Great leaders inform their decisions based on clearly articulated values. They teach employees to align their actions with organizational values especially in difficult times.
The most important initial work I do when coaching clients is provide an exercise for clarifying values. Leaders find that an understanding of their values and that of the organization provides an inner compass for decision-making.
Are you clear about your values and those of your organization? Are the sets of values aligned?
As a leader, you must never lose focus on values. There is always a value present whatever the situation, even when it is buried under detail work, financial data, or other seemingly ordinary tasks. Look for the value. Point it out and remind people how their work is an important expression of values in action. It is your job as a leader to constantly teach, recognize, reward, and help employees make course corrections where necessary.
Every member of your workforce is responsible for values-driven business practices, but they look to you, the leader, for living examples of how the values translate into action. You set the tone. When you take a cavalier approach to values or lose sight of them—even if temporarily—you give your team members permission to do the same. When you refuse to give in to pressures and obstacles and remind everyone of the important values at stake, your people will have an excellent model to follow.
The greatest challenges leaders in top positions face are ethical dilemmas—for example, questions of choosing between long-term and short-term gains. It is often a problem of choosing between right and right. There are no easy answers to some business problems. Using values will help you to be clear and decisive.
How do your values inform your business decisions?
Comments