By Linda Fisher Thornton Which lenses must we look through to be ethical leaders? That is the important question I answered during a recent talk at the Ethics and Governance Forum at The Saint Anselm Center for Ethics in Society. As you watch the video clip overview of the 7 Lenses of Ethical Leadership, think about how you can apply all 7 Lenses in your daily thinking and leadership.
Category: Ethical Thinking
The Disinformation Machine
By Linda Fisher Thornton Global unrest is being fueled by widespread misinformation campaigns. Who's fueling these campaigns? The bad actors who are creating misinformation? Or the platforms who intentionally or unintentionally share false information for profit? Or the people who believe the disinformation they read and incite violence? Or the leaders who fail to recognize the clear and present danger of the disinformation machine? Or the leaders who do recognize the danger and turn away, doing nothing? Together, all of these are fueling the disinformation machine in a systemic self-reinforcing loop.
How Dangerous Are Conspiracy Theories?
By Linda Fisher Thornton How likely are we to believe things that aren't true? According to Lynne Malcolm in The psychology of conspiracy theories, "Psychological research suggests that we're all conspiracy theorists, thanks in a large part to our cognitive makeup."
Top 10 Posts of 2021: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton Of the 52 individual posts published on the Leading in Context Blog in 2021, these 10 were the most popular. See if you notice a theme that connects these new topics that readers accessed most frequently:
Ethical Leadership Questions for the New Year
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership is evolving, and expectations are increasing. As we get closer to the New Year, here are some questions to ponder:
Conquer These Leadership Temptations In The New Year
By Linda Fisher Thornton We’re starting a new year, with fresh possibilities, and it is a good time to think about our leadership values. What do we believe? How do we treat others? What matters to us? Can people determine our values by watching how we treat people?
22 Quotes to Inspire Leaders in the New Year (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton This series includes 22 quotes (linked to posts with leadership guidance) to inspire you and help you improve your leader development as we head into the new year. Part 1 included the first 11. Here are 11 more:
22 Quotes to Inspire Leaders in the New Year (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Are your leaders prepared for the year ahead? Each day will bring new challenges, and to succeed within ethical boundaries, we’ll all need a clear picture of “good leadership.” This series is an annual tradition and this year’s posts include 22 quotes (each linked to a post with leadership guidance) to inspire you to grow your leadership skills to be ready for whatever 2022 may bring. Part 1 includes the first 11.
Leading the Way Forward (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Each year I curate a list of sites that write about trends that will change how we do business in the coming year. This year’s list includes some ongoing trends from last year and some fresh ideas and new directions. Take a look at the 60+ trends at the links below and start getting ready for what’s ahead!
Building Our Future on Global Values
By Linda Fisher Thornton We have become a divided society that seems to have lost its collective center in values. But we have worked globally for many years to define that center. I wrote an article for the Non-Violent Change Journal about creating a better world through values. Here is an excerpt from that article:
World Values Day: Reconnecting Through Values
By Linda Fisher Thornton Tomorrow is World Values Day, an annual campaign to increase the awareness and practice of values around the world. This year's core theme is about reconnecting. Here are some insights about World Values Day from worldvaluesday.com, as well as a new article I wrote for World Values Day on the theme of Reconnecting Through Values.
The Human Journey
By Linda Fisher Thornton The human journey. We're all taking it, but we don't always know where it's headed. We can't always see where we've been until later, when we have the long-term perspective and can begin to make sense of the twists and turns we've taken throughout our lives.
Leaders: Practice Perspective Shifting
By Linda Fisher Thornton Perspective shifting is a hot topic now for a very good reason. We're in a time when conversation can quickly become divisive, with otherwise friendly people choosing sides and ostracizing former friends and family members. This article will focus on the benefits of perspective shifting and how to practice it so that you can more quickly see beyond the disagreement to the bigger picture.
Seeing Past Our Point of View
By Linda Fisher Thornton Have you noticed the steady increase in the complexity of navigating our daily lives? It feels like we have too many choices, too much information, and not enough time. More information and more choices would be great if we had the time to research and decide, but the reality is that it's difficult and time consuming to sort out which information is reliable and which is not. Seeing and appreciating other ways of doing things is not just a nice-to-have ability. In a connected global society, it's an essential skill. To achieve mutual benefit and collaboration, we will need to see the world from other perspectives that differ from our own, respect those perspectives, and work together toward shared goals. Leaders who don't know how and don't make the effort to change can be thought of as intentionally "unseeing" important aspects of the context and their leadership responsibility.
Different Perspectives (They’re Not a Threat)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Differences of opinion can be inconvenient and uncomfortable. We may be in a discussion with someone who has very different views from ours on a topic of great importance to us. How we handle it shows others the inner workings of our character.
Leading in Context 