By Linda Fisher Thornton Ethical values are good for business, but only when values and strategy align. Consumers are seeking brands that support well-being, sustainability, and social justice, realizing that these brands are more likely to have the best interests of consumers and society at heart. Because of this, brands will benefit from assessing their alignment between values, culture, and strategy ..read more

By Linda Fisher Thornton Even if a company has clear values, applying them is not as easy as leaders might think. According to Gallup (2016), just 23% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they can apply their organization’s values to their work every day, and only 27% strongly agree that they "believe in" their organization's values.  In 2022 Gallup reported that "Without strong, lived and embedded values, it is difficult for employees to find meaning in their job ..read more

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.” To accomplish this, we need an open mind, and a willingness to learn from others who do not think or live as we do ..read more

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 ..read more

By Linda Fisher Thornton Graduates, as you start to search for a job, I want to share some guidance about how to choose an organization that aligns with your values to enhance your work experience and likelihood of success ..read more

By Linda Fisher Thornton According to the United Nations, "there is no universal definition of hate speech under international human rights law. The concept is still under discussion, especially in relation to freedom of opinion and expression, non-discrimination and equality." (What is Hate Speech, UN.org ..read more

By Linda Fisher Thornton One of the thinking traps that people fall into is putting people into categories. This may result in assigning a derogatory label to the category, and making blanket statements about how "all people" from that category are a certain way ..read more

By Linda Fisher Thornton Moral exclusion includes using an insider mindset and thinking that others (who are not members of the group) as not worthy of protecting. If you're not yet familiar with moral exclusion, this post may be helpful background on differences in world views and selective inclusion ..read more

By Linda Fisher Thornton Hate speech and violence do not adhere to ethical values. An ethical person will quickly rule them out due to the harm they cause to others. But even when someone wants to be an ethical person, there are problems with human thinking that can enable hate and violence to happen ..read more

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 ..read more