ESG and the Risk of Moral Licensing

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One study on consumer behavior suggested that shoppers who brought their own bags felt licensed to buy more junk food. We are entering an era of unprecedented Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) imperatives, which will hopefully…

An MIT Researcher Watched a Hospital Experiment with Shared Leadership

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Workers with little power are often at the mercy of more senior employees who benefit from newly introduced tech and pay little mind to how it affects others.  The social psychologist Debra Mashek, a self-styled “collaboration maven,”…

Good Risk Culture Starts with an Open Conversation

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"The pandemic certainly has awakened many people to the importance of explicitly reckoning with risk," says Michele Wucker, author of the new book You Are What You Risk. One of the riskiest decisions in my life, I still tend to think, was…

The Science of Collaborating Effectively: A Conversation with Debra Mashek

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Listen to "#28 - The Science of Collaborating Effectively: A Conversation with Dr Debra Mashek" on Spreaker. In this episode of the Breaking the Fever podcast, we speak with Debra Mashek about how true collaboration emerges within and between…

What Frogs in Hot Water Can Teach Us About Thinking Again

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIlgTBmiov0 In this Ted talk, Ethical Systems collaborator Adam Grant discusses biases that prevent us from changing course, like doubling down on a commitment to show others, or perhaps ourselves, that…

The Tricky Role of Loyalty at Work

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The downsides of fostering loyalty don't mean that promoting loyalty is too dangerous. But leaders should proceed with caution. It’s fair to say that, overall, organizations can benefit from loyal employees. Loyal employees stay with their…

What Social Media Is Doing to Us

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFBkkL9hkHE&t=228s In this video, produced by the Strand Book Store in New York City, Jon Haidt speaks with Chris Bail, author of Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing,…

Why Promotion Is a Moral Hazard

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"When leaders very publicly fail due to ethical lapses, some people are inclined to say, 'See, that’s just how business is,' instead of learning a more inspiring lesson." Jessica Kennedy gets frustrated when people—often academics—try…

Why Do We Always Think We’re Right? A Conversation with Jon Haidt

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In this episode of The Good Fight podcast, host Yascha Mounk speaks with Ethical Systems Founding Director Jonathan Haidt about the psychological differences between the political left and right, the human tendency to discriminate in…

Why Some Americans Don’t Believe the Election Results

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When we care deeply about an issue and get an unfavorable outcome, we question the process used to make the decision. The electoral votes have confirmed Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election. The presidential electors…