The Trouble With Using Only People-Based "Ethics" Being concerned about people is a very important aspect of ethical leadership. The trouble with using only a people-based definition of "ethics" is that by using the impact on people as the only way to make decisions we may be ignoring these other variables: The impact of our business operations on the planet The long-term unintended consequences of our choices The changing consumer mindset toward sustainable business and avoiding harm
Tag: ethical leadership in organizations
Business Metrics Evolve to Reflect the Need For Meaning
Focusing on financial gains as the desired end result of a business venture creates the impression that profits are more important than the overall impact of the business project. But are profits more important than ethics?
Leadership and…Respect: The New Minimum Standard for Workplace Behavior
This is a Themed Post featuring earlier Leading in Contextâ„¢ Blog Posts about Respect. Each Post illustrates a different way that ethical leaders show respect. Enjoy! Respect is the New Minimum Standard for Workplace Behavior
Ethical Leadership Culture: The Case of the Dissenting Senior Leader
The Impact of the Unethical Senior Leader Take the common case of many organizational leaders trying to create an ethical culture, with one or more of the Senior Leaders not bought in or even blocking their efforts. The distraction, fear and chaos created by an unethical Senior Leader can drain the company of engagement, creativity and productivity. Is blocking a company's efforts to create an ethical culture unethical? You bet. It can be the cause of company failure because of the negative systemic effects that it creates. The systemic effects created by even one Senior Leader leading unethically include loss of trust, loss of employee engagement, loss of customers, lowered productivity, increased complaints, failure of departments to work together, sabotage, blaming, etc... Correct it Quickly When a Senior Leader is operating against the best interests of the company and its stakeholders, the problem needs to be corrected by the other Senior Leaders as quickly as possible. How?
Leadership And…Ethical Thinking
5 Ways to Use Ethical Thinking. This post is designed to be a discussion-starter for leader groups and leadership classes. To use it that way, have each leader read the articles in advance, then discuss what you learned when you gather as a group.
Traps in How We Think About Leading: The Case of Focusing Too Much on Budget
Thinking About Decision-Making and Choosing Filters : Should You Give Back Unused Budget Money? If we don't think about how we want to make leadership decisions, then the crisis of the moment becomes our filter for making decisions. When the economy is unpredictable and profits are lower, the budget is often the crisis that becomes the thinking filter. It's dangerous to make important strategic decisions just based on money and just based on a short-term crisis. In the case below, see how different the outcome is when using strategic long-term thinking versus crisis-response short-term thinking.
Leading in Context 