By Linda Fisher Thornton Developing an "ethical self" is important for good citizenship and good leadership. But what does it involve? There's more to developing and maintaining an ethical self than trying to make good choices. Making ethical choices isn't easy, and while we're struggling, our brains are actually working against us.
Tag: ethics and leadership
Who’s Accountable For Ethical Artificial Intelligence?
By Linda Fisher Thornton Who is accountable for ethical artificial intelligence? How do you build accountability into your organization's use of AI? I was recently invited to answer those questions in a guest blog post published on the EDUCAUSE Professional Development Commons and EDUCAUSE Review. There is much more to think about when implementing AI than just efficiency and time savings. There are ethical implications at every step of the process. This article includes an overview of those ethical implications and steps organizations can take to build ethics into current and future AI projects.
COVID-19 Response: 12 Resources for Business
By Linda Fisher Thornton It's important to understand the business impact of the Coronavirus challenge when making critical business decisions. A sound understanding of the situation combined with ethical values will help us make leadership decisions that will be good for our customers and the long-term viability of our business.
Companies Doing Good in Bad Times
By Linda Fisher Thornton A pandemic happens to all of us. All our plans are scrapped and we have to reinvent ourselves in real time, with others depending on us for services. It is the ultimate leadership challenge.
Rights, Responsibilities and Freedom
By Linda Fisher Thornton
While some people think of rights, responsibilities and freedom separately, in a compartmentalized way, I believe they cannot be separated. According to John Courtney Murray, freedom was always intended to be grounded in ethical values.
Respect, Interpreted Part 3
By Linda Fisher Thornton
What exactly does respect look like? It's a question that is difficult to answer, but we need an answer if we are going to be able to help our leadership teams learn how to show it, recognize it, and expect it from others. This week I'm sharing some work I've done that may help.
Unethical Leadership: Selective Respect
By Linda Fisher Thornton
We've seen selective respect too often. Beyond harming the people who are disrespected, it also destroys trust, and leads to chaotic environments and fear-based cultures. Even though we've all seen selective respect in action, we may not have had the vocabulary to describe why it's wrong (beyond calling it mean or inappropriate). This week I'm digging in to those details.
Leader Competence: Will it Be A Multiplier or a Divider?
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ethical leadership competence is an issue that is gaining attention. Expectations of "good leadership" are increasing and leaders and organizations are scrambling to keep up. While sometimes people disagree about implementation, there is a strong consensus among scholars and research organizations that today's leadership requires broad, high level thinking.
With expectations for good leadership continuing to expand, some organizations still do not have leader competence on their strategy agendas.
Twitter Helps Leaders “Think Global”
Twitter helps us learn to "think global" in a connected global society. It can transform us and the way we do business. It keeps us current, connects us with a global network of information and provides real-time data. I've sprinkled in some statistics along with my own observations about the learning benefits of Twitter.
Why We Need A Strong Moral Center
As we deal with increasing work complexity, connection and speed, we need a strong moral center to guide us. We can think about it as having a strong character, being principle-centered, having integrity, or following an ethical compass. No matter what we call it, we need a strong moral foundation.
Civility is an Ethical Issue
by Linda Fisher Thornton
The Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary defines civility as "polite, reasonable, and respectful behavior." These are the kinds of behaviors we use when we treat others with care.
According to Michael Brannigan, The Pfaff Endowed Chair in Ethics and Moral Values at the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY., "Ethics deals fundamentally with how we treat each other on a daily basis. Indeed, our small acts of civility and incivility constitute the heart of morality."
Leading in Context 