What is it about leadership that inspires us?

Leadership can turn breakdowns into breakthroughs. It is a lifelong pursuit of personal and professional growth to develop the beliefs, attributes and skills to have a positive impact in a constantly changing world.

Gael O’Brien writes about leaders — how they build or lose trust and reputation — and what we can learn from them.

Entrepreneur Magazine

In the February 2013 issue, Entrepreneur Magazine launched “The Ethics Coach,” a monthly column in which Gael responds to readers’ questions about ethical dilemmas, managing trust, and protecting reputation.

The Week in Ethics

The Week in Ethics has an international readership of companies, universities, ethics centers, and those interested in leadership and ethical issues in business, higher education, sports, and politics.

As a result of columns Gael has written about Penn State’s crisis, she was interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio about the Freeh report investigation of Penn State and steps the university needed to take to change its culture and improve trust.

Business Ethics Magazine

As a monthly columnist for Business Ethics Magazine, Gael writes about ways leaders gain and lose trust and reputation, gender diversity in leadership, sustainability, and the impact on culture of leaders addressing values and purpose.

Stepping Stones to Success (ISBN 978-1-60013-443-2)

You can download (at right) the chapter on ethical leadership that Gael wrote in Stepping Stones to Success. And, if you want to have the value of the entire book, and read Gael’s chapter with those of co-authors Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, Denis Waitley and others, you can purchase the book below.

Gael demystifies ethical leadership, providing examples of how leaders find their voice, strengthen credibility, build or lose reputation, mitigate a crisis, and transform a work culture. She draws on examples from Mitsubishi Motors, Alcoa, and several other companies.

She identifies 10 leadership and communication strategies to help leaders prevent problems from escalating into crises, offering an effective way to manage the reputation asset of the company.

Stepping Stones to Success is a must read book for those who want to learn from some of the most knowledgeable and innovative thinkers about strategies for mastering business and life. Canfield, Chopra, O’Brien, Waitley, and the other 16 authors focus on ideas and approaches — addressing the mental, spiritual, emotional and systems aspects of leadership — to foster business success.

Articles

“A Place at the Table: Should the Ethics Function Report to a Company’s Highest Authority?” Report A-O254-08 Executive Action Series, The Conference Board, January 2008.