Leading in Context

Unleash the Positive Power of Ethical Leadership

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Ethical Thinking: Sifting For Values

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

Most people think about ethics, at least some of the time. Ethics comes to mind during ethics training, ethics conversations, when people are thrown into ethically complex situations, and when trying to understand current events.

While we may think about ethics from time to time, ethical thinking is different. It is the process of actively considering how our choices align with ethical principles, and how those choices could impact our constituents. It is proactive, intentional and consistently applied.

Senior Leaders: Set Clear Expectations For Values

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Senior leaders set the tone for the organization’s ethics, but the senior leadership responsibility for values leadership includes much more than that. Today, I’ll look at the senior leader responsibility for sharing clear expectations, and explore more important roles that go well beyond setting the bar for expected behavior.

Leading With Values During the Pandemic

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

As we all grapple with the pandemic, I am grateful to see so many businesses sharing resources and ideas freely and
finding a way to do some good for others. Our current challenges can only be managed with everyone pulling together to make good choices.

Today I’m sharing three key values that should drive our decision making at this time when everything we carefully planned has been turned upside down.

Leaders: What’s Missing in Convenient Actions? – Values

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

With all the inappropriate behavior in the news, I thought it would be a good time to explore the difference between actions that are CONVENIENT and those that are APPROPRIATE. Instead of saying “I’ll know appropriate when I see it” it seems necessary to break it down and articulate the difference clearly. So here goes…

Leaders: Does Your Values Equation Add Up?

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

Every leader has a values equation. It can be calculated by the day, week, year and lifetime. In the ideal situation, a leader’s values equation is consistently positive. 

How do you calculate your values equation?

Values Drive Business Success (But Only If They’re Clear and Applied)

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

Deloitte’s 2016 Millennial Survey Executive Summary reported that according to responses from 7700 employed millennials from 29 countries, “the values that support long-term business success are people treatment, ethics, and customer focus. While people treatment, ethics, and customer focus may be the values that drive business success, that only works if they’re applied across the organization.

Labels Divide, Values Conquer

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

I have noticed that when people speak from LABELS (their group identity, their belief system, their affiliation), they are talking from the interests of that label. This can quickly become divisive if that label doesn’t include everyone. If a label is broad enough – like the label “human” – it can automatically be an ethical and inclusive conversation. But since most labels aren’t that broad, we need to use ethical values to guide us.

Which Values Are Ethical Values?

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

My Applied Ethics students asked a great question that I want to answer in today’s post: “Which Values Are Ethical Values?”

Quick Overview

Not all values are ethical values. Some values, such as efficiency, do not have an ethical component. Some ethical values involve qualities of an ethical self (such as honesty and integrity). Others describe positive and ethical behavior toward others, the environment and society.

Want To Thrive in Leadership Future? Tether Yourself To Values

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

It would be “easy […] for organizations and leaders to become frozen by the magnitude of the changes under way” (McKinsey & Co., Management Intuition For the Next 50 Years). Success in future leadership requires being nimble and adaptive, flexing with constant change, and being ready for anything.

How should we stay grounded as we avoid crises and manage our way through a maze of increasing expectations?

10 Forces Fueling the Values-Based Leadership Movement

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By Linda Fisher Thornton

I believe that values-based leadership is gaining momentum. Recently I was asked to explain why I think so, and I thought I would share my answer in today’s blog post.

Values-based leadership is gaining momentum, and it’s fueled by a convergence of positive trends.

Here are a number of trends that I see that are working together to fuel the movement toward leading with positive values. They are coming from various directions and perspectives, all leading toward positive, proactive values-based leadership.

Shared Ethical Values Part 2

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Shared Ethical Values Part 2 – A Reader Asked for More!

At the request of a reader via a comment on Linked In (thanks for the suggestion Jan!) this post features more sources and more recent sources of information about shared ethical values on a global scale.

The Names Vary, But it’s All About Ethical Values

While the titles may vary, including “corporate social responsibility” or “global business” they are all addressing shared values and principles of responsible business in a global economy.

Shared Ethical Values: Global Consensus?

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As we struggle day-to-day with what ethics means in business, groups of concerned leaders around the world are studying common ethical values that could clarify ethical behavior and unite us in a common global code of ethics.

There are resources readily available that present ethical values in a global context and provide guidance for ethical corporate behavior.

Unethical Leadership: Convenient Beliefs

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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.

Unethical Leadership: Selective Inclusion

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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.