Interim Leadership: Another Trust-Based Relationship

Strangers are contacting Ethical Leaders in Action to inquire about our services.  The phone rings; emails come in from the Website.  I am not surprised by this, but neither do I take it for granted.  As anyone in business knows, marketing and sales is real work.  So is building an enterprise.  This particular enterprise, ELA, […]

Metro Fire Chiefs, Part IV

This week marked our final session with the Metro Fire Chief Officers Association (MFCOA).   We had a rich discussion, looking at some of the core challenges facing both chief and line officers: bringing out the best in our people.  Central to this discussion was the work of Daniel H. Pink, from his most recent book, Drive.  […]

The Principle of Charitable Interpretation

A simple concept that helps people build understanding and promote collaboration in organizations.

Metro Fire Chiefs, Part III

In our third of four sessions, we are focusing on some underlying values for public safety organizations: Excellent Public Service Sound Stewardship of Resources Fairness to Employees We continue to build out this set of values as a resource to aid public leaders in decision-making and to evaluate resource needs and priorities. We then turn to leading […]

ISFSI Ethical Leadership for Fire Instructors at FDIC 2011

Greetings from Indianapolis.  As I write this, the city is filling with more than 25,000 firefighters.  It is a terrible place to be an arsonist (or a beer).  Thankfully, I am neither.   I even like bagpipes.  Life is good.   Today I presented to the ISFSI’s new fire instructor credentialing program.  I was “the ethics guy” in the […]

Leading and Managing: City of Saint Louis Park

This morning I led a lively discussion with public employees hosted by the City of Saint Louis Park, under the auspices of their Professional Development Program.  We discussed the values inherent in public service, and the qualities that enable leaders to empower others to improve the world.  Enjoy the PowerPoint by clicking or viewing below… […]

Mission and Margin: Completed with Care

These days I am fortunate to spend much of my work time with public agencies, mostly police and fire departments.    I volunteer for non-profit organizations, and have been employed by the nonprofit James J. Hill Reference Library and the University of Minnesota.  Ethical Leaders in Action is for-profit, which at this juncture means that we […]

Metro Fire Chiefs, Part II

Monday’s working session with the Metropolitan Fire Chief Officers Association was especially lively.   We discussed how we can apply virtues of ethical leadership – service, clarity, creativity, competence, and courage – to fire service leadership.  We also considered three key values for public safety leadership, applicable to law enforcement as well as fire service: Excellent Public Service […]

Sandbulte Lecture at College of Saint Scholastica

I am heading for Duluth!  Tomorrow I will present a lecture entitled, “Beyond Thou Shalt Not: Ethics for a Meaningful and Successful Life” to the School of Business and Technology at the College of Saint Scholastica.   I am grateful for the opportunity, which is supported by the Arend Sandbulte Endowment for Business Ethics. I particularly […]

E.J. Ajax Named Manufacturer of the Year

 E.J. Ajax and Sons, a small metal forming business in Fridley, was named 2011 Minnesota Manufacturer of the Year by the Manufacturing Alliance of Minnesota.  We at ELA are delighted but not surprised: I wrote an Ethical Leaders in Action profile about E.J. Ajax back in 2008, available here.   Since then, company president Erick Ajax has spoken […]