By Linda Fisher Thornton To celebrate 7 Lenses going into its second printing (big news!), this is the first post in a special series focused on Why Ethical Thinking Matters. I'm hoping the strategies shared in this series will give you a fresh perspective on your talent development plans for 2018. Ethical thinking drives ethical choices and behavior. Marcus Aurelius said "Our life is what our thoughts make it." According to Buddha, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." I believe that leadership development efforts must address the values-based thinking behind good leadership, or it will not lead to good leadership. If we just teach people skills, without upgrading their thinking, we are not preparing them for success in the real world.
Category: Ethical Thinking
Lead With Questions, Not Answers
By Linda Fisher Thornton Leaders Ask The Hard Questions While it's tempting to try to "have the answers," good leaders instead ask the hard questions. They may be questions for which the world does not have workable answers. They may be questions that help reinvent a company or industry. They may be questions that must be answered now to prevent problems in the future. They may be questions that generate a much needed dialogue.
Top 10 Posts 2017: Leading in Context Blog
By Linda Fisher Thornton Of the 52 posts published on the Leading in Context Blog in 2017, these 10 were the most popular. See if you notice a theme that connects these topics that readers accessed most frequently:
18 Quotes To Inspire Leaders in the New Year (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton This series includes 18 quotes (linked to posts with leadership guidance) to inspire you and help you develop an ethical leader's mindset. Part 1 included the first 9. Here are 9 more:
Will 2018 Be The Year?
By Linda Fisher Thornton As a global community, we have learned some things this year. Business leaders have learned that ethical leadership transforms organizational metrics. Global citizens have learned that values are the most important defining characteristics of nations, and if we don't operate from a base of values we descend into conflict and chaos. Perhaps 2018 will be THE YEAR.
18 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, they’ll need a clear picture of “good leadership.” This series is an annual tradition and this year's post includes 18 quotes (each linked to a post with leadership guidance) to inspire you to grow your leadership skills to be ready for whatever 2018 may bring.
Rethinking “Smart” Leadership in an Ethical Context
By Linda Fisher Thornton This week I'm looking at what it means to be a "smart" leader through the 7 Lenses (introduced in the book 7 Lenses) to get the full ethical context. Take note: You can do this with any idea, concept or project to better understand the ethical nuances.
The Trouble With Certainty
By Linda Fisher Thornton Leaders may think that being decisive and "sure of things" helps them succeed, but if they do, they may be harboring an outdated view of leadership. What has changed about how we see leadership and certainty? Being certain carries with it the connotation of not engaging others in the conversation and using one-way communication. It evokes images of an iron fist pounding on a desk, not a leader who enjoys "working beside" a talented and diverse team.
Leaders: Does Your Values Equation Add Up?
By Linda Fisher Thornton Every leader has a values equation. It can be calculated by the day, week, year and lifetime. In the ideal situation, a leader's values equation is consistently positive. How do you calculate your values equation?
Adaptation and Controlling Leadership Can’t Coexist
By Linda Fisher Thornton Leaders who solve complex problems need a special blend of qualities - the curiosity to untangle the variables, the persistence to keep trying, and the openness to change beliefs and strategies as answers emerge from the chaos.
The Questions We Have in Common
By Linda Fisher Thornton On October 2nd, Krista Tippett gave a talk on "The Adventure of Civility" at the University of Richmond. One of the important things I gleaned from her talk was this recommendation: Instead of trading in "competing answers or statements made to catch, corner, incite or entertain" we should "share the questions we have in common" and "live into the answers." Here are my observations on her important words: The big questions we are trying to resolve together cannot be understood using one-way broadcasts.
Unraveling The Future State of The World
By Linda Fisher Thornton The Millennium Project is a global participatory think tank with a noble purpose - To "improve humanity’s prospects for building a better future."
Ethical Leaders Understand the Context
By Linda Fisher Thornton In a previous post, I addressed some of the risks of not taking time to THINK before making decisions. Today, I want to explore why it is so important for leaders to understand the CONTEXT before they make decisions.
Ethical Leaders Take Time To Think
By Linda Fisher Thornton What sets ethical leaders apart from other leaders? They take the time to THINK before making decisions. And that's not all they do that sets them apart.
The Missing Domain: Ethical Thinking (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton The first post in this series, "The Missing Domain: Ethical Thinking" explored WHY leaders need to fill the gap and help people develop ethical thinking. This post will begin to unravel HOW to do that. I included this guidance on ethical thinking in a previous post: Ethical thinking means we never lose sight of our positive purpose. We choose to be the sum of our values, not our challenges.
Leading in Context 