Are you clear about your values and that of your organization? The values of an organization develop very soon in the culture of any organization.
The very first assessment I make when coaching leaders or providing leadership consulting is to get clarity around values. What truly matters to leaders and the company.
Are you modeling the values of your organization?
How does a leader put values into action? What questions does a leader need to ask himself or herself to clarify what is needed to lead by, with, and through values? Here are three common sense leadership strategies to consider, adapted from the book Leading with Values by Bud Bilanich (2004):
1. Know your values: Develop a personal understanding of your organization’s values. Think about what the company’s values really mean to you and to your unique leadership style. You need to know which of your behaviors demonstrate those values.
If the business’ beliefs and principles don’t have meaning for you, you won’t be able to make them meaningful for anyone else. You must examine your own personal set of values and see how they mesh with the organization’s. In some cases they won’t. Very few people see their own personal set of values in terms of things like customer service or teamwork. However, the personal value of respecting others does fit in with these organizational values.
It is critical to make sure that shared values translate into behaved values. Study your organization’s values and determine how they apply to you and to the people you lead. Make sure that organizational and personal values are in sync with one another.
2. Walk your talk: Show people what the organizational values mean through your behaviors. People learn by observing their leaders. You must walk your talk. Bringing values to life is a behavioral issue. You are a role model for your people. Your values show up in four behaviors:
a. How you spend your time
b. Where you go
c. What you say
d. How you deal with problems and crises
Actions speak louder than words, and employees aren’t dumb. Most of your employees will follow your lead. Now, you can’t be perfect all of the time, and everyone has lapses. Make sure you admit aloud whenever you find yourself off track and in breach of values. When problems or crises catch you off balance, your immediate reaction might be contrary to your personal or organizational values system. But you can slow down, and ask yourself, “What guidance do our values provide for handling this situation?” You can make course corrections to demonstrate that you are concerned with doing the right thing in accordance with values.
Here are some important keys for walking your talk:
- Spend your time in a way that reflects your organization’s values.
- Get out of your office and interact with the people who work with you and for you.
- Watch what you say…or don’t say.
- When things get hot, slow down, stay calm, and use values as your guide.
3. Teach values to your people: You have to make it very clear that you expect your people to live by your organization’s values. You have to sell them on the importance of living the values; more than that, you have to teach them. One of the most effective ways to teach values is through asking questions. When you ask people what they value, and which organizational value they use most frequently, you are pointing them in the right direction. Asking questions helps people learn how to apply critical thinking skills on their own. It also helps people articulate what they already know.
What powerful questions regarding values can you ask the people in your organization
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