Terry Newell is currently director of his own firm, Leadership for a Responsible Society. His work focuses on values-based leadership, ethics, and decision making. A former Air Force officer, Terry also previously served as Director of the Horace Mann Learning Center, the training arm of the U.S. Department of Education, and as Dean of Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute. Terry is co-editor and author of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships That Make Government Work (CQ Press, 2011). He also wrote Statesmanship, Character and Leadership in America (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and To Serve with Honor: Doing the Right Thing in Government (Loftlands Press 2015).
In 2010, Umpire Jim Joyce made a wrong call and cast Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game. What they both did next displayed exceptional character.
Using an analogy to make or defend a decision is an attractive device but risks several pitfalls in thinking.
American democracy is threatened not by some foreign power but by our inability to grapple with internal threats.
Growing up poor in the Jim Crow South, Mary McLeod Bethune was determined to learn and advance the education of her race. Education for her and millions she helped became a path to realizing America’s promise..
Our fathers have stories of their lives they may never share. If we ask them to do so, we may appreciate them even more - and get to thank them for the example they set.
We crave social connection. It’s good for our mental and physical health. Its absence produces loneliness and disease.
The way we think about stopping mass shootings isn’t working. Seven common thinking traps must be overcome.
Pete Seeger showed the power of personal example and song to support change in America.
In rushing to help Ukraine defend itself, we must also ask important questions to ensure that laudable goal does not lead to a much wider war.
We do not need to be fooled by fake news. There are websites and thinking tools that help us spot it.
False information spreads rapidly in the digit age - and we often don’t know we’re spreading it.
A democratic society depends on a moral attachment to the rule of law and an insistence on blind justice.
In deftly putting down a conspiracy of his officers, Washington preserved the honor of the military and its subordination to civilian rule.
The framers of the Constitution didn’t invite everyone into the body politic, but their document has, over the course of American history, promoted a more inclusive society.
Moral crusaders should consider all the ethical implications of the changes they seek.
We may never render some great service to humanity, but the way we live our lives can foster justice and joy in our world.
Decades after emancipation, thousands of African Americans were forced back into slavery in the South. Warren Reese, Jr. , against great odds, sought to free them.
Our opinions on public issues are often shaped by “experts.” But are they really expert? How can we know?
Good political arguments are essential in a democracy. Too many Americans don’t have the skills needed.
When we acknowledge that animals think and feel, we must face a number of moral and practical questions. A court case looms testing how much an animal is a “person” under the law.
