By Linda Fisher Thornton
The recent post “It’s Not About Us” set a new daily record for the most views on the Leading in Context Blog. It described how our understanding of leadership has moved beyond a focus on the leader to a focus on creating shared value for others.
In a human development sense, our understanding of leadership has essentially “grown up” and moved past personal ego and a self-centered view of things.
This week, I want to share how the trends in our understanding of leadership are changing the fiber of what successful leadership looks like in organizations. If our organizations are not yet ready to respond to them, these trends should become our top priorities for leadership development.
5 Leadership Development Priorities
1. Progressing from compliance-based ethics to values-based ethics.
TEACHING THE BEHAVIORS WE WANT, NOT THE ONES THAT WILL BE PUNISHED
2. Getting comfortable with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (V.U.C.A.).
PRACTICING WITH COMPLEX PROBLEMS IN REAL TIME USING V.U.C.A. STRATEGIES
3. Thinking like global citizens in a world of connecting systems.
MANAGING ETHICS UP AND DOWN THE SUPPLY CHAIN, UNDERSTANDING SYSTEMS, APPLYING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE AND THINKING LONG TERM
4. Embracing the responsibilities that come with leadership.
GOING BEYOND THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE, HONORING SEVEN DIMENSIONS OF ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY
5. Embracing the opportunities that come with leadership.
CHANGING LIVES, IMPROVING COMMUNITIES,MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD
While these 5 leadership development priorities may seem challenging, the good news is that by addressing them proactively we will also be enabling the overall success of our organizations.
Leading with values and taking responsibility broadly helps us adapt
The clarity we find in leading with positive values makes decision-making easier, and helps us adapt to the rising expectations in a global marketplace. We are no longer buffeted by every small change in the law, because we are aiming at a much higher level, the level of human values.
For more, see Linda’s book 7 Lenses and the 21 Question Assessment: How Current is My Message About Ethics?
2014 Bronze Axiom Business Book Award Winner
About 7 Lenses
Info@LeadinginContext.com @leadingincontxt @7Lenses
© 2014 Leading in Context LLC
Leading in Context 
Reblogged this on Gr8fullsoul.
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Keeping the conversation about ethics focused on the complex challenges employees face does help to keep them interested and learning. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Marty.
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I have long held that teaching Behavioral Ethics rather than Mandated Ethics is the way to drive real change in an organization. And, you must have at the very least, a curious interest on the part of the employees. With a “curious interest” and a desire for organizational improvement, I believe you could create another very special company with engaged employees.
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Understanding our own thinking is absolutely an important topic for leadership development. We are learning more about the brain and how we can tend to make decisions on autopilot. Only by being aware of this can we change it. Thanks so much for your comment Steve.
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By teaching and instilling values behaviors follow. However, it is also about developing individuals to understand how their values influence their decision-making process. Overall, compliance and values based ethics is not an “either-or” but a “both-and” necessity.
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