Where Can We Find Ethical Leadership?

By Linda Fisher Thornton

This is an update of a previously published post.

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.

It lives in our big and small choices. It lives in our decision-making. It lives in our organizational culture. It lives in our deep commitment to working for good.

We can’t get away with “externalizing” ethics because ethical leadership is much closer to home than we may readily admit. It isn’t somewhere “out there” at all – it is us, right here and right now.

It is in our deeply-held values. It is in our day-to-day choices. It is in our quest for good.

When you talk about ethical leadership, avoid theoretical or policy-driven explanations, and keep the conversation close to home.