On the ethical dimension of organisational life, where most decisions are made long before anyone gets around to calling them moral.
20 essays
Australia already has the machinery for real accountability—Hayne's findings, the Financial Accountability Regime's own published design, et al. What it lacks is the will to switch it on, because the people who can are the very people it would bind. On the law we possess but struggle to use.
The demand to measure the return on our ethics is not a problem to be solved but a symptom to be read. On why pricing virtue corrupts it—and why a firm that can measure the return on its integrity has already begun to spend it.
What separates a commitment from a preference? A preference is what an organisation would like to do. A commitment is what it has arranged to be unable to stop doing.
In an age when machines can mimic thought, the real question is who stands behind the words. A reflection on authorship, judgement, and the human presence that gives writing its authority.
AI models mirror WEIRD cultural norms while claiming universality. Alignment methods reinforce this bias, projecting one community’s “common sense” as global truth. Recognising plurality through Wittgenstein’s language-games and Popper’s falsification reframes alignment as provisional and adaptive,
AI's fluency enchants, eroding the old signals of competence and authority. The danger is that trust becomes a machine illusion. Leaders must refuse the managerial shortcut and practise noble language—reasoned, responsible speech—to keep trust a human achievement.
Assuming others see you as ethical because you believe yourself to be is a critical leadership error. Ethical leadership requires visible modelling, intentional communication, and alignment between actions and values. Without this, leaders appear ethically neutral—creating distrust, disengagement, a
Toxic leaders flourish not from malice alone but organisational complicity. Their actions breed employee burnout, counterproductive behaviour, and pervasive cynicism, eroding psychological safety and innovation. Addressing toxicity demands ethical leadership development, genuine psychological safety
Advances in LLMs show promise, but token bias undermines their logical reliability. Small input shifts can distort outputs, posing risks in fields like medicine, law, and policy. Their dependence on pattern recognition over true reasoning demands closer scrutiny and better design.
Leadership in the digital age requires balancing timeless qualities—wisdom, courage, empathy—with responsible use of technology. AI and data should support, not replace, ethical judgment and emotional intelligence as leaders guide people toward shared goals.
Inclusive leadership goes beyond DEI by creating cultures where difference is valued and people are empowered. Grounded in empathy and practical wisdom, it avoids tokenism through transparency, mentorship, and dialogue. Used carefully, humour can strengthen inclusion and trust.
Successful DEI comes down to balance—ensuring that belief doesn't descend into ideology. A process that is founded on the bedrock of psychological safety.
Because being off the grid is next to impossible in many societies, it is tempting to give up and proclaim 'I have nothing to hide'.
As Apple's privacy respecting posture gives way to the pull of marketing dollars through making user data the product, their third way begins to fall short.
You can join me in camp confusion or post using or not using CWs with a certainty that would make a prophet blush.