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.

Ethical Leaders Adapt (Part 3)

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 learn about how adaptation and ethical leadership are connected and check for learning blind spots.

Ethical Leaders Adapt (Part 2)

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 improve your ethical awareness and learn about the importance of staying on…

Ethical Leadership: Adaptability is Essential

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.

Leadership: It’s Not About Us

By Linda Fisher Thornton 

You may have noticed that society’s expectations of us as leaders are continuing to increase. Consumers prefer to purchase from companies that genuinely care about their well-being. Employees want to work for companies that treat people well, do meaningful work and give back to the community. To survive in this new land where ethics is key to success, we must understand that it is not all about us.

Mental Maps Impact Leader Behavior

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 What happens to our leadership capability when our mindset is out of date?

Ethical Values Are Good For Business (Part 7)

By Linda Fisher Thornton

We need to get leadership right because so much depends on it. Many global factors are driving changes in ethical leadership expectations, and in high-stakes times, how we handle ethical leadership development can make or break our success. This week I’ve created a graphic that brings the expectations and priorities into clearer focus.

Ethical Values Are Good For Business (Part 6)

By Linda Fisher Thornton

Ethical values can drive positive business results, but only if leaders continually learn and apply better leadership, and stretch to grow. With the bar for expected leadership set so high, it will be a continual career-long stretch for our leaders. But leaders shouldn’t be scared off by this, because taking this journey also provides a deep sense of meaning, satisfaction and making a positive difference.

Ethical Values Are Good For Business (Part 5)

By Linda Fisher Thornton

Ethical values are good for business, but only if you keep up as times change. Right now, expectations are high and Ibelieve 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. Here are a number of trends that I see that are working together to fuel the movement toward leading with positive values.

Ethical Values Are Good For Business (Part 4)

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. Part 3 addressed the senior leader’s important role. In Part 4 let’s look at using values to guide us in challenging times.

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.

11 Paths to Mastering Ethical Leadership

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.”

5 Compelling Reasons Leader Development is a Strategic Priority

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.

Ethical Leadership Development: Preparing Leaders For the Future

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.