Leading in Context

JULY 10, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical leadership is a journey, not a destination. Imagine walking for hours toward the distant horizon. No matter how fast or how far you walk, the horizon will always be out there, some distance away from you. The same is true for ethical leadership. No matter how far we go, we never "arrive.".

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Leading in Context

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton ChangeThis.com is an 800ceoread project for "spreading good ideas and changing business thinking for the better." I am honored that today they published my Manifesto about ethical thinking. This Manifesto begins with an Aristotle quote "We are what we repeatedly do" and then asks us to think hard about what we repeatedly do.

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Leading in Context

OCTOBER 23, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton This collection from reader favorites on the Leading in Context Blog will help you explore the scope and dimensions of today''s ethical leadership. As you will see, ethical leadership requires much more than following laws and regulations. We have to take on a global mindset and an openness to learning, and much more.

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Leading in Context

OCTOBER 30, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton What are some of the ways that ethical leadership transforms people and brings out their best? And how does bringing out people''s best transform organizations? Here is a list of 10 ways, inspired by the participants in the Leading With Ethics #leadfromwithin Tweetchat that I co-hosted earlier this month. 10 Ways Leading With Ethics is Transformational.

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Leading in Context

DECEMBER 4, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton If you''ve read the news lately, you''ve noticed that there is a lot of discussion about who is right. Each person has an individual perspective that seems to be right from where they sit. Each group has values and norms that seem right. How can we make sense out of it all? When we need to make a critical decision, and everyone around us is arguing passionately for a different approach, how will we know which one is most right?

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Dealing with work complexity has become a major leadership development issue. And it has ethical implications. As our work becomes more complex, so do our ethical dilemmas.

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

'There is More to Leadership There is much more to leadership than being at the front of the room during a meeting, or being the one to make the big decisions. I find that the most rewarding part of leadership is making a difference - in people''s lives, in the community, or in the world.

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Leading in Context

APRIL 24, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton Moral Growth Is a Lifelong Pursuit Moral education needs to start early, and it also needs to continue throughout our professional careers. Unlocking Moral Awareness How can we help leaders develop the moral thinking and awareness that they need to make good leadership choices? What specific conversations and experiences will support moral development?

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton Beyond Compliance I have intentionally avoided using the C-word (Compliance) in most of my posts, and I decided that it was time to explain why. In this post I'll explain why laws are not enough, and why complying with laws does not mean that we are leading ethically.

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Leading in Context

JANUARY 2, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton 13 Leadership Temptations To Conquer In 2013 We're starting a new year, with fresh possibilities, and it is a good time to think about our leadership values. What do we believe? How do we treat others? What matters to us? Can people determine our values just by watching how we treat people? As we think about how we want to lead this year, we need to recognize that it is tempting to make easy short-term decisions that end up having ethical consequences in the long run.

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Leading in Context

AUGUST 28, 2013

'It is simultaneously a burden and an opportunity for us as leaders to model ethical behavior. It is a burden in that we must work hard to ensure that we are using the highest ethics. it is an opportunity in that by using ethical behavior brings out the best in us and those we lead.

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Leading in Context

MAY 29, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton There was a lively discussion on LinkedIn in response to my post "Ethics" Means Acting Beyond Self-Interest." Readers joined in the discussion and came up with some very interesting observations.

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Leading in Context

JANUARY 30, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton The recent post Should Trust Be Freely Offered or Conditionally Earned? generated lively discussions in LinkedIn Groups about extending trust when we meet someone new. It was clear from the discussions that trust has many different dimensions, and that those dimensions are perceived differently by different people.

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Leading in Context

JUNE 12, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton What are the benefits of working for an ethical leader? Here are ten I came up with to get you started: A low stress workday.

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Leading in Context

JUNE 5, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton The impact of our leadership decisions is felt far beyond the spaces where we work. The choices that we make may impact people, communities, the environment and society for generations.

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Leading in Context

AUGUST 14, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton The Manifesto How is ethical leadership a learning journey? "Ethical leadership transforms profits, people, the planet, communities and the world. Ethical leadership is not something on our to do list that we can check off as completed. It is an ongoing individual and organizational journey. This learning journey will bring out the best in all of us.

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Leading in Context

JULY 3, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton How many really great leaders have you worked for? If we''re very lucky, we will have had the chance to work for great leaders in most of the jobs we''ve held. Let''s be honest though - how many people are that lucky?

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Leading in Context

APRIL 30, 2013

'Children Need to Learn Responsibility and Respect Two key principles (in addition to the 3 R''s) that children need to learn in order to to live a successful life are responsibility and respect. As we teach knowledge and information, these areas need to be taught through an ethical frame of reference.

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton The purpose of leadership has been debated but most people would agree that it includes bringing out the best in people and organizations. Some of the ways we do this include trust building, supporting, guiding, coaching, team building and removing barriers to good work. While these leadership roles may seem low-key, they are the critical behaviors that lead to strong cultures and productive organizations.

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Leading in Context

OCTOBER 9, 2013

'Ethical leader don''t settle for the easy answers that offer them the most advantages. They intentionally take on tough questions like these: "What do ethical leaders do every day that makes such a positive difference in their organizations?" "How do we lead in ways that prepare us for the future and honor our ethical responsibilities?" "How does the ethical leader of the future think?".

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Leading in Context

AUGUST 21, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton What is it that ethical leaders do that has such a powerful positive effect on people? What can be the long-term impact of inspiring groups of people to greatness and ethical behavior?

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Leading in Context

MARCH 13, 2013

You would need the 5 leaf clover pictured above to keep you out of trouble if you were to say these things to someone without strong ethical leadership. But these 5 things are pretty safe to say to an ethical leader.

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethics is fundamentally about thinking beyond ourselves, and service is an extension of that thinking. Service in leadership involves dedicating ourselves to the success of others.

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Leading in Context

JUNE 19, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton Openness to learning about other cultures has become a necessary component of leadership. One way to help people respect cultural differences is to build what UNESCO calls "intercultural competence.".

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Leading in Context

MARCH 6, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton Sustainability has become an expected part of good business leadership. Lynnette McIntire notes in her article 7 Sustainability Trends to Watch for in 2013 that "marketplace expectations have moved sustainability into the category of 'business as usual.'" While sustainability is becoming the norm, its scope is also broadening to include more than just environmental concerns.

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Leading in Context

MAY 22, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton In my 150th Blog Post, I wrote about starting a blog and being new to the process of Learning Out Loud. To celebrate my 200th post, I want to reflect on what it''s been like to learn new things faster than I ever thought possible. It seems especially clear to me now that we all have capabilities we''re not using in our day to day lives.

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Leading in Context

AUGUST 7, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton The Manifesto This week, I want to continue to explore the mindset behind The Leading in Context® Manifesto. Here is an important quote from it about the positive impact of ethical leadership: "Imagine the potential. What could we accomplish if we proactively developed ethical leaders and an ethical culture? Unleash the performance potential of our people?

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Leading in Context

JULY 31, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton Recently, I released the Leading in Context Manifesto, a bold statement of belief about the kind of ethical leadership that I believe we need to use every day. Today, I want to explore the mindset behind the Manifesto. It opens with this statement about our purpose as leaders: "We are here to focus on what''s right and what''s possible, not on what''s historical or convenient.

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Leading in Context

APRIL 10, 2013

'By Linda Fisher Thornton Using globally-informed thinking helps us succeed in a connected economy and a global society. This week, I decided to corral a collection of posts that help us understand ethical leadership in a global context.

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Leading in Context

JULY 24, 2013

'After taking the Leading in Context website and branding back to the drawing board, this week I''m delighted to introduce the Leading in Context® Website version 2.0.

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Leading in Context

APRIL 3, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton I was recently invited to co-present an ASTD Public Manager Webcast “Developing Ethical Leaders and an Ethical Government Brand” with John Umana. While the Webcast which aired on March 19, 2013 was customized for government HR and Training leaders, the content is applicable across industries.

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Leading in Context

MARCH 27, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton As we think about our decisions, which ones do we recognize as "ethical?" Complying with laws and ethics codes clearly has ethical implications. But what about these decisions?

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Leading in Context

OCTOBER 2, 2013

'Taking Our Thinking Up a Notch Looking at problems in great detail don''t usually help us solve them unless we apply specific strategies that make the puzzle as a whole become clearer. Here are strategies that help us move from one level of thinking to another.

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

'Because we are part of a connected society, we cannot think about ethics on a small scale. Our daily choices can have a global ripple effect, and that effect can be either positive or negative depending on our choices. We need to think on a global scale, and consider the long term impact of every decision.

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Leading in Context

FEBRUARY 20, 2013

By Linda Fisher Thornton Sometimes out of fear, convenience, profit (or marketing promises) we use a solution that goes way beyond what is necessary to solve the problem. There are broad ethical implications of over-solving problems, and this post will explore some of them.

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Leading in Context

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

'Leadership responsibility is multidimensional, and cannot be described in one or two words. Fortunately, that level of complexity is not stopping a number of leaders and organizations from taking the lead in demonstrating what it means to take responsibility in leadership.

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Leading in Context

DECEMBER 25, 2013

'Extending Joy to You This Holiday Season Joy is not something we simply hope for or wait for. It''s something that we create through our everyday actions and relationships. As we celebrate the Holidays and enter the New Year, I hope that you enjoy the timeless quotes about joy that follow. Notice how these reflections on joy tend to focus on gratitude, imagination, open-mindedness and service.

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