as part of the natural process of getting great work done. Opportunities will be quickly recognized and acted on, leading to competitive advantage.
If we are a leader who thinks that “different” ideas and people are dangerous/bad/wrong, then we will be closed to new ideas and new information and will want to surround ourselves with people who think and act very much like we do. We will see differences of opinion as threatening the fabric of the organization. Our organization will begin to become obsolete as groupthink sets in. We will discourage new and different perspectives and will see them as blatant insubordination. Employees will leave as they find they are not able to do their best work in the “copy me” culture. Missed opportunities and complications from employee resistance to “not being allowed to think for themselves” will take a toll on the profitability and viability of the business. Employees will be more likely to make unethical decisions in the restrained environment that does not allow for discussion of grey areas during ethical challenges.
Which type of leader engages employees? Inspires the best work? Is rewarded in your organization? Which of these two approaches is ethical?
“For ethical leadership to stick, the culture needs an infrastructure that consistently supports acting on stated values…Ethical cultures treat ethical thinking as something that must be cultivated, demonstrated, and practiced over time.”
My article,“Ethical Thinking Isn’t Automatic,”featured in the August issue of the Talent Development Journal, describes five culture gaps that inhibit ethical leadership. These culture gaps are common problems that organizations should watch for and avoid.
You won’t want to miss this article. It includes advice to organizations wanting to build ethical cultures, and is grounded in decades of experience and observations about where cultures often fall short.
“Companies fall into five common traps on the way to building an ethics-rich culture: no active focus on values, oversimplification of complex issues, lack of behavior boundaries, lack of integration, and ignoring the learning curve.”
Linda Fisher Thornton, Ethical Thinking Isn’t Automatic, Talent Development Journal
Ethical thinking doesn’t happen without the infrastructure to support it. Does your organization have it in place or is it burdened with one of the five culture gaps? Read the full article to learn how to identify and resolve five common culture gaps that erode ethical leadership.
As we struggle with compounding challenges around the world, people are more and more frequently seeking information about human or humane leadership. Why is the topic so timely? I believe it’s critical now because in a crisis we need a leader who can make people feel safe, respected and protected.
Here are some inspiring quotes about important elements of human leadership:
“Human leadership is grounded in self-respect and unconditional love. It comprehends and honors all people’s equal right to equity, dignity and integrity. It recognizes all people for who they are, accepts their unique contribution, treats them with respect and recognizes their value.”
As our understanding of what “good leadership” means continues to change, we are incorporating more of what it means to be human into the ways we lead.
“Businesses have started to treat employees like human beings, rather than workers whose only relevant wishes are company related.”
“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.”
— John Buchan
Being human with others and leading them with zeal won’t be enough. Our leadership must demonstrate the highest character.
“Leadership consists not in degrees of technique but in traits of character.”
— Lewis H. Lapham
“Humans will probably always need the help of especially gifted moral leaders in order to extend the bonds of caring and trust beyond the easy range of the family and the face-to-face community. Such bonds have become essential to the future of humanity.”
—Paul R. Lawrence, Driven To Lead: Good, Bad, and Misguided Leadership
Ethics is at its heart about treating other people well. Human leadership is based onessential ethical principles, with ethics treated as central, not as an afterthought.
Ethical principles help us bring out people’s best and create a positive environment, and when they are central to our thoughts, words, and actions we can nurture a workspace that is human-friendly.
Leaders focus on the good of their teams, organizations and communities. They work to achieve challenging goals and outcomes and they handle day-to-day crises. HOW they do that is shaped by their mindsets.
What Is An Insider Mindset?
One leader mindset that does not guide leaders to ethical choices is the “insider mindset.” When we think of the word “insider,” we may think of “insider trading” (having an unfair advantage) or “insider information” (possessing knowledge that provides a special advantage). According to Merriam Webster, the word “insider” means “special privilege or status” and has these synonyms: connection, contact, big shot, bigwig, somebody, VIP.
At the core of ethics is thinking beyond ourselves. When we use an insider mindset, though, we place ourselves in the “special seat” and from that point of view it is easier to discount the needs and concerns of others. Applying an insider mindset, it is tempting to ignore the laws and protections that keep us from taking advantage of others.
What Does It Lead To?
Using an “insider mindset” a leader might think it perfectly fine to share “insider” information with a select few in the inner circle for their own benefit. The leader might refuse to share the information publicly even when confronted, since sharing it would take the leader out of the “special seat” and spread the VIP advantage around to everyone else.
Is It Ethical?
Good leaders know that the power of leadership is in its ability to bring out the best in others, which in turn brings out the best in the leader. The leader’s power, then, is not reliant on any special inside information or advantage since it resides in the potential of every member of the team.
An insider mindset has a critical flaw when it comes to ethics. It conveniently “overlooks” the leadership responsibility to protect and serve others before ourselves. It “looks away” from responsibilities that are at the core of good leadership. For these reasons, there is no place for an “insider mindset” in ethical leadership.
Ethical leaders are fixed and flexible at the same time. They stay anchored to ethical values AND adapt as the world changes. Both are critically important aspects of ethical leadership success.
Ethical leaders stay fixed on values.
They keep values at the center of their daily choices and they don’t put money where morality should be.They realize that ethical values are an important part of their responsibility to others and society.
Ethical leaders never stray from ethics.
When things get tough, they hold fast to their ethical principles even when others “go along” with unethical choices. They realize that values are precious, life changing and worth protecting.
Ethical leaders are flexible in applying ethical values in a changing global society.
They adapt to increasing expectations and current issues and do the work to raise their game. They see other ways of life as interesting and non-threatening.
Ethical leaders embrace change.
They see changing to keep up with the times as a challenge and a responsibility, not an inconvenience. They are willing to do the work to change their mindset and assumptions when they have become outdated.
Ethical leaders use a growth mindset.
Ethical thinkers realize that authentic learning is more important than looking smart. They see negative feedback as an opportunity to get better, not a personal affront.
Is a leader who stays anchored to ethical values an ethical leader? Not necessarily. Just holding on to ethical values will not get you all the way there if you’re not stayingcompetentas times change. To qualify as “ethical leadership,” values need to be APPLIED in ways that honor society’s rapidly changing expectations for honoring a myriad of ethical dimensions including human rights and sustainability.
Pluralism is required in our leadership thinking as a positive force that informs how we treat people and make decisions. It’s the expansive mindset that is the key to important ethical leadership responsibilities such as respect, inclusion, and cultural awareness.
“If you know whether a man is a decided monist or a decided pluralist, you perhaps know more about the rest of his opinions than if you give him any other name ending in IST. To believe in the one or in the many, that is the classification with the maximum number of consequences.” ― Will James
Merriam-Webster defines pluralism as “a state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain and develop their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization.”
Pluralism, by its nature, is many things:
Inclusive
Including everyone without losing the uniqueness of traditions or people
Listening
Listening with care and attention and honoring a diverse group of voices
Accepting
Being comfortable with different backgrounds, styles, traditions, approaches and ways of thinking
Collaborative
Seeing the importance of diversity of thought in creating powerful solutions together
Unafraid
Talking about our shared challenges, and seeing those conversations as a step toward solutions
United
Working with individuals to build trust and educate each other on cultural traditions
Evolving
Changing our minds and behavior willingly because we will never know everything about everything and expectations change over time
Whole
Including everyone of every background, regardless of their life story
Learning
Staying open to learning because we will make mistakes as we work together and learn about each other at the same time
A leader who embraces pluralism will not be afraid to go into the spaces where diverse groups of people meet, get to know each other, and work together.
“I thought about the meaning of pluralism in a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong. I came to one conclusion: We have to save each other. It’s the only way to save ourselves.” — Eboo Patel
Ethical leaders know that we are stronger and better together, and they do everything possible to leverage that strength to solve our shared problems.
To wrap up a recent series of posts about truth, misinformation and how to spot false narratives, here is a summary of key points and questions for discussion.
To find a more objective truth requires uncertainty and doubt. Without uncertainty, we only see an issue with “sureness” and “resolve” based on our own experience.
Data, taken in pieces or without context, can be presented as “truth” but the fragmented picture you will see is only informative in the context of the greater whole.
Part3What Role Does Media Literacy Play in Discovering The Truth?
Sources of misinformation and false narratives have a self-interested motive (and do not care about us or our well being). Our job is to stay literate as misinformation becomes more sophisticated and harder to spot.
Sources of misinformation and false narrative will tell you that you have all the information needed and will discourage you from looking further into the issue.
Part 2Watch For an Opportunistic Spin Usedto Evoke Emotion
Sources of misinformation and false narrative will often give you an emotionally-charged and opportunistic spin on a situation and call it the truth. People who question it may be attacked to deflect attention from a hidden motive.
Part3Look For Credible Sources Before Buying Inor Sharing
Sources of misinformation and false narrative may not share sources backing up the story OR the sources they share are not reliable. Media literacy is how we avoid being tricked.
Questions for Discussion:
What false narrative might we be accepting as “truth?”
How does that false narrative push our buttons, stoke our anger or tap into something we want to be true?
What is the motive for sharing this false narrative? Is it monetary? Political? Initiating conflict? Diversion from a reputation issue?
What steps will we take to be sure we’re not being misled before sharing information in the future?
Linda Fisher Thornton
