Leading in Context

OCTOBER 18, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton In Part 5 of this series on attributes of ethical leadership, I explore the importance of really hearing all stakeholders, including those who are not in the room. Here are Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 in case you missed them.

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton How do you recognize an Ethical Leader? Today I’ll share 3 special approaches to the leadership role that are central to ethical leadership. These are ways that ethical leaders understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to others and world.

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Leading in Context

OCTOBER 11, 2023

In Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 I explored 9 different traits that help you recognize ethical leaders. One of the hallmarks of ethical leadership is that it is a fear-free zone. By Linda Fisher Thornton This post is Part 4 in a series. In Part 4 I will address the importance of leading in ways that eliminate fear.

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Leading in Context

OCTOBER 25, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton In Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 I shared defining characteristics of ethical leadership. In Part 4 I addressed the importance of fear-free leadership. In Part 5 I explored the importance of listening to all stakeholders, including those who are not in the room.

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Leading in Context

OCTOBER 4, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton In Hallmarks of Ethical Leadership Part 1and Part 2, I shared 6 special qualities, behaviors and outcomes that define ethical leadership. These are intentional actions ethical leaders take to stay competent as things change around them. This week I’ll share three more.

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Leading in Context

JULY 19, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton Preparing leaders for ethical leadership is a long-term process. For example, what message are we sending when we separate ethics training from other leadership training? It requires careful thought about the messages we are sending.

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Leading in Context

DECEMBER 6, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton Discouraging Unethical Leadership One of the most important responsibilities of the senior leadership team is to discourage unethical behavior and build an ethical culture.

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Leading in Context

JULY 21, 2021

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership isn't something we can ever say we've fully accomplished. It's not about arriving at any particular place, or about achieving a certain level of knowledge.

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Leading in Context

DECEMBER 13, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton The components of an ethical leadership performance management system are mutually reinforcing and must be closely aligned. If just one element shown on this graphic is missing, then the rest of the components will not work effectively.

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N2Growth Blog

APRIL 30, 2024

Understanding the Board’s Responsibility in Promoting Sustainable Ethics & Practices Board members are crucial in guiding corporate entities toward adopting ethics and sustainable practices. It calls for courageous leadership from a board willing to innovate, collaborate, and inspire others to follow.

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

By Linda Fisher Thornton Laws serve as he minimum standards for society, but responsible leadership requires that we go well beyond those minimum standards.

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Leading in Context

AUGUST 17, 2022

By Linda Fisher Thornton While it may be convenient to think about ethical leadership as a task, a program, or a rule book, that’s not where it lives.

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Leading in Context

JULY 22, 2020

By Linda Fisher Thornton Pluralism is required in our leadership thinking because it drives how we treat people and make decisions. It's the mindset required for important ethical leadership responsibilities such as respect, inclusion, and cultural awareness.

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Leading in Context

MAY 17, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership is about much more than making good decisions and abiding by laws and regulations. One of the elements of ethical leadership that may be overlooked when we view ethics using a “legal lens” is supporting and developing the potential of the people we lead.

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Leading in Context

JUNE 28, 2023

This complexity and uncertainty combine to create a "murky uncertainty" that may keep people from giving us their best, most ethical performance. Leaders may intend to create an ethical culture, but may still have difficulty getting past the murky uncertainty about what ethics means.

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

By Linda Fisher Thornton Which lenses must we look through to be ethical leaders? That is the important question I answered during a recent talk at the Ethics and Governance Forum at The Saint Anselm Center for Ethics in Society.

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Leading in Context

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Respecting these (sometimes clear, sometimes hazy) boundaries is an important part of today’s ethical leadership. The 5 phrases below signal that the speaker is ignoring an important ethical boundary: By Linda Fisher Thornton Boundaries can be simply described as lines that we don’t cross when doing business.

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical awareness may have been considered private in the past, but it has become easier to observe in a society that is always socially connected.

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Leading in Context

JUNE 2, 2021

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership development is the ongoing process of guiding leaders to become ethical people and ethical leaders. This is the human development that happens over time that brings leaders to the point of being able to handle what the world throws at them using ethical thinking and action.

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Leading in Context

APRIL 8, 2020

By Linda Fisher Thornton This post is the first in a Series exploring 5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership as we approach IoT Day on April 14th. Unlike the software design projects of the past, working in the IoT takes us into completely uncharted ethical territory.

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Leading in Context

MAY 31, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton Demonstrating care is one of the hallmark requirements of good leadership. If leaders don’t seem to care, that numbs the organization’s culture, disabling the natural systems that would prevent and identify ethical risks.

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Leading in Context

APRIL 28, 2021

By Linda Fisher Thornton Developing an "ethical self" is important for good citizenship and good leadership. There's more to developing and maintaining an ethical self than trying to make good choices. Making ethical choices isn't easy, and while we're struggling, our brains are actually working against us.

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

This week, in Part 2, I'm sharing my response to the question, "Why haven't people agreed on one definition of ethical leadership?" from my recent talk at the Saint Anselm Center for Ethics in Society. By Linda Fisher Thornton Last week I shared a video clip of an overview of all 7 Lenses.

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Leading in Context

APRIL 13, 2022

This week I’m digging deeper into the multiplying and dividing effects of leader (in)competence, looking at how a leader’s ethical competence impacts trust, people, bottom line results and organizational adaptability: After reading the post, one reader requested that I write more on the topic.

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Leading in Context

MAY 26, 2021

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leaders create fear-free work environments, which are foundational in building and maintaining ethical culture and protecting reputation and ethical brand value.

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 10, 2021

Each day brings new challenges that consume our time and require us to grow into higher levels of ethical awareness to avoid missteps and miscalculations. As we try to find stable footing in unstable times, ethical agility will be a factor in our success.

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Leading in Context

DECEMBER 29, 2021

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership is evolving, and expectations are increasing. As we get closer to the New Year, here are some questions to ponder:

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

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 3, I dug into the importance of ethical awareness as the basis for ethical decision making.

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Leading in Context

MARCH 10, 2021

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.

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Lead from Within

APRIL 26, 2024

As an executive leadership coach, I advise my clients on various aspects of leadership, and one topic that has been gaining increasing importance in today’s rapidly evolving business is the role of ethics in artificial intelligence (AI).

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

By Linda Fisher Thornton In part 3 of this series, I am sharing a clip from my recent talk at the Saint Anselm Center for Ethics in Society that answers the question "What happens when there is a serious conflict between two ethical values?"

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Leading in Context

MARCH 23, 2022

By Linda Fisher Thornton n How Do You Recognize an Ethical Leader Part 1 and Part 2, I shared 6 special qualities, behaviors and outcomes that define ethical leadership. These are intentional actions ethical leaders take to stay competent as things change around them. This week I'll share three more.

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

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.

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Leading in Context

APRIL 21, 2021

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. It is proactive, intentional and consistently applied.

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Leading in Context

JULY 5, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton While some people think of rights, responsibilities and freedom separately, in a compartmentalized way, I believe they cannot be separated, and according to John Courtney Murray, freedom was always intended to be grounded in ethical values.

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Leading in Context

JANUARY 15, 2020

This week I'm sharing answers to your burning questions about ethics and ethical leadership - What is it? Why is ethics such a contentious topic, and defined in so many different ways by different people? How do you stay up to speed in spite of rapidly accelerating expectations?

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Leading in Context

MARCH 8, 2023

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethics has a compounding effect on culture, and our leadership choices determine whether that effect will be positive or negative. Being diligent about ethics in every decision brings the culture ethics dividends. Being careless about ethics brings ethics penalties.

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