John Carreyrou is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose work exposed fraud at the blood testing startup, Theranos. He shares lessons from the Theranos saga about what drives dishonesty in business.

As part of our mission to inform, equip, and inspire values-based leaders, the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership and its Faculty Fellows stay on the lookout for new books. In our fifth annual list of Best Books for Ethical Leaders, we share ten books published during the 2021 calendar year that bridge the worlds of business and academia and provide practical insights that can help leaders live and work more ethically.

Christian Miller (ND PhD '04), director of the Honesty Project at Wake Forest University, shares advice on hiring honest employees and cultivating moral character with the help of exemplars, moral reminders, and self-awareness.

Cicero was right. Gratitude can aid you on your path toward becoming a better person.

A new study points to the power of speaking openly about the criticism you have received.

A new study reveals a link between unclear values statements and unethical behavior.

A new study shows why the idea that "nice guys finish last" is a harmful myth.

The "Great Resignation" is here: Employees are leaving their jobs in droves to find work that aligns with their passions. Organizations stand to benefit from this trend—but only if leaders appreciate the potential (and the pitfalls) of meaningful work.

A study shows how you can get in touch with your ideal leader self and turn your leadership aspirations into action—all while you drink your morning coffee.

For some leaders, leadership means "never having to say you're sorry." But new research suggests that they are overlooking the profound benefits a good apology has to offer.

Proven strategies for building trust are at your fingertips—even when your team members aren’t.

Failure can be a powerful source for learning, growth, and innovation. But in order to benefit from it, we have to learn to see it for what it is.

Better disagreements can lead to smarter decisions and closer connections. But first we need to approach dialogue more deliberately.

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) metrics have transformed the way many companies assess their impact. In this discussion, Amelia Miazad (Business and Society Institute, Berkeley Law) and Bill Kennedy (Fidelity) explain how ESG can help you combine purpose and profitability.

A connection to nature doesn't just calm your nerves. It cultivates your character as well.

Moral insights often arrive as suddenly and unexpectedly as lightning. But that doesn't mean we wait around for them to strike.

When it comes to building character and ethical cultures, stories aren't entertainment. They are essential.

Leaders who want to do the right thing can find help from an unlikely source: the imagination.

We can tell a better story about business. First, we need to recognize how cooperation—and not greed—makes business tick.

Being kind to yourself empowers you to grow and give.

The books listed here have helped us find a higher—and more hopeful—way of thinking during the pandemic. We know they can help you emerge from the mire of 2020 ready to lead your team into a better and brighter 2021.

In the midst of a crisis, gratitude can help you access the resources and support you need.

"Political sectarianism" hurts us all. Here’s how leaders can reignite connection, collaboration, and commitment.

New research suggests that to achieve the highest levels of performance, leaders need both character and competence.

Here's how a new research-based formula—generated with the help of machine learning—can keep conflicts from escalating out of control.

As a Senior Vice President at Walgreens, Randy Lewis bet his career on a plan to hire 200 people with disabilities to staff a brand new distribution center. Lewis's plan worked, and it taught him powerful lessons about using business as a tool to help others succeed.

Mutale Nkonde, CEO of AI for the People, shares her approach to advancing racial literacy in the tech industry.

Studies of hand washing hold powerful lessons about what it takes to motivate others to act ethically.

Tom Horton, former Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, explains how hiring for humility can help you create an ethical culture within your organization.

Use these research-based strategies to ensure that truth prevails in your organization.

Here’s why a “good vibes only” approach won’t help you navigate times of change.

In this video interview, Bethany McLean shares her insights on spotting fraudsters, avoiding short-termism, the difference between rules and principles, and the effect of social media on business transparency.
 

Here's how to avoid turning your moral talk into a "vanity project" and instead keep it focused on the people and the causes that matter most.

Why do we ignore information that could help us make better decisions?

Leading a remote team presents major challenges. But leaders who use the opportunity to encourage employees to be more authentic could reap surprising ethical benefits.

Focus on realism, social connection, and self-compassion to keep moral stress at bay.

New research provides a clearer picture than ever of the "gender punishment gap," and it offers practical suggestions for working to close it.

Deloitte US CEO Joe Ucuzoglu describes what it takes to lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

New research shows how leaders can signal moral humility and, in turn, positively influence their followers.

This week, as we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we consider what recent research on “ethical champions” can tell us about King’s call to become “creatively maladjusted” to the injustice around us.

This year we begin not just a new year, but a new decade. Here are four resolutions for making the most of 2020 by sharpening your vision as an ethical leader.

A new study provides an evidence-based answer to a timely—and timeless—question.

Tom Mendoza helped build NetApp from a startup into to a Fortune 500 company. In this interview, he shares insights he has gleaned along the way about what it takes to create an ethical corporate culture and lead during good times and bad.

For Baird Chairman Paul Purcell, values are the key to a high-performance, high-integrity corporate culture.

Most managers struggle to balance honesty with kindness. But research suggests the two may not conflict as often as we think.

Research shows that dishonesty takes a toll on our relationships by impairing our ability to read other people.

We often use carrots, sticks, and training to improve ethics. But we should not neglect the power of a simple question.

Experiences of awe can be rare, especially at work. But they come with a wide range of tangible benefits for ethical leadership.

On the surprising power of intellectual humility

Doing "whatever it takes to win" is not just unethical. It's also ineffective.

In this video, Jessica Rose, CFO and Director of Employee Ownership Programs at the Democracy Collaborative, explains how businesses can develop market-based solutions to income inequality.

A single dissenting voice can empower others to speak up and influence leaders.

In this interview, Virginia Eubanks, author of Automating Inequality, explores how we can design digital tools that uphold our values rather than undermine them.

New research lends support to the “pillow test”: Unethical behavior really does keep you up at night.

Take a tip from the pros: Adopt a ritual to trigger self-discipline.

Well begun is half done,” the saying goes. It applies not only to doing a task well, but also to doing it ethically. Each new beginning offers a key inflection point. Approach it the right way and you position your team or organization to do the right thing when the going gets tough. (And the going will get tough.) Here are four practices you can begin today that will help you lead ethically and authentically throughout the coming year.

Finding common ground begins with understanding the moral foundations that motivate other people.

We expect selfish people to have greater financial success. We’re wrong.

Leaders are missing out when they fail to say "Thank you."

In this interview, Mary Gentile offers key insights she has accrued over several decades of teaching business ethics both in universities and in businesses across the globe.

To make their behavior contagious, ethical leaders need to harness the power of "elevation."

The way you ask a question can shape another person's decision to lie or tell the truth.

Good leaders avoid anger. Great leaders get angry for the right reasons.

Your integrity is an asset. But it may cause your employees to feel that they can't speak up about what matters most. Here’s how to maintain your principles without silencing others.

Why does lying become easier and easier? Ask your amygdala.

By providing opportunities opportunities for learning, you can help your workforce become future proof and more ethical at the same time.

Asking "What could I do?" can shift you toward more creative, insightful solutions for your toughest ethical dilemmas.

When we consider one option at a time, we are more likely to make unethical decisions and fall prey to stereotypes. Placing options side-by-side prompts the reflective thinking needed to avoid these dangers.

Many of us fall prey to the illusion that we're morally superior to others. But a healthy dose of humility can help us become better, kinder people.

Your ability to see a vivid picture of your future self can help you make the right decision under pressure.

Nobel Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus explains how social business leads to "super-happiness," why it's important to think big and start small, and why we're all entrepreneurs.

Our inner "lawyer" often manipulates our ethical decision-making. Here’s how you can access your inner “judge.”

We make better decisions about the future than about the present. Why not “lock in” your future decisions now?

We're wired to avoid losses. You can promote ethical behavior by removing your "loss-frames" and using "gain-frames" instead.

Here's how to create an organizational culture that encourages employees to voice their concerns.

Too often, ethics trainings can be boring and ineffective. Storytelling can help—not just by keeping your participants awake, but also by helping them remember and act on what you teach.

Moral anger can give you the courage to stand up and speak out about what is right. Other forms of anger can harm you and your organization. Here's how to tell the difference.

Each day you face pressure to make high-quality, high-velocity decisions. Here's how to make sure your ethics are able to keep up.

Rethink, remind, and re-frame to get rid of grey areas and keep ethics front-and-center in the decisions you make.

New research on hedge fund managers and primate behavior reveals why collaboration can be your competitive advantage.

New research argues that feeling fake can lead to unethical behavior. Here’s how leaders can help their employees practice authenticity in the workplace.

Being cynical in your social interactions may seem like the safe approach—yet it can keep you from succeeding professionally and financially.

Setting goals is essential for driving performance, but goals can also drive unethical behavior. Here’s how you can avoid the dangers while sending the signals that promote both performance and an ethical culture.

In his career path from maritime lawyer to pharmaceuticals executive to CEO of the industrial manufacturer Magnetrol, John Heiser has observed leadership at its best and worst. In this series of videos, he shares key insights on how to make your business a force for good—not just for its employees, customers, and shareholders, but also for the broader communities in which it operates.

What is it like to blow the whistle on a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme? We asked Scott Noble to walk us through his experience as a whistleblower in a financial fraud case that led to the conviction and incarceration of his business associate, the owner of Samex Capital, Keenan Hauke. Scott stressed the importance of being proactive, finding moral clarity, and seeking allies to support your effort to do the right thing.

Erin Fitzgerald is on a mission to make the dairy industry a greater force for good. In this video series, Erin discusses how leaders can draw upon their personal values and foster collaboration to create a lasting positive impact.

Not all feedback is effective. If you want to drive sustainable employee performance and encourage ethical behavior, practice this mindset and these four strategies.

Protecting yourself from an unethical boss might be easier than you think. Just bring a moral “necklace of garlic” to work.

Companies spend billions of dollars on ethics training programs each year. But are they effective? Joan Dubinsky, former Chief Ethics Officer at the United Nations, offers insights on what causes an ethics training program to fail, and she suggests ways you can redesign your organization's program to create ethical leaders.

Integrity is the most-mentioned corporate value. But what is integrity, and how do we build it? Research suggests that when it comes to developing a reputation for integrity, small wins may actually matter more than grand commitments.

Does power corrupt? Not always. In fact, recent research suggests that we can change the way power affects us in order to help others and ourselves.

Millennials have been called the “job-hopping generation.” But research reveals that Millennials are loyal and engaged when companies offer them ways to grow and make a difference.

Generosity is a powerful—but often overlooked—strategy for building trust with strangers.

Focusing on long-term value creation is one of the best ways to lead ethically and build trust. In this series of videos Jean Bennington Sweeney, Chief Sustainability Officer at 3M, offers insights on making decisions for the long term good of people, profit, and the planet.

Gratitude can have a powerful impact on performance and wellbeing in the workplace—so what holds us back from giving and receiving it?

Exceeding expectations is a good thing. But according to new research, it comes with added temptations. Here's what to do when the pressure is on.

The corporate world has many mechanisms in place to prevent, assess, and address ethical violations in the workplace. But do these mechanisms really meet the needs of an employee facing an ethical dilemma? At our 5th Annual Forum in Chicago, we dove into the innovative field of design thinking in search of an answer.

Susan Ochs describes her take on organizational behavior, culture, and how to affect employee mindsets. From her extensive research and experience in the corporate world, she posits that the mental models and assumptions of employees have a crucial yet often overlooked role in culture management.

Tom Linebarger gives his insight into dealing with difficult decisions. He offers a practical, simple approach to making the right call -- even when it feels like there is no right answer.