The Case for Ethical Leadership

Recent waves of corporate scandals have eroded the trust and goodwill of employees, investors and the public. Increased connectivity now makes it possible to more easily distribute or access sensitive company data, allowing for greater transparency than ever before. In order to restore the trust of key stakeholders and improve both performance and profitability, organizations must make ethical leadership part of their daily business conduct.

LRN believes that businesses need to return to capitalism's ethical roots by instating a formal business code of conduct. To compete in the 21st century, organizations must practice ethical leadership. Cultures that encourage and enforce ethical behavior will in turn attract and retain high-caliber talent. And employees that master business ethics training programs will self-govern themselves, their co-workers and other key stakeholders to live to the same ethical standards.

Proven Approaches to Foster Ethical Leadership

An effective ethics training program fosters ethical leadership at every level of the organization. For example:

• Walk the talk: Senior executives and board members must demonstrate ethical leadership in action through both their words and deeds.
• Employee promotions might require the successful completion of an ethical leadership course or program.
• Be outspoken: Reward ethical behavior but also punish lapses.
• Hold everyone to the same high standards: Ethical leadership applies to everyone at your organization – and who does business with you, too.

LRN, the business ethics training and corporate compliance leader, has worked with some of the most admired companies in the world to inspire ethical leadership and deploy compliance training programs to prevent discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Our one-of-a-kind communications and educational materials include emails, posters, videos and interactive activities that can be created to promote your company's code of business conduct.

For the past 14 years, LRN has collaborated with nearly 300 clients to make ethical leadership an integral part of the way they do business. LRN's 350 dedicated professionals bring a wealth of expertise – from fields as diverse as academia, philosophy, law, software and high technology – to help you articulate and apply a code of business conduct that fortifies your organization's culture of ethical leadership. Go to LRN.com to find out how you can instill a culture of principled performance by rewarding ethical leadership at every level of your organization.