By Linda Fisher Thornton My article, “Ethical Thinking Isn’t Automatic,” featured in the August issue of the Talent Development Journal, describes five culture gaps that inhibit ethical leadership. These culture gaps are common problems that organizations should watch for and avoid. “For ethical leadership to stick, the culture needs an infrastructure that consistently supports acting on stated values…Ethical cultures treat ethical thinking as something that must be cultivated, demonstrated, and practiced over time.”
Tag: ethical culture
Talking About Ethics (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Dialogue is a powerful tool for developing ethical organizations. Workplace issues are complex and opinions vary about what ethical leadership means. This combination creates a kind of “murky uncertainty” that keeps leaders from giving us their best, most ethical performance.
Ethical Values Are Good For Business (Part 3)
By Linda Fisher Thornton In Part 1 of this series "Ethical Values Are Good For Business" I shared the importance of clearing up the confusion employees have in balancing ethical values with bottom line profitability. In Part 2, we looked at the importance of aligning strategy with the organization's values. In Part 3, we'll address the senior leader's important role.
Leading For Ethical Performance (Part 3)
By Linda Fisher Thornton I was driving recently when the car beside me started to veer over into my lane. I was able to avoid an accident, but it made me think about what happens when employees start “crossing the line” in organizations. When someone becomes aware that another employee is doing something that goes against the company’s values, what happens then? There are things leaders can do. Unlike the car example, the conditions needed to avoid a problem when an employee starts to cross the line are more complex. And the potential problems that can happen (if an employee crosses the line and does something unethical) are numerous. Under the right conditions, employees may nudge each other to stay in the lane, and a positive, high trust culture helps create those conditions. Employees Nudge Each Other to Stay in the Lane
Leading For Ethical Performance (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton The components of an ethical leadership performance management system are mutually reinforcing and must be closely aligned. If just one element shown on this graphic is missing, then the rest of the components will not work effectively. For example, clear communication about expected ethical behavior is important, but it isn’t likely to lead to ethical behavior unless you also holding people accountable for meeting the expectations.
Leading For Ethical Performance (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Discouraging Unethical Leadership One of the most important responsibilities of the senior leadership team is to discourage unethical behavior and build an ethical culture. Senior leaders need to work together as a team to create an organization where ethical leadership is rewarded and unethical leadership is quickly corrected. Modeling Ethical Behavior To build an ethical company, every senior leader needs to model the ethical leadership behavior that is expected, and promote ongoing conversations about how to lead ethically. Leading Organizational Ethics Beyond modeling expected ethical behavior, each senior leader also leads the ethical aspects of their role for the organization as a whole. For example, the Chief Human Resource Officer also oversees the ethical performance management system, and the The Chief Learning Officer works to build the organization’s ethical understanding and ethical competence.
5 Phrases to Watch For: Low-Trust Culture
By Linda Fisher Thornton Treating People With Respect Builds Trust How we treat people is an important part of ethical leadership. We know that when leaders treat people with respect, trust is built within the organization. Treating people with respect includes listening to their ideas and working together to accomplish the mission of the organization.
Caring For a Positive Culture
By Linda Fisher Thornton I have written a lot about ethical culture building, but there is one simple concept that is a game changer that many leaders overlook. It is the importance of simultaneously managing two things well in order to shore up both sides of the system.
The Fear Factor
By Linda Fisher Thornton Don't let fear undermine your culture. Review four important reasons why you should create a no-fear culture and 21 things to weed out to build trust.
Are We Focusing on Employee Engagement Metrics (And Missing the Point)?
Employee engagement is a metric that companies are closely watching. Using surveys, levels of participation in programs, and satisfaction reports, companies measure how well they engage those they lead. Butcould this heightened level of watching be part of the problem?…
Read More Are We Focusing on Employee Engagement Metrics (And Missing the Point)?
Want Top Talent? Pass the Reverse Interview
By Linda Fisher Thornton
HR Executives are telling me that job applicants are "interviewing their interviewers" to find out about their organizations' ethics. It makes sense. Applicants want potential employers to treat them well and to demonstrate a positive track record in areas that matter to them. In this trend toward "reverse interviewing," applicants are asking about people practices, community involvement and sustainability practices.
Your Culture is Not A Secret (So Protect Your Ethics)
By Linda Fisher Thornton
One of my favorite concepts for understanding how social media is changing the visibility of organizational culture is Trendwatching.com's report Glass Box Brands. As Trendwatching.com elequently explains, "In an age of radical transparency, your internal culture is your brand." The key point I take away from this important report is that we can no longer assume that our culture is private. In fact, it's completely public and it defines our brand.
Ethical Leadership Interview on Culture Hacker Podcast
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I am delighted that Shane Green, author of Culture Hacker, invited me to be a guest on his podcast to talk about ethical leadership and culture.
Culture is what we make of it. As leaders, it's our job to make it an engaging, ethical, high-trust environment where people can do the very best work of their lives. And while we're doing that, the world is watching.
Every Decision Changes The Ethical Culture Equation
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ethics has a compounding effect on culture, and our leadership choices determine whether that effect will be positive or negative. Being diligent about ethics in every decision brings the culture ethics dividends. Being careless about ethics brings ethics penalties.
The tricky part about managing ethical culture is that every leader decision and action throughout the organization is changing the equation. The "ethical culture equation" is changing in real time, every day.
Great Leaders Are Other-Focused
By Linda Fisher Thornton
There are many important roles leaders play. They are supporters, developers, guides, team builders, and imaginers. They are culture caretakers, roadblock removers and inspirers.
Leading in Context 