Why We Need Ethical Thinking
Linda Fisher Thornton, Adjunct Associate Professor
"The twenty-first century will be the century of complexity." -Physicist Stephen Hawking
Increasing complexity is a pressing challenge. "'Complex problem solving' is listed by the World Economic Forum as the top workforce skill for 2020 – as it was in 2015.” At the same time, social media shines a spotlight on values as disgruntled customers share experiences and describe details of ethical mistakes. In this environment of radical visibility into frontline decisions and actions, ethical values have become a critical factor in organizational success.
As work becomes more complex, ethical challenges do, too, and the leaders handling them are not always prepared. Janice Burns, vice president of product development at DDI, says, “Business decisions once made by senior management have gotten pushed further and further down the organization, putting more pressure on front line leaders.” ("Get Ready for the New World of Frontline Leadership Development!," ATD). Burns shared a recent study showing that two-thirds of frontline leaders felt unprepared, with their biggest transitional challenge, “thinking strategically,” including managing high risk situations.
To succeed in this high-stakes, high-visibility environment, leaders need to learn how to think through the ethical implications of their daily challenges. Traditional thinking and decision making will not be enough. Nick Petrie, from the Center for Creative Leadership, says, “While simple thinkers see situations through one perspective, complex thinkers can see the same situation from many different angles."
Many leaders know their values, but they need more than that to handle complex issues in a socially-connected world. Learning ethical thinking will help them understand complex issues at a higher level. The American Management Association points out that "the reasons for running ethical businesses are only going to get more compelling—as well as more complex—over the coming decade." Applying ethical thinking and understanding the impact of decisions on multiple stakeholders will help leaders meet the complexity challenge.
If you or members of your team are interested in developing ethical thinking skills, check out this new Executive Education class:
Ethical Thinking through the 7 Lenses | May 22, 2019 | Learn More
