Champions & Role Modeling
Leaders are role models, whether they want the responsibility or not.
As such, leaders who champion strong ethical behavior will more likely have employees who value and practice ethical behavior in the workplace and beyond. Leaders are not only shaping the company’s future—they are shaping lives of their employees, customers and society.
Examples
Lakeshirts Blue 84: Embroidery & ethics
Better Business Bureau Ethics TORCH Award Finalist Lakeshirts Blue 84 from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, builds their business by following five…
Learn MoreBlue Ox: Hardworking ethics
Better Business Bureau Ethics TORCH Award Finalist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk8iEygF9SQ Used by kind permission of the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota &…
Learn MoreStandard Water Control Services: Where ethical business is the standard
Better Business Bureau Ethics TORCH Award Finalist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMC_12t_h7c Used by kind permission of the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota &…
Learn MorePreferred Credit: Ethics preferred
Better Business Bureau Ethics TORCH Award Finalist Used with kind permission by the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota & North…
Learn MoreBlue and White Taxi: Driving Ethics Home
Better Business Bureau Ethics TORCH Award Finalist Used with kind permission of the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota & North…
Learn MoreUpdate your leadership skills to bridge the digital-human divide
Classic "soft skills" need new definitions and applications for workplaces of the future. Illustration by Hiroshi Watanabe Note: This is…
Learn MoreBBB Better Series: Women leaders making history
It’s #NationalWomensHistoryMonth, and Leasa Graves, Assistant Director of National Women’s History Alliance joins us on this episode of Better Series…
Learn MoreBBB Better Series: Great leaders SOAR
To See, Own, Articulate, and Release your mission, is the premise behind SOAR Community Networks. Mali Phonpadith, founder and CEO…
Learn MoreService that fits
North Wales Running Co. thrives thanks to focus on customer experience, company culture, and community. For Scott Tantino, running isn’t…
Learn MoreKeeping businesses accountable
With more than a century of experience under its belt, Better Business Bureau (BBB) still remains as committed as ever…
Learn MorePractical Guidance
Why being respectful to your coworkers is good for business
Leadership researcher Christine Porath looks at how workplace incivility damages productivity and employee retention. Watch this video for insights about the cost of incivility and how basic respect improve workplace culture. https://www.ted.com/talks/christine_porath_why_being_respectful_to_your_coworkers_is_good_for_business
Learn MoreThree keys to building an ethical business culture
Principled leaders articulate their values, make decisions guided by their values and consistently model their values. Q: How can my business build a strong organizational culture of ethics? A: There are three key pillars to building and maintaining an ethical business culture: principled leadership, equitable systems and ethical citizenship. Principled leaders articulate their values, make decisions guided by their values and consistently model their values. Principled leaders can be identified at any level of an organization. Individuals in positions of authority within an organization should most certainly be virtuous persons with principles that drive their action. Because humans have a psychological…
Learn MoreHow do I add a philanthropic aspect to my business?
Learn ways that a company can give back to the community Q: How do I add a philanthropic aspect to my business? A: Many business owners choose to pursue philanthropy in addition to their commercial goals. Businesses can advance their charitable interests in many ways. Some businesses give a portion of their profits to charitable projects. For example, Target donates money to local needs as well as to national charities, such as Feeding America and St. Jude Hospital. Target also offers grants for school field trips and soccer programs. These programs raise Target’s community profile. Businesses may promote employee volunteerism.…
Learn MoreDo your customers trust your business?
Five "gestures of respect" may determine whether they do or not In the fall of 2015, as an ethnographer who helps organizations understand how their audiences see the world, I was asked by Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) to examine how consumers think about interactions with businesses. Ultimately, the goal was to define what a better business is and to garner best practices that businesses can follow to be deemed noteworthy in the eyes of the consumer. My research would end up complementing research CBBB conducted separately on what it means to be a better business. To gain an…
Learn MoreEthical leadership, part II: Best practices
Psychological research provides guidance as to how leaders can create a workplace culture that encourages ethical behavior by employees.
Learn MoreEthical leadership, part I: Perilous at the top
The moral example set by leaders has a major impact on the behavior of their subordinates, both good and bad. Despite career success, leaders are particularly vulnerable to ethical lapses.
Learn MoreBeing Inconsistent Can Cost You Your Credibility
Steve Nguyen, Ph.D. (Mar. 10, 2019) Being inconsistent is not just about words versus actions, but also in what you say consistently (across time) and how you act consistently (across time). In other words, at any given moment and especially depending on the person or group you are interacting with, an observer might find that you are a completely different person. You cater to certain individuals while dismissing others. You value one person solely based on his/her title and position in the organization above another person. In the past decade, regardless of the type of organization (nonprofit, educational institution, or…
Learn MoreThe central role of “Use of Self” in principled leadership
Every day in all of our roles, who we are and how we show up makes a difference in how well we execute our roles, how others are impacted and how we create good and bad narratives about ourselves. Who we are has many complexities but is essentially made up of our personality characteristics, attitudes, values, identities, experiences, knowledge and skills, and styles and preferences. How we show up mostly depends on our self-awareness, ability to manage strengths and weaknesses, and courage to do what is best (or right) for each situation. Developing our Use of Self is not a…
Learn MoreTop five books to read to become a principled leader
What makes a “good” or “principled” leader? This question has occupied philosophers, scholars, and practitioners for centuries, and it is not likely that even five books will scratch the surface of the complexity of this question. Nevertheless, we have to start somewhere! I take a strategic approach to this question, one that synthesizes these centuries of wisdom and brings them into today, rather than responding to fads. My recommendations reflect this. To understand where I am coming from with these recommendations, it helps to think about three core problems that arise whenever we talk about leadership in our organizations. First,…
Learn MoreSense of purpose help leaders create strong workplace
Q: How do leaders find satisfaction in each workday and create an environment conducive to employee satisfaction? A: When employees feel they are secure in their basic needs and wants, they aspire to a sense of shared governance with the leader. This recognition of their time, energy and effort produces a state of contentment, possibly producing better products and services. Strategies producing satisfaction in competitive goods and service markets yield higher quality and more sustained sales, netting a better standard of living for all. When leadership produces these transformational outcomes, people share and experience success in all levels of the…
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