By Linda Fisher Thornton This week Realizing Leadership: Everyday Leaders Changing Our World published a cover story interview with Laurie Wilhelm. We talked about what ethical leadership really means, how ethics and trust are related, and how leaders can learn to be more ethical from wherever they are.
Tag: ethics
How Do We Achieve Corporate Integrity?
By Linda Fisher Thornton In the quest for corporate integrity, we must do a number of things well. We need to have clear expectations for what ethical leadership looks like in our organization; we need a congruent system for managing ethics that sends a consistent message; and we need a clear message about what taking responsibility for ethics really means to us. There is an ethics trend away from a "push" mentality when it comes to learning about ethics (making people do it) to a "pull" mentality (making it positive so that people will want to do it). Taking on that "pull mentality" involves creating a positive ethical environment:
Success From the Field Interview – Balancing Ethics and Profits
By Linda Fisher Thornton This week Will Eisenbrandt posted our interview about ethical leadership at NetworkedWealth.com. This Success From the Field Podcast with Linda Fisher Thornton is a great overview of the 7 Lenses™ of Ethical Responsibility. In the interview he asks me some questions about how to balance ethical values in day-to-day decisions - for example, balancing profits with concern for the planet.
7 Lenses (via Leadership Excellence Essentials)
By Linda Fisher Thornton I am honored that "7 Lenses: Principles and Practices" was included in the "Tributes to Mandela" issue of Leadership Excellence Essentials. This issue also includes articles by Warren Bennis, Dave Ulrich, Tom Peters and many others.
Understanding (and Preventing) Ethical Leadership Failures
By Linda Fisher Thornton Understanding What Causes Ethical Leadership Failures Ethical leadership failures can be caused by different types of problems that may compound. Some of these problems are individual and others may be embedded in the organizational culture.
Wishing You Joy
Extending Joy to You This Holiday Season Joy is not something we simply hope for or wait for. It's something that we create through our everyday actions and relationships. As we celebrate the Holidays and enter the New Year, I hope that you enjoy the timeless quotes about joy that follow. Notice how these reflections on joy tend to focus on gratitude, imagination, open-mindedness and service.
10 Ethical Leadership Questions For the New Year
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership is evolving, and expectations are increasing. Will we be ready? As we go into the New Year, here are some questions we should be considering:
The 7 Lenses Story – A Closer Look Radio Interview
By Linda Fisher Thornton ThorntonI am honored to have had the opportunity to do a radio interview with Pam Atherton of A Closer Look Radio. She invited me to talk with her about my new book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership. In the interview she asked questions that some of you may have about ethical leadership, and I walked listeners through the book's framework for leading ethically in a complex world (click below to listen).
What Ethical Leaders Believe
By Linda Fisher Thornton ChangeThis.com is an 800ceoread project for "spreading good ideas and changing business thinking for the better." I am honored that today they published my Manifesto about ethical thinking. This Manifesto begins with an Aristotle quote "We are what we repeatedly do" and then asks us to think hard about what we repeatedly do. "Is our thinking on autopilot?" "Is that autopilot programmed to make ethical decisions?"
What is Ethical Leadership?
By Linda Fisher Thornton This collection from reader favorites on the Leading in Context Blog will help you explore the scope and dimensions of today's ethical leadership. As you will see, ethical leadership requires much more than following laws and regulations. We have to take on a global mindset and an openness to learning, and much more.
Leadership Responsibility: The Movement
Leadership responsibility is multidimensional, and cannot be described in one or two words. Fortunately, that level of complexity is not stopping a number of leaders and organizations from taking the lead in demonstrating what it means to take responsibility in leadership.
Making a Difference in the World
There is More to Leadership There is much more to leadership than being at the front of the room during a meeting, or being the one to make the big decisions. I find that the most rewarding part of leadership is making a difference - in people's lives, in the community, or in the world. While making a difference may seem like a lofty goal, consider these examples of how much difference one person on a mission can make:
Global-Minded Ethical Leadership
Because we are part of a connected society, we cannot think about ethics on a small scale. Our daily choices can have a global ripple effect, and that effect can be either positive or negative depending on our choices. We need to think on a global scale, and consider the long term impact of every decision.
A Learning Journey That Brings Out Our Best
By Linda Fisher Thornton The Manifesto How is ethical leadership a learning journey? "Ethical leadership transforms profits, people, the planet, communities and the world. Ethical leadership is not something on our to do list that we can check off as completed. It is an ongoing individual and organizational journey. This learning journey will bring out the best in all of us." The Leading in Context® Manifesto
Possibility, Service and Making a Difference
By Linda Fisher Thornton Recently, I released the Leading in Context Manifesto, a bold statement of belief about the kind of ethical leadership that I believe we need to use every day. Today, I want to explore the mindset behind the Manifesto. It opens with this statement about our purpose as leaders: "We are here to focus on what's right and what's possible, not on what's historical or convenient. We are here to serve others, not to profit from their vulnerabilities. We are here to make a positive difference, through intentional leadership and responsible choices." The Leading in Context® Manifesto