Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical 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.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Sometimes leaders believe things that aren’t true because they haven’t taken time to investigate the truth. In other cases, they may have trusted someone who has misled them. But there’s an even more problematic reason some leaders may ignore the truth – claiming to believe the falsehood may benefit them in a tangible way.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
I previously wrote about the problem of selective respect and today I’ll address it’s evil twin. It has been happening right in front of us and has been amplified by social media – leaders speaking from a perspective of selective inclusion. This week, I’m sharing a collection of posts that explain the importance of full inclusion and how to recognize examples that stray from it.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
This week I’m sharing posts that clearly describe what unethical leadership looks like, and caution readers about the risks of allowing it to continue. While I have always blogged about proactive ethical leadership, my posts on unethical leadership continue to be some of the most popular, so I know you’re looking for answers.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ethical leaders, who accept the realities of the a global marketplace and “learn through” complexity, see the world and their role in it at a high level.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Have you noticed the steady increase in the complexity of navigating our daily lives? It feels like we have too many choices, too much information, and not enough time. More information and more choices would be great if we had the time to research and decide, but the reality is that it’s difficult and time consuming to sort out which information is reliable and which is not.
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.”
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.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Ego-driven leaders want to be “right” even when the evidence shows otherwise. They see rightness as something fixed that they can control. Of course, it isn’t fixed and they can’t control it, but they may not want to be confused with the facts. Conversely, when ego is not driving the thinking process, leaders can adapt to changing information and circumstances and change their minds.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Developing competent ethical leaders can be a huge challenge. Why is it so difficult? We live in a globally connected society, and are expected to be globally aware. We are dealing with catastrophic change and uncertainty. We fill many different roles in our organizations, industries and communities. Each role we play and each decision we face has different ethical implications. Ethical competence is definitely not something that “just happens.”
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
Laws serve as he minimum standards for society, but responsible leadership requires that we go well beyond those minimum standards.
This post explores resources that help us understand (1) what it means to be a globally responsible leader and (2) what kinds of learning opportunities help leaders develop a global sense of responsibility.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Beyond complying with laws and regulations, what should C-Suite leaders be doing about ethical leadership and responsible business practices? CEOs, CLOs, CHROs and other C-Suite leaders should be working together to ensure that every leader is doing business responsibly and ethically. But what does “doing business responsibly and ethically” look like in today’s global economy? In our interconnected working world, where each economy affects all others around the world, ethical business practices need to be thought about more broadly than ever before.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
Since moral growth is a lifelong pursuit, moral education needs to start early, and it needs to continue throughout our professional careers. This requires quite a bit more effort than just doing an “annual ethics training.” Since ethical leadership itself is multidimensional and nuanced, any ethical leadership development for leaders must be multifaceted and nuanced.
By Linda Fisher Thornton
What is Ethical Leadership Development?
Ethical leadership development is the ongoing process of guiding leaders to become ethical people and ethical leaders. It is not the same thing as compliance training or following legal requirements, although those are also important. This is the human development that happens over time to bring leaders to the point of being able to handle what the world throws at them using ethical thinking and action. The way we develop leaders impacts their growth and readiness to make successful and ethical choices when faced with challenging situations.
Leading in Context 