Values based leadership means to lead by connecting and aligning organisational values to each individual employees personal values.
As a Workplace Culture Coach and Trainer, I work with leaders of businesses to support companies to build values-based workplace cultures. The first task to accomplish is to work with the owner to clearly identify their core values for the company.
Once this is achieved, we then facilitate a process for each employee to identify their own personal core values as well as the values that they would like to have for the company as a whole. This process enables staff to connect with their values and to ensure that their values are in alignment with the company’s values.
Case Study: Vocus Group Values
Here is a slightly cheeky example of Company Group Values for a company called VOCUS.
Source: https://www.vocus.com.au/about-vocus/our-values
As you can see this is a very simple, fun and effective way to document and share their company values.
Values in Action: Establishing Agreement to Behaviours that Support the Values
Now that you have a clearer picture on values, we can now begin to establish agreement on the specific behaviours that will reflect these values in everyday interactions and tasks.
Staff have a voice to share their thoughts on the kind of workplace they want and the way want to be treated at work.
It is at this stage that we run values workshops which are a key element of the process of helping staff create boundaries for “the way we do things around here”.
To be more specific, it is the broader employee group that together creates the list of what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, based on the core values that everyone had agreed to.
Having participated in creating these parameters, staff are far more willing to engage in this style of workplace culture.
A Tool to Help You Stay True to Your Values
A practical tool that you can use to help you step into the values based leadership space, is called Choice Point. This is a very simple and effective tool I use to help me stay true to my core values.
Let’s say that the pressure is on at work and I need something done urgently and I am not getting the support I need from the people who can help.
If I were to simply react out of my frustration, I would most likely speak very abrasively to that person in an attempt to get them to take action.
But is this behaviour in alignment with my values?
Is this how I would like to be treated if I were on the receiving end?
This tool can help you to stand back and become an observer of yourself.
Imagine standing at this choice point and asking yourself the following questions:
- Is my behavior going to move me toward or away from my values, from what is important and meaningful to my life?
- Will I feel proud of my actions at the end of the day?
If you are a leader in your organisation and you want your team to treat each other well, then you need to lead by example in the way you speak and act.
Becoming aware of your core values is a very good place to start.
