We've seen many articles about ethical consumerism, conscious capitalism and the responsible consumer. The bottom line is that consumers continue to expect much more from brands than an honest and perfectly executed transaction. This week, I share a high level view of 5 key things brands should know to be successful in reaching responsible consumers.
Category: Ethical Leader
Ignoring Toxic Leadership is Not Worth the Tradeoffs
Toxic behavior is a problem in organizations across industries and it's often ignored because leaders fear the consequences of having performance conversations. Organizations that delay dealing with toxic behavior find that it spreads and erodes the integrity of an ethical culture.
10 Quotes To Inspire Leaders in Divisive Times
There were many things that went right in the past year, despite the omnipresent bad news. Here is a collection of inspiring quotes to keep us moving forward and ready to face the challenges ahead.
Are We Focusing on Employee Engagement Metrics (And Missing the Point)?
Employee engagement is a metric that companies are closely watching. Using surveys, levels of participation in programs, and satisfaction reports, companies measure how well they engage those they lead. Butcould this heightened level of watching be part of the problem?…
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10 Tricky Questions About Ethics and Leadership Answered
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Go Into the New Year With Answers
This week I'm sharing answers to your burning questions about ethics and ethical leadership - What is it? How do you stay up to speed in spite of rapidly accelerating expectations? Why is ethics such a contentious topic, and defined in so many different ways by different people?
The leader groups I work with find that clarity on these and other questions informs their leadership and their decision making. Use this curated collection of posts to shore up your knowledge for the new year:
Top Post Series of 2019: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton
The Top Post Series this year reflects the challenges of applying ethical thinking and decision making to complex problems.
This series answers the important question “How do we analyze and understanding the multiple connected variables in a changing context to make responsible choices? Today I’ll share a quote from each post in the series that will give you a quick overview of the topic.
Top 10 Posts 2019: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Of the 52 individual posts published on the Leading in Context Blog in 2019, these 10 were the most popular. See if you notice a theme that connects these new topics that readers accessed most frequently:
A Message About Gifts
By Linda Fisher Thornton It has been a challenging year. This week I reflect on the progress being made (that may not show up in the news headlines) and how we can use our gifts in pursuit of good. “With…
The Voice of the (Un)Ethical Leader
By Linda Fisher Thornton There is great variation in how leaders "use their voice" in pursuit of their work. Some use it to engage and empower others, others use it to deflect unwanted observations or to create distance that isolates…
Ethical Thinking: 3 Questions to Ask in the New Year
By Linda Fisher Thornton Each year I raise questions that help leaders stay current as ethical expectations change. Here are 3 new questions to ponder as we head into a New Year. They are important questions about our ethical intentions, action…
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Why It’s Time to Stop Saying We’re “Better Than” Other People
It's time to stop telling leaders they will only succeed if they are "better than" the competition. It's time for business schools to stop telling students that they are "better than" their peers in the class or "better than" students in other programs. It's time for teachers and religious leaders to stop telling people they can be "better than" everyone else.
The End of Ethical Compartmentalization
By Linda Fisher Thornton
That Was Then
What people did in their spare time used to be private, allowing them to assume varying personas in their different roles. Someone could be buttoned up and ethical at work, but make really bad decisions elsewhere. People could choose to think about their lives as made up of separate roles that had separate rules.
How Are You Using Your Influence?
By Linda Fisher Thornton With leadership responsibility comes a certain amount of influence. We can impact how people think. We can advise them on the choices they make and invite them to follow our lead. “Leadership is not about titles,…
The Messages Micromanagement Sends
By Linda Fisher Thornton Micromanaging is not just another "leadership style." It harms people. When leaders micromanage, they send many negative messages to employees. Take a look at this list of more than 20 negative unspoken messages micromanagement sends to employees. Can you afford to let it happen in your organization?Â
Systems Thinking: Untangling Increasing Pollen Allergies
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Large-scale problems usually have more than one cause. When we look for solutions, we need to investigate many different possible variables. Today, I'll look at multiple causes of increasing allergies to pollen. This issue is of particular concern to me since I live in one of the Top 10 Most Challenging Places to Live With Spring Allergies (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America).Â
Leading in Context 