Can Trees Teach Us About Ethical Behavior?
Author: Gael O'Brien
Can Trees Teach Us About Ethical Behavior?
The answer is yes in ways we don’t necessarily think about which means we’re missing out. They also teach us about happiness and resiliency. Global Citizen reminds us that trees “provide all life on Earth with oxygen, combat climate change, generate food and shelter, clean the air and soil, foster vibrant ecosystems, etc…” “In fact, […]
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The Key to Thriving in Uncertain Times
This article was first published in Business Ethics Magazine on March 19, 2023. How can managers (or anyone) increase their ability to thrive amid 2023’s uncertainties and business challenges? It turns out the answer may be science-based: the result of more than eight decades of longitudinal research by the Harvard Study of Adult Development. The key […]
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Sigal Barsade and Getting Culture Right
This article was first published in Business Ethics Magazine on May 28, 2022. Photos of Sigal Barsade courtesy of The Wharton School. Sigal Barsade, a pioneering researcher on the impact of emotions in the workplace, leaves a legacy for leaders who want to get their culture right. Professor Barsade, the Joseph Frank Bernstein Professor of […]
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Making Ethics Real Makes Leadership Real
What is the key to effective leadership? The answer is ethics. However, if this doesn’t seem an easy sell…stay with it. Making ethics real makes leadership real. We’ll look at four ways to bring this home. First, some context. Ethical Failures When ethics isn’t a key driver in an organization, the fallout from ethical lapses […]
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Gillette’s Leadership, the Backlash and Possibility
Gillette released this week a short film “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be.” Some criticize it as an attack on men; others disagree and see it as inspiring and hopeful. My take is the under two-minute video illustrates another Fortune 500 company’s courage and leadership to try and use the power of its brand […]
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2018 Leadership Lessons
It isn’t just leaders’ abilities and experience that give them confidence. Authentic confidence means leaders realize that as smart as they are, their view or approach might be wrong. And what they do about that either fuels ethical leadership or spawns disaster. A significant cause of leadership failure in 2018, as in the past, was […]
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Thanksgiving 2018, What Creates Customer Loyalty
Too often we forget what creates customer loyalty: what it is about a business and its leaders or owners that resonate with a community and causes them to take action when needed. In a small town in Orange County California, customers are having a chance to demonstrate how a community responds to a business owner […]
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Can Civility Be Saved? Should It Be?
by Gael O’Brien (Reprinted with permission from Business Ethics Magazine 8/26/18) An abundance of research on incivility points to the mountain we need to scale. Incivility (which includes behavior or language that is rude, disrespectful, offensive or demeaning) is on the rise. It’s also contagious – which is why it’s called “the incivility bug” – […]
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It’s Not Altruism. Just Good Leadership
Reprinted with permission from my 5/26/18 column in Business Ethics Magazine Leaders who believe they have a responsibility to create conditions so that employees can flourish aren’t altruists. They’re just good leaders equally committed to maximizing financial success. They know the two are connected. They also know engagement occurs when employees feel accepted and […]
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Leaders and Culture
We know that fostering the right culture promotes engagement, nurtures innovation and fuels both purpose and profit. The key word here is “right” culture. It is about the desire to pursue what enables people and financial results to flourish together. According to the Fortune Magazine commentary on the Best Companies to Work For 2018 list […]
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Gael has proven to be a source of thoughtful and actionable advice on issues related to corporate culture and ethics. Her academic knowledge is a useful supplement to her practical experience and tailored advice.