Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ethical values are good for business, but only when values and strategy align. Consumers are seeking brands that support well-being, sustainability, and social justice, realizing that these brands are more likely to have the best interests of consumers and society at heart. Because of this, brands will benefit from assessing their alignment between values, culture, and strategy.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ethical leadership learning 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, inclusive thinking.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Moral exclusion includes using an insider mindset and thinking that others (who are not members of the group) as not worthy of protecting. If you’re not yet familiar with moral exclusion, this post may be helpful background on differences in world views and selective inclusion.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I spoke with Human Resource leaders attending a Richmond SHRM Strategic Leadership Conference about The Future of Ethics and Business Leadership. The lens I used to frame the discussion was leadership development – how we can prepare leaders to lead ethically in a highly complex, connected future.
Here are some highlights from my presentation – a few of the important success principles for developing “Ethical Leader Future.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
This series has explored 5 important leadership spheres of Ethical Thinking and Decision Making.
This week I’m summing it up in a checklist that will help you apply all 5 to your daily choices. When you are making a key decision, run it through the checklist to be sure you have considered all 5 important dimensions.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
While change is a constant reality, it doesn’t always factor into leadership thinking. In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I explored the Depth of our thinking, and the importance of understanding Context. In Part 3 and Part 4, I looked at embracing Complexity and the importance of full Inclusion. In Part 5, I’ll describe how embracing Change helps us make ethical decisions.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Who we include in our ethical thinking, and how broadly we consider our responsibility to others are both important elements of ethical leadership. In Part 1 of this series, I explored the Depth of our thinking, and in Part 2, I broke down issues related to understanding Context. In Part 3, I looked at embracing Complexity. In Part 4, we’ll dig into the importance of Inclusion.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
This week I’m sharing The Last 10 Years of Top Posts on the Leading in Context Blog. It’s a time capsule of the issues you thought were most important over the last 10 years. For each year, I have selected a theme that reflects the topics and focus of the reader’s most read posts.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
What will 2023 be like? We’ve been through so much over the past few years. Will things be better? Whatever happens, the start of a new year is a great time to take stock of our leadership strengths and areas for improvement.
Regardless of the leadership challenges we may face this year, there are important things we should be doing to make it easier for others to succeed, and our teams are counting on us to do them so that they can do their best work.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Of the 52 weekly posts published on the Leading in Context Blog in 2022, these 10 were the most popular. See if you notice a theme that connects these new topics that readers accessed most frequently:
By Linda Fisher Thornton
The focus of this week’s post is on Ways to Inspire Leaders to Lead With Positive Ethical Values. Here are 3 ways to inspire leaders to reach for positive values – that also help you “do good” in your organization, community and world.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
How do we lead when we want to bring out the best in people? These 12 Gifts of Leadership are on the wish lists of employees around the world. They aren’t expensive. They don’t require dealing with the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, and one size fits all. Sure, these gifts are harder to give than a fruitcake, but they will be life-changing for those you lead.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
In Part 1 of this series on Recognizing Ethical Issues, I addressed the gaps in our thinking that require us to develop an ethical alert system. in Part 2, I explored why some leaders who want to do the right thing still don’t “do the work” to learn how to do it. In Part 3, I dug into the importance of ethical awareness as the basis for ethical decision making. Part 4 described ways to start developing ethical thinking. In Part 5, I share some recent posts that address current societal issues. Read the ones below that strike you as the most relevant, to learn about how to recognize the nuances of ethical issues in current events and make good decisions about them.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Any time you draw a line that excludes, you’re leaving ethical territory. That’s a bold statement, but when someone draws a dividing line that intentionally excludes people or groups, it can lead to an “us versus them” mentality. And from there, it’s a short slippery slope to this and more…
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Consumers are seeking brands that support well-being, sustainability and social justice, realizing that brands that care about these things are more likely to have the best interests of consumers and society at heart. Brands will be well served to assess their alignment between values, culture and strategy.
Leading in Context 