Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Trust is a hot topic and a valuable business enabler. The organizations that will adapt and succeed in the future make it a business priority. Here are five perspectives on the critical role trust building plays in the success of our organizations:
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Why is trustworthy leadership so powerful? How does it set a positive tone and lead organizations to better performance? These 5 reasons quickly come to mind.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Waiting For Trust to Be Earned
I sometimes hear leaders say that they think “trust is earned” and that we should not trust others until they have earned our trust through their behavior and choices. I see several big problems with this way of thinking about trust.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Monday I received the wonderful news that I was in the Trust Across America-Trust Around the World 2015 Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trust. I consider this a great honor because trust is critical to successful business. Trust improves communication, culture, performance, engagement and results.
Today I’m sharing some inspiring quotes from recent trust reports about why “it’s all about the trust” – why trust has such broad importance and impact in work relationships and organizations:
By Linda Fisher Thornton
This week the Alliance of Trustworthy Business Experts from Trust Across America-Trust Around the World is holding a social media awareness campaign called #Trustgiving2014, In support of that campaign, I am featuring 10 posts about what it means to be a trustworthy leader. They include individual actions and organizational commitments that build trust. I hope you enjoy them!
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Good leaders Intentionally build trust. They build it through everyday words and actions. They build it by demonstrating that they can be trusted. They also build it when they extend trust to others. Many leaders wait for people to prove themselves before they trust them, but trust is reciprocal. Leaders set the tone for trust-building by how open they are to trusting others first. Are you reaching out? Or are you waiting for your employees to have a “perfect” record before trusting them?
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Trustworthy leaders know how to create a workplace where everyone is valued, where leadership is sincere and respectful, and where great work can get done. How do they do it? What is it in particular that trustworthy leaders do?
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I was asked recently to explain in simple terms how ethics and trust are related. It is a great question, because we define trust and ethics in so many different ways.
Here are some observations about how trust and ethics are related, and what their relationship means for us as organizational leaders.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I was weeding in the garden this week, and I discovered two new weeds that were taller than I was. I started thinking about how quickly things can get away from us, in the garden and in our organizations. There are things we must do to build a high trust workplace. But there are equally important things that we must prevent or weed out for trust to flourish.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
The recent post Should Trust Be Freely Offered or Conditionally Earned? generated lively discussions in LinkedIn Groups about extending trust when we meet someone new. It was clear from the discussions that trust has many different dimensions, and that those dimensions are perceived differently by different people.
When we meet someone new, should we trust them right away? Should we assume that they are trustworthy and give them the benefit of the doubt, or should we hold back until we are sure that they are worthy of our trust?
Trust Across America has published its list of “The Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior 2012.”
How we treat people is an important part of ethical leadership. It is also a critical part of building trust in the organization. These 5 phrases signal that the speaker may not be treating other people in the company respectfully and may not be considering the ideas and concerns of others when making decisions:
Forbes has posted its list of the 100 most trustworthy companies for 2010. “Audit Integrity finds that its 100 Most Trustworthy Companies have consistently demonstrated transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management.” Forbes List of 100 Most…
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ethical Culture is a System of Systems
Don’t assume that an ethical culture will just happen in your workplace. Even if you are a good leader, ethical culture is a delicate thing, requiring intentional positive leadership and daily tending. It requires more than good leadership, more than trust building, and more than good hiring.
Why does building an ethical culture require so much more than good leadership? Ethical culture is a system of systems, and just putting in good leadership, trust-building and good hiring doesn’t make it healthy.
Leading in Context 