Applying Values-based Leadership

Leaders who know and are able to articulate the values of an organisation can be more influential within the ecosystem of that organisation. They need to be able to identify value aligned behaviours, to be willing to ‘catch’ employees living the values, to celebrate this, to be ready to point out when values are not aligned with behaviours, and to be willing to address such situations.

If you have a value that is about respect and appreciation, consider whether this is reflected in behaviours but also in structures. Questions might include who has access to what? Who influences change? Who gets paid what? Are the lowest paid workers really of such low value to the company compared to the highest paid?

You, as leaders, cannot influence the whole of the organisation, but you can certainly exert influence through the behaviours you ignore or condone, the actions and behaviours that you model with your teams, and with other teams in your organisation.

Implementation Ideas

• Know your organisation’s values and be able to identify what each looks like behaviourally:
  • Catch people whose behaviour is aligned with the values and acknowledge and celebrate that effort
  • Be curious about deviation from the values. Talk with the employee about the behaviour that you’ve noticed and ask them if there’s a reason that their behaviour isn’t aligned with the values?
• Learn whether your employees know the organisation’s values. If not, at each team meeting ask them to identify behaviours associated with one value and discuss what it looks like when it is enacted, and when it isn’t
• Review your recruitment, promotion and performance development processes and ensure that your values are built into these processes:
  • Are these processes focused only on technical skills or also on values-based behaviours?