By Linda Fisher Thornton make positive ethical choices and honor multiple dimensions of ethical responsibility.
Category: Ethics & Talent Management
Ethical Leaders Demonstrate Both Character and Integrity
By Linda Fisher Thornton Sometimes the terms Character and Integrity are used interchangeably, but they mean very different things. Let's take a look at the two terms and how they are related.
16 Answers to “What is Good Leadership?”
By Linda Fisher Thornton A theme I have noticed in the past in the most viewed posts on this blog is Looking For a Better Kind of Leadership. It's a great time to explore the question “What is Good Leadership? While it’s tempting to over simplify leadership and think about it as any one thing, good leadership can only be fully understood by thinking about it in multiple ways. Here is a starter list of 16 defining characteristics of good leadership:
Shallow Thinking
By Linda Fisher Thornton The question of the day is “How does “shallow thinking” lead to ethical mistakes?” By shallow thinking, I mean thinking that is limited in breadth and depth. Think about taking a stroll on the beach as you read the characteristics of shallow thinking below. How do these characteristics describe the kind of thinking that can lead to ethical mistakes and decision gridlock?
The Missing Domain: Ethical Thinking (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton The first post in this series, “The Missing Domain: Ethical Thinking” explored WHY leaders need to fill the gap and help people develop ethical thinking. This post will begin to unravel HOW to do that.
The Missing Domain: Ethical Thinking (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Using the commonly taught types of thinking is very useful in life, and helps us be better professionals and business people. But there’s a catch. Critical thinking can help you understand why a problem happened. It won’t help you find the most ethical solution to the problem once you identify it.
Mindset or Competency: Which is More Important?
By Linda Fisher Thornton This post will explore the interesting relationship between leadership mindset and competency. Which is most important? What happens to our leadership capability when our mindset is out of date? How we think about something impacts what we do about it. Nick Petrie, Center For Creative Leadership, writes in Vertical Leadership Development Part I that “In terms of leadership, the stage from which you are thinking and acting matters a lot. To be effective, the leader’s thinking must be equal or superior to the complexity of the environment.”
Unethical Thinking Leads to Unethical Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton As humans, we are flawed thinkers who easily fall victim to biases and traps. The biases and traps we so easily fall into reshape our thinking in ways that can lead us to make bad decisions. As you review the list of leadership traps below, think about how each can lead to unethical thinking and actions.
Our Human Journey
By Linda Fisher Thornton The human journey. We’re all taking it, but we don’t always know where it’s headed. We can’t always see where we’ve been until later, when we have the long-term perspective and can begin to make sense of the twists and turns we’ve taken throughout our lives.
Leadership: “Leaning Out” For Growth
By Linda Fisher Thornton 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.
5 Things Grateful Leaders Do
By Linda Fisher Thornton Today I’m exploring two important questions: “What do grateful leaders do that sets them apart from other leaders?” and “How does expressing gratitude benefit them?
Talking About Ethics (Part 1)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Workplace issues are complex and opinions vary about the right thing to do in challenging situations. This complexity and uncertainty combine to create a “murky uncertainty” that may keep people from giving us their best, most ethical performance.
Leaders Make the Ethical Path Clear (Part 2)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Taking the ethical path and showing others the way does not just involve the things leaders do that we can observe. It also involves the hidden things they do, the mental work they do to make good decisions that add value for others and not just themselves. Ethical leaders seek shared value. They look for ways to meet the needs of others while they champion their own projects and ideas. Why? Because they understand that they are responsible for honoring their well-being AND the well-being of others.
Ethical Leaders Adapt (Part 5)
By Linda Fisher Thornton We are in the world with others for a reason, and when we embrace the diversity of our global village it makes us all better. Use these posts about the ethical implications of inclusion to take the next steps on your journey to developing a global mindset broad enough to include all the world's people.
Ethical Leaders Adapt (Part 4)
By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership requires growth, a willingness to acknowledge complexity and an understanding of the broader context in which we lead. Use these resources to understanding how learning and ethics are connected and how to learn ethical leadership.
Leading in Context 