I have previously used the Oxford Living Dictionary definition of ‘principles’ when discussed nonprofit policy-making:“A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning”. This definition also serves as a useful reference for this post, continuing the Ecology of Judgment series. In… Continue reading Twin disciplines for better judgment: Practical Reasoning Principles and Lucid Empathy Canons
Tag: ethics
What’s Empathy Got To Do With It?
Those who think of empathy as merely an emotional resonance with another may query what empathy has to do with efficiency, effectiveness, performance, conformance, innovation, sustainability, and other leadership priorities. This post examines ways in which empathy supports those priorities, and highlights the beneficial outcomes offered by use of Lucid Empathy within your Ecology of… Continue reading What’s Empathy Got To Do With It?
Governance OF and WITH Empathy
This series of posts on The Ecology of Judgment has been weaving two related strands to argue that reasoning and empathy are essential partners in nonprofit decision-making. This post extends on that argument by focussing on how empathy interacts with and balances the use of the 21 valid reasoning styles that comprise your full Reasoning… Continue reading Governance OF and WITH Empathy
Moral Accounting and Reporting
For many nonprofit organisations, 30 June marks the end of their financial year. Consequently, thoughts now turn to finalising the trial balance, engaging with the auditors, and preparing annual reports. End-of-year is when we close the books, take stock, and reset. It’s also the best time to capture lessons from ethical challenges, identify emerging risks… Continue reading Moral Accounting and Reporting
The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 2 (Praxis)
Praxis and reflective practice “Praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, realised, applied, or put into practice. “Praxis” may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realising, or practising ideas” (Wikipedia). As its title suggests, this post therefore seeks to assist nonprofit leaders to reflectively apply… Continue reading The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 2 (Praxis)
The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 1 (Theory)
How often have you witnessed a ‘debate’ in which various of the participants are on different wavelengths? One sees the issues as ‘black and white’, while another sees many ‘shades of gray’, and yet another sees layers of complexity in full colour. Even when directors share a common ‘moral lens’ though, their stakeholders don’t. Dealing… Continue reading The Dimensionality of Thought and Ethical Leadership – Part 1 (Theory)
Foundational Thinking for Nonprofit Leaders
The Meta-Taxonomy of Foundational Thinking (MTFT) model was introduced in my previous post (First Principles First). That version has been inverted and expanded in this explanatory article, to address the wider range of considerations involved when using the model for problem solving and decision-making. The header image (From Root to Fruit) uses a tree metaphor… Continue reading Foundational Thinking for Nonprofit Leaders
Ethical Communications
Nonprofit organisations generally have communication and social media policies to guide their spokespeople and staff on acceptable practices. Despite this, mis-communications and other communication problems occur, especially where social media is involved. Most of the tensions within our communities are fuelled by words. Words used to label, blame, shame, or cancel people. Legitimate protests can… Continue reading Ethical Communications
Balancing ‘long’ and ‘short’ strategic perspectives
The ‘strategic horizon‘ most nonprofits use is between 3-5 years. That seems to be about as far into the future as we feel able to project – either in terms of what we might confidently predict about our operating environment, or the timespan over which we are willing to commit to achieving our goals. Such… Continue reading Balancing ‘long’ and ‘short’ strategic perspectives
Cultivating cultural competence & social cohesion
Divisive contributions to public discourse about overseas conflicts and immigration can cause our social fabric to fray at the edges. When we think about the tone of such discourse, it encourages us to consider whether our own contributions will foster social cohesion or promote further conflict. Social identity, cultural competence, and social cohesion are related… Continue reading Cultivating cultural competence & social cohesion