By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leaders seek shared value. They look for ways to meet the needs of others while they champion their own projects and ideas. Why? Because they understand that they are responsible for making choices that honor their well-being AND the well-being of others. Because they see beyond the one-dimensional false dichotomy "I Win, You Lose" that is based on the zero-sum mentality "I can only win if you lose."
Category: Ethical Leader
9 Ethical Roles: Is Your Leadership Team “All In”
By Linda Fisher Thornton I blogged a while back about the Critical Roles of the (Ethical) CEO. I realized later that these important ethical roles apply not just to CEOs, but also to all senior leaders in an organization. And if the leaders they manage don't carry these roles throughout the organization, there will be gaps in the culture.
Labels Divide, Values Conquer
By Linda Fisher Thornton I have noticed that when people speak from LABELS (their group identity, their belief system, their affiliation), they are talking from the interests of that label. This can quickly become divisive if that label doesn't include everyone. If a label is broad enough - like the label "human" - it can automatically be an ethical and inclusive conversation. But since most labels aren't that broad, we need to use ethical values to guide us.
How Do You Make Better Decisions?
By Linda Fisher Thornton How do you make decisions? Do you consider a series of important questions? Do you find out the needs of the people involved? Do you consult a diverse group of advisors? Or do you just wing it? Some of the ways we may be tempted to think through our challenges (how to stay within budget or how to be most profitable, for example) leave ethical values out of the equation. Ethical thinking helps us make good leadership decisions. When we use intentional ethical thinking, we make decisions based on ethical values. Using ethical thinking doesn't just help us do the right thing. It also helps us resolve our most difficult leadership problems by broadening our awareness.
The Evolving Purpose of Leadership: Why More is Expected Now
By Linda Fisher Thornton What ever happened to command-and-control (transactional) leadership and what has taken its place? How is our understanding of the purpose of leadership changing? Where is it headed? In this video, I explain our evolving understanding of the purpose of leadership, and provide a context that explains why more is expected of leaders now.
Is Our Leadership “Good?”
By Linda Fisher Thornton How will we know if our leadership is "good?" Since there are conflicting opinions about what good leaders do, we need an understanding of the context to answer this important question.
The “Less Than” Fallacy
By Linda Fisher Thornton Anytime we think about another person or group as "less than," or treat another person or group as "less than," we are unethical. It's very simple, really. We are all human, and as humans, we all have rights and dignity. We all have a right to be here and to be treated with respect and fairness.
“Great Leaders” Find Gold Within
By Linda Fisher Thornton Great leadership is often defined based on efficiency, effectiveness or profitability, but that's no way to define a journey of character building and authenticity. There's much more to the story that needs to be told.
5 Things Money Can’t Buy (Even Now)
By Linda Fisher Thornton I had the opportunity a few years ago to hear Michael Sandel, a professor from Harvard and author of What Money Can't Buy, speak about "the sky-boxification of society." He talked about how in many cases now you can buy your way into a better situation (or a sky box). This week, I'm in the process of reading Tom Friedman's book Thank You for Being Late and in it Friedman refers to and builds on Sandel's observations. I started thinking about some of the qualities that are highly valuable and make leaders great that money can't buy - some of the priceless qualities that define great leadership.
400th Post: The Journey to Meaning (Growth Required)
By Linda Fisher Thornton I didn't set out to become a top blogger or thought leader. I set out to answer a question. In the process of answering the question, I started a journey that has changed my life. There's no fairy tale story here (is there ever?). It wasn't all by conscious choice, and it wasn't always a logical progression. It happened the way that life happens to all of us.
Ethical Leadership: The “On Switch” For Adaptability
By Linda Fisher Thornton The post "Leader Competence: Will It Be A Multiplier or Divider?" generated some great discussion on social media. Here's a quote from the post: "Leader competence is either going to be a multiplier or a divider. When you have it, you multiply performance and trust, with exponential results. Without it, you divide your possible results by the incompetence factor." After reading it, one reader requested that I write more on the topic. This week I'm digging deeper into the multiplying and dividing effects of leader (in)competence, looking at how a leader's ethical competence impacts trust, people, bottom line results and organizational adaptability.
Inclusion: The Power of “Regardless”
By Linda Fisher Thornton 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.
Do Good Things Come to Those Who Wait?
By Linda Fisher Thornton I don't particularly like the quote "Good things come to those who wait." This quote, attributed to British author Violet Fane (Mary M. Singleton) in 1892, may be true but it leaves out important parts of the story. Good things may come to those who wait, but only after certain important conditions have been met:
Leader Competence: Will it Be A Multiplier or a Divider?
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership competence is an issue that is gaining attention. Expectations of "good leadership" are increasing and leaders and organizations are scrambling to keep up. While sometimes people disagree about implementation, there is a strong consensus among scholars and research organizations that today's leadership requires broad, high level thinking. With expectations for good leadership continuing to expand, some organizations still do not have leader competence on their strategy agendas.
The Rise of Pay to Play
By Linda Fisher Thornton It is sometimes difficult to sort out "pay to play" awards (you pay someone to say good things about you and give you an icon to put on your website) from legitimate awards (the judging process is objective -- if you win you have actually earned it). "Pay to Play" is On the Rise
Leading in Context 