Leading in Context

Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership

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Navigating Ethical Complexity

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

Developing ethical leaders and building ethical cultures have become critical business priorities. As if that weren’t already challenging enough, managing ethics well also requires systems thinking and a broad understanding of ethical responsibilities. Why is ethics such a challenge for organizations? It has many dimensions, and while we are sorting them all out, expectations for how well we handle day-to-day challenges are increasing.  Keeping up is a formidable challenge. 

5 Insights For the Class of 2021

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

I have a special message for our 2021 graduates. Like 2020, this year has veered away from what we had hoped and planned. The COVID-19 pandemic is still a force in our lives that we must adapt to. And we’re weary, but also hopeful that there are better times ahead.

How can you start your college life or career under circumstances like these?

Leadership: No Discomfort, No Growth

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

Why is using a growth mindset important in leadership? Some leaders actively avoid discomfort, not realizing that they are also avoiding the necessary growth that propels them to their best leadership. Great leadership doesn’t happen by itself. It happens when a leader decides to intentionally learn and grow, and to pursue that growth into the Discomfort Zone.

Trust Repair For Leaders (Part 3): Notice

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

This series of posts shares strategies for repairing organizational trust. It was inspired by conversations with other members of the Trust Across America Trust Alliance and my work as part of the Trust Alliance TAP team. #tap2021

Trust Repair Part 1 addressed the importance of Accountability and strategies for building a robust accountability system. Trust Repair Part 2 addressed strategies for improving leader Transparency.

Trust Repair Part 3 includes strategies for overcoming a third area the Trust Alliance found to be a common problem – Notice. This important element of trust requires us to “seek out and listen to diverse perspectives – every voice can matter.” (TAP Principles, Trust Across America Trust Alliance)

Trust Repair For Leaders (Part 2): Transparency

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

This is the second in a series on how to repair organizational trust. It was inspired by conversations with other members of the Trust Across America Trust Alliance and my work as part of the Trust Alliance TAP team as part of #tap2021.

In this series, Trust Repair Part 1 addressed the importance of Accountability and strategies for building a robust accountability system. Trust Repair Part 2 addresses another area that the Trust Across America Trust Alliance found to be lacking in many organizations – Transparency.

Trust Repair For Leaders (Part 1): Accountability

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

This post is the first in a three-part series about how to repair organizational trust. It was inspired by conversations with other members of the Trust Across America Trust Alliance and my work as part of the Trust Alliance TAP team.

10 Trends Shaping the Future of Ethical Leadership

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

We need to get leadership right because so much depends on it. Many global factors are driving changes in ethical leadership expectations, and in high-stakes times, how we handle ethical leadership development can make or break our success. This week I’ve created a graphic that brings the expectations and priorities into clearer focus.

600th Blog Post: 10 Leadership Lessons Learned

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

I’ve been blogging for 12 years, after making a very rocky start on March 5, 2009. If I had let my early failures determine my future, I would never have made it to this point, celebrating 600 posts on the Leading in Context Blog. Today I’m sharing 10 Leadership Lessons I’ve learned since starting this blog in the hopes that they will inspire you to press forward in your important work.

When Position Power and Ethics Collide

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

Our responsibilities as a citizen, worker, leader, family member, and friend require us to choose ethics over loyalty. Yet, when we do, it can surprise people. Maybe that’s because it is not the easiest path to take. Here’s a story about a situation I faced very early in my career, when I was in my 20s.

Ethical Awareness is a Moving Target

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

How well is your organization navigating the ethical pitfalls of the working world? If you’re finding it to be a major challenge right now, you’re not alone.

Why is it so hard to navigate ethical minefields now? There is currently a “toxic soup” of factors at play…

Pandemic Leadership: 3 Questions To Ask in the New Year

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

Each year I raise questions that help leaders stay current as ethical expectations change. Here are three new questions to ponder as we head into a New Year. They are important questions about our ethical intentions, action and impact that will help guide our choices in the coming year.

Ethics is Actionable

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Some people think about ethics as a theoretical concept that lives in procedures and regulations, but they’re missing the point. Ethics is not just an esoteric concept. It’s an actionable responsibility.

Minimum Standard Leadership

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By Linda Fisher Thornton
I tell my students that if you go through life just reaching for the minimum standard, you end up with a minimum standard life. The good things in life, including success and happiness are more likely to happen when we reach higher than the baseline that is expected of us.