This piece is inspired by and references the article “How to Approach Business Ethics as Global Consensus Breaks Down” by Richard Bistrong and Anna Romberg (HBR, March 2025).
The rules of global business are changing. And not all at once.
Right now, we’re watching a breakdown in the global consensus around business ethics—from anti-bribery enforcement to DEI commitments to human rights. For leaders managing teams or client relationships across countries, and even across state lines, the ground beneath them feels increasingly fractured.
And when certainty dissolves, we’re left with the only thing we can truly rely on: our values.
At Leverage to Lead, we don’t believe values are soft ideals. They’re directional tools—structural, operational, and essential for navigating complexity. As Bistrong and Romberg write, “Ethics is not an answer, but a series of challenging conversations.” The challenge for leaders isn’t finding the “right” answer in every country or region. It’s being grounded enough to move with integrity across difference, complexity, and conflict.
Navigating Without a Playbook
We often work with leaders who are responsible for national and global teams. These leaders aren’t just managing timezone logistics or cultural holidays—they’re contending with competing policies, divergent labor laws, and increasing political tensions. And while technical knowledge matters, what we see over and over is that a team’s ability to work through those tensions depends on something deeper: clarity of values, consistency of systems, and the psychological safety to engage.
When there’s no single policy or law that guides your decision-making—when the regulation in one country conflicts with the expectation in another—your values are the only compass you have. But that’s only useful if your values are real, known, and shared.
Making the Invisible Visible (Across Borders)
One of the most urgent leadership skills right now is the ability to make the invisible visible. That means naming the tensions your team feels but hasn’t spoken aloud. It means defining your expectations with specificity, not abstraction. It means treating your values not as branding language, but as the criteria for how decisions are made—especially in moments of ambiguity.
For example, many organizations state values like “respect” or “collaboration.” But without active engagement—without practices to pressure-test what those values look like across cultures—those words risk becoming what Bistrong and Romberg call “wall values.” Decorative, performative, and ultimately useless in the face of uncertainty.
Instead, we support leaders in creating the conditions for real conversations—where nuance is welcomed, dissent is normalized, and values are made visible through how decisions are discussed, debated, and enacted.
Friction is Not a Flaw
In any organization, friction isn’t failure—it’s inevitable. The leaders we support aren’t trying to eliminate friction, but to work with it skillfully. When your values are clear and your systems are consistent, friction can be constructive. It can deepen understanding, spark connection, and clarify what really matters.
But without shared values, that same friction quickly turns toxic. When expectations are unclear or constantly shifting based on what will reduce risk or appease a powerful stakeholder, employees will fill in the gaps—with assumptions, disengagement, or even shame.
That’s why we help organizations develop systems that support values in action: onboarding processes that clarify how power is shared; performance frameworks that evaluate relational dynamics, not just outcomes; decision-making protocols that reflect collective priorities, not individual politics.
Your Values Are Your Stability
When the global consensus breaks down, your values become your throughline.
They keep your people grounded. They offer clarity in moments of contradiction. They build trust across continents, departments, and leadership teams.
Ethical decision-making isn’t a compliance checklist—it’s a cultural practice. And while that might feel daunting, it’s also where hope lives: in the knowledge that stability doesn’t have to come from uniformity. It can come from shared humanity, committed leadership, and values that are practiced—not just posted.