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The State of Moral Leadership in Business 2024

The 2024 State of Moral Leadership in Business report represents our ongoing effort to specifically study the presence of moral leadership and how, when it is present, it inspires elevated behavior in people, shapes values-based organizational cultures, strengthens performance, and leads to deeper relationships with communities and society.

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Moral leadership among CEOs is declining, even as more people demand it

Dov Seidman, who runs the HOW Institute for Society, has a new survey out assessing the “State of Moral Leadership in Business.”

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How to Out-behave the Competition with Dov Seidman

It once wasn’t uncommon to hear a boss tell their employees “just get it done. I don’t care how.” However, in the last decade, organizations have evolved. Now, we often hear leaders priding themselves on encouraging their employees to speak up. But, what if leaders created environments and cultures in which it didn’t take an act of courage for employees to speak their minds? In this episode, we explore how leaders can create a framework and playbook for moral leadership at their organizations that allows employees to out-behave and consequently out-perform the competition.

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What It Means to Be a Moral Leader

Remember when leaders could sidestep taking a stand on sensitive political or social issues by saying, “The business of business is business”? That aloof neutrality no longer cuts it, says Dov Seidman, founder and chairman of The HOW Institute for Society.

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Harvard Kennedy School

Why HOW Matters Most

Dov Seidman, Founder and Chairman of The HOW Institute for Society, joined Harvard as a Hauser Leader in the Fall of 2022. Throughout his time on campus, Dov drew students into deep, provoking conversations about frameworks and models of leadership and explored with students their own leadership journeys and how they can be guided by their deepest beliefs. Dov spoke with us about his experience engaging with students at CPL.

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The State of Moral Leadership in Business 2022

The 2022 State of Moral Leadership in Business report represents our ongoing effort to specifically study the presence of moral leadership and how, when it is present, it inspires elevated behavior in people, shapes values-based organizational cultures, strengthens performance, and leads to deeper relationships with communities and society. This year’s report confirms our hypothesis that while some leaders have risen to the occasion of late, especially since the pandemic, there still aren’t enough moral leaders to go around.

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SALA Series

Gregg Berhalter & Dov Seidman – World-Class Leaders Discussing ‘How We Do Anything Means Everything’

Best-selling author and Chairman of The HOW Institute for Society, Dov Seidman pairs with Gregg Berhalter, head coach of the United States men’s national soccer team. Berhalter’s intentional build of team culture can be seen through the lens of Seidman’s best-selling book: How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything. Explains Seidman: “Self-governing cultures both inspire alignment and eject elements that don't fit in.”

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The State of Human Connection at Work

For our second annual study, we sought to more deeply understand the current evolution of connections at work by comparing states from March 2020 to today. We found that moral leaders continue to disproportionately cultivate the cultures that encourage meaningful human connection.

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America 2022: Where Everyone Has Rights and No One Has Responsibilities

When our trust in each other erodes, fewer people think they have responsibilities to the other and we lose societal immunity.

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The Urgent Imperative of Moral Leadership

Powerful technological, political, social, and economic forces are reshaping the world faster than we are able to reliably adapt. More than ever, we rise or fall together.

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The Rise in Popularism

Why does it feel like so few leaders are capable of inspiring their people to meet the challenges of our day? There are many explanations for this global leadership deficit, but I’d focus on two: one generational, one technological.

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NEXUS: ISRAEL

Fireside Chat: The Urgent Imperative of Moral Leadership

Speakers: - Dov Seidman, Founder & Chairman – The HOW Institute for Society & LRN; Author – HOW - Zeev Klein, General Partner – Landmark Ventures

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Dreamforce

Inspirational Leadership in the Human Economy

Dov Seidman gives the keynote address at Salesforce exploring the imperative of living, working, and leading with morality in a world radically reshaped by the forces of technology.

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The Human Connection in the Virtual Workplace

The HOW Institute undertook the research to understand how human connection in the workplace has evolved since the onset of the pandemic. The Human Connection in the Virtual Workplace report found human connection was strained for all employees but for some more than others, particularly women and younger workers. Yet, the findings also showed workers feel more meaningfully connected when their supervisors exhibited and embodied behaviors and attributes associated with moral leadership.

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Why We Need Moral Leadership Now More than Ever?

Human systems can’t function without formal authority, whether it’s the President of the US, a CEO or a school principal, but what makes organizations really work is when leaders occupying those formal positions have moral authority too. While formal authority can be seized, won, or bestowed; moral authority must be earned by who you are and how you lead.

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The State of Moral Leadership in Business 2020

In addition to presenting The Institute’s definition of moral leadership, this report provides a wide variety of data on how moral leadership manifests in the business world today—the presence of moral behaviors among managers and executives, the demand that employees express for leaders with moral authority, and the variety of benefits that stem from moral leadership. The report also offers valuable advice to those who aspire to become moral leaders.

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UNGA

Courageous Leadership at UN75

Dov Seidman, founder and chairman of The HOW Institute for Society spoke at the opening session of the UNGA 75 Private Sector Forum on September 22, 2020. Dov shared his thoughts on what it means to lead with courage in our rapidly reshaped world.

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Reuters

The Exchange: Dov Seidman

Dov Seidman chats with Rob Cox to discuss the importance of moral leadership, an issue that has taken on increased importance during the Covid-19 crisis.

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Barron's

Americans Want to See Moral Leadership From CEOs in a Time of Crisis, Survey Says

American workers are looking for moral leadership in CEOs more than ever, according to a new survey, as the U.S. is confronted with the worst health crisis and economic downturn in decades, and widespread protests against racial inequality.

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Bloomberg

In Conversation With Dov Seidman

Dov Seidman sits down with Scaling Up Founder and CEO, Entrepreneurs’ Organization Founder and author Verne Harnish speaks at the Bloomberg Breakaway CEO Summit in New York.

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Investor's Business Daily

Inspirational Quotes

Inspirational quotes about gaining confidence in your skills, being honest with co-workers and embracing novel ways of thought.

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CNBC

Dov Seidman and Admiral James Stavridis at CNBC Evolve with Suzy Welch

Former admiral James Stavridis motivated and inspired thousands of sailors amid shifting tides; Dov Seidmen, the ‘CEO whisperer’ teaches the ‘how’ of innovation. They both are joined by Suzy Welch at CNBC Evolve talking about what makes great leaders, and what new skills are needed in today’s dynamic business environment.

Trust

Trust me, It’s Time to Fill the Certainty Gap

The global economy has been paralyzed by a widespread lack of certainty -- about the value of assets, the trustworthiness of borrowers and the outlook for the economy as a whole. I call this the Certainty Gap.

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Innovating with Purpose

In an age of breathtaking innovation, digital trust has taken a knocking. How can we innovate rapidly and responsibly? How do we protect workers from automation? We demystify the pursuit of innovation with purpose.

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Activist employees: A price worth paying

When employees go public with objections to the perceived moral shortcomings of their companies, most executives react with a sigh of relief — glad it wasn’t their company. In the past year, employees at organizations ranging from Google and Amazon to Deloitte and McKinsey have protested the handling of sexual harassment allegations and petitioned management to stop working with customers that they consider unethical, immoral, or damaging to society.

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Employees feel businesses are lacking moral leadership

"Who are America’s moral leaders?" USA Today asked in a recent headline. At a time when businesses are increasingly thrust to the forefront of complex issues such as racial bias, gender equity and privacy rights, an overwhelming majority of employees feel adrift. They do not believe their organizations are run by moral leaders.

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Four Ways to Become a Better Boss

The animating spirit of business has always been an ambition to do big things—to build something valuable, to solve a difficult problem, to provide a useful service, to explore the frontiers of human possibility.

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Leader to Leader

The Rise of the Human Economy

In the face of rampant technology and automation (including warnings about jobs being lost to robots), Seidman points out that we must cultivate trust, truth, values, passion, and other human-related qualities. He notes that numerous companies tout the word human in their slogans. In many cases, these companies do exemplify human-centered values. However, “though these efforts are likely earnest attempts to embody human values, companies get into trouble when they don't fully and completely instill these values in their organizations.” Citing the example of Nelson Mandela, Seidman writes: “When you demonstrate moral authority, people follow you not because they have to, but because they want to.”

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The HOW Report

Are the world views, frameworks, and tools that leaders use to chart their course sufficient to compete today and tomorrow? We believe the answer is “No.” Our conclusion is supported by the results from one of the most ambitious, long-term research projects in the fields of organizational effectiveness, behavior, and leadership. The HOW Report suggest a clear roadmap for how organizations can simultaneously build resilience and deliver growth in today’s global economy.

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To Build Trust in Business, Start with a Pause

Businesses of all kinds are mired in a crisis of trust. Whether it’s the exposure of embarrassing corporate details stemming from a hack initiated in Asia; the revelation that a company has systematically misled its customers, subverted regulators, or made unreliable claims to patients; the release of sensitive financial documents through WikiLeaks or the Panama…

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Starting with a Pause

People see that many of the companies where they have put their time, money, and faith are not actually working for them. Many employees and customers have adopted mistrust as a way of life, assuming that every big mainstream business will sooner or later fail to live up to their expectations.

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Why Trust Motivates More than Pay

Everyone knows that a workplace in which people feel appreciated and valued, with more autonomy, is a more pleasant place to work than one in which they don’t. What has been less certain is that workplaces with high trust and a strong culture actually do better as businesses.

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Why Trust Motivates Employees More than Pay

Everyone knows that a workplace in which people feel appreciated and valued, with more autonomy, is a more pleasant place to work than one in which they don’t. What has been less certain is that workplaces with high trust and a strong culture actually do better as businesses.

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We’ve Forgotten What Greatness Really Means

What, exactly, is “greatness”? This is a question very much worth asking. After all, if we’re going to aspire to greatness together, we should have a common understanding of what we’re talking about.

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The ultimate sign you’re working for a great company

Fortune’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list provides useful insights into how we collectively view corporate culture. Most of us flip through the pages or click through the screens hovering over pictures and blurbs highlighting gourmet chefs, nap rooms, yoga instructors and other signifiers of “great” workplaces.

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Measuring the Apology of the Atlanta Hawks

This is the fourth apology in our Apology Metrics series in which we present apologies for readers to assess. Our goal is not to evaluate apologies as theatrical performances but to evaluate the apologizer’s behavior over time to see whether there has been genuine change. The survey for this apology will be predictive rather than retrospective. We will follow up with a retrospective evaluation after at least a year.

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From the Knowledge Economy to the Human Economy

Over the course of the 20th century, the mature economies of the world evolved from being industrial economies to knowledge economies. Now we are at another watershed moment, transitioning to human economies—and the shift has profound implications for management.

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From the Knowledge Economy to the Human Economy

Over the course of the 20thcentury, the mature economies of the world evolved from being industrial economies to knowledgeeconomies. Now we are at another watershed moment, transitioning to human economies—and the shift has profound implications for management. What do I mean by the human economy? Economies get labeled according to the work people predominately do in them. The industrial economy…

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Measuring the Apology of Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia

This is the third apology in our Apology Metrics series in which we present apologies for readers to assess. Our goal is not to evaluate apologies as theatrical performances but to evaluate the apologizer’s behavior over time to see whether there has been genuine change. This time, we will look at the apology of Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister of Australia, to Australia’s indigenous community in 2008. With the benefit of six years of hindsight, we are in a much better position to judge the apology’s authenticity.

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Measuring the Apology of Network Rail in Britain

This is the second apology in our Apology Metrics series in which we present apologies for readers to assess. Our goal is not to evaluate apologies as theatrical performances but to evaluate the apologizer’s behavior over time to see whether there has been genuine change.

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The Transformative Power of Transparency

Doctors don’t traditionally apologize for medical errors; in fact, they usually don’t even disclose them. That is why I have long been interested in how the University of Michigan Health Systems has bucked tradition with its Michigan Model, a collaborative and transparent approach to patient safety and medical mistakes.

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Readers Get to Weigh In on Apologies

When Andrew Ross Sorkin and I came together to start “Apology Watch,” our goal was to elevate the conversation about authentic apologies. In that vein, we are introducing an “Apology Metric” survey to give readers an opportunity to share their insight.

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USSC

Testimony Before the U.S. Sentencing Commission

We are in troubling times for the business community, and your work is greatly appreciated by it. Trust of American business is at an exceedingly low level, perhaps the lowest since the Great Depression. The actions of a few, spectacular malfeasants have sullied the reputation of business as a whole and exposed the need for greater vigilance, and greater penalties for failures of compliance and ethics.

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Page

Page Society Annual Conference

Dov Seidman shares insights from his keynote speech at the Arthur W. Page Society's 2013 Annual Conference.

Trust

Seeking Better Returns: Staying True to ‘Corporate Character’ Means Realizing That Trust is Not Transactional

We are moving deeper into an era when consumers have unprecedented visibility into shop floors and board rooms, and that gives new relevance to a time-honored truth: Trust is not transactional.

Trust

Trust is a Drug

Neuroscientists have since proven that trust is akin to a drug literally because oxytocin is released in the brain when someone feels that someone is trusting them.

Trust

The Value of Creating Trust

How donut sellers in New York City, the rock band Radiohead and the country of Indonesia make breakthroughs by giving trust away.

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Global Ethics Forum

Ethics Matters

Leadership is going from being command-and-control to connect-and-collaborate; from inspecting for trust to giving it away; and from discussing success towards significance: "If we make a difference for our consumers, our people, and the world, success will find us."

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92Y

Thomas Friedman in Conversation with Dov Seidman

Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times Tom Friedman is the writer the public looks to for the straight talk and reliable information it needs about the world — especially when events seem too menacing to comprehend and policy discussions are clouded in a smokescreen of politics and posturing.

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Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute Holiday Reception How to Make the Most Out of 2016

Internationally-renowned author and New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, in conversation with Dov Seidman, author of Why How We Do Anything Means Everything. Thrive in 2016 by learning how the rules of the game have fundamentally changed in terms of how we do business and how we live our lives.