The Values of “Insightfully Aware” Leaders
The ability to identify and communicate values is critical to self-awareness and leadership development.
Values
are the principles and standards that motivate us in life. They are
our basic convictions; our belief that tells us what is right, good,
or worthy. They guide our thinking and actions like an internal
compass.
Values
serve as standards through which all decisions are assessed. They are
the “givens” that map out the choices before and during the
decision-making process. They are with us throughout the journey of
leadership.
Most
people have an idea about what they value, although the reasons
behind their values are not always clear. By really knowing and
articulating our values, we gain deep insights into our behaviours,
the way we interact with others, and the lenses through which we make
our decisions.
Exploring
values forms a critical basis for self-awareness – which is
essential for leadership success. Understanding values is a key
element of what I describe as, “insightfully aware leadership”.
Understanding
Values
By
identifying our own individual set of values – whether personal,
work or organisational – we can better recognise and accomplish the
goals that are truly important.
Although values are abstract (such as trust, respect, integrity, achievement, making a difference and so forth) they are witnessed through our concrete behaviours and actions.
Studies
show that values impact employee satisfaction, commitment,
productivity and performance. Values influence perceptions of
satisfaction with leaders – and intentions to stay or leave.
Values affect organisational behaviour, ethics and citizenship. In a
work scenario, successful leaders need to communicate, define and
role-model shared values with others, to create a cohesive team
striving for a common purpose.
Given
the important impact that values have in all areas of our life, it is
crucial to understand exactly what they are, how they operate, and
what influences them.
In
extensive research with my INSEAD colleague, Dr. Samah Shaffakat, we
developed an integrated model of the “Personal Values System”.
This
builds on the leading values theories proposed by more than twenty
different scholars in academic research during the past four decades.
In
particular, we expanded on the work of social psychologist and
cross-cultural researcher, Shalom Schwartz. He specifies values as
voluntarily enduring standards or benchmarks that provide the
stability needed for social interaction and group survival. His model
identified 10 value types:
self-direction,
stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, security, conformity,
tradition, benevolence, and universalism.
Through
our research, we added another two: ethical
judgment and
highly
abstract such
as ‘ultimate happiness’ or ‘bliss’ that is the person’s
inner state when their other values are satisfied). Both the Schwartz
model, and our “personal values system”, place these 12 values
types in a circle and acknowledge that relationships – both
compatibility and conflict – can exist between different values we
hold.
Within
our personal values system there is a hierarchy. Values people
identify as being most important are ranked at the top, forming their
“core” values. While our values (and their hierarchical position)
may change, they are relatively stable and shape the perceptions,
attitudes and behaviour we carry through all aspects of life.
Values
develop initially through one’s upbringing, and social
conditioning. Other sources that develop our values include:
personality, national culture, gender, religion, age cohorts and
adult life stages. Although our values system tends to remain stable
over time, it can change with the impact of major life events and
stages.
Personal
values relate directly to work and organisational settings.
This is why the capacity to understand values is of critical
importance in leadership development and business performance.
Individual
values and organisational values are linked through the idea of
work-value compatibility and conflict – impacting behaviours and
organisational functioning. For example, when leaders and
organisations clearly define and live their values, it is easy to
translate workplace expectations for dealing with customers,
employees’ roles, and tasks.
When
we understand our organisation’s values and direction we can test
whether these resonate with our own personal values system. Sometimes
our personal values and organisation’s values are not aligned. This
“work-values conflict” tends to lead to negative behaviours,
marked by frustration, disengagement, and poor performance.
Organisations
are becoming increasingly focused on values and their impact on
ethicality in operating within global business. However, the reality
is that more attention is placed on ethics education and training
that emphasises regulations and compliance, rather than engaging and
sharing values. This is a shame, as studies show that sharing
organisational values clearly affects the way tasks are carried out,
and when clearly defined, leads to improved individual and
organisational performance and ethicality.
When
values are understood and communicated, much more transparent
conversations can occur for leaders and managers. These include
discussing the dilemmas they face, and feedback from peers about the
consequences of decisions and actions.
From
an individual perspective, having clear and conscious values is a key
element of “insightfully aware leadership”. It helps executives
to increase openness and better understand [one]self, others and
situations. Values are central to “authentic” leadership, where
the leader is deeply aware of how he or she thinks and behaves, and
is perceived as being aware, of his or her own and others, values and
strengths.
An
“insightfully aware” leader has a profound and clear
understanding of his or her purpose and the reasons behind it.
Self-awareness of values helps leaders to reflect upon their
emotions, goals, needs and motives. Individuals who are able to
identify and articulate their values will generate meaningful
insights about how they see themselves, the circumstances they face,
the behaviours they display, and their potential reactions to
specific situations. Comprehending their values (personal, work and
organisational) enables leaders to know and accomplish what they
believe is important.
As
such, values exploration holds an important place in any leadership
development initiative, be that coaching, leadership training,
executive education courses, or reflection activities. For example,
this is one element of the Advanced Management Programme. Here,
understanding values helps senior executives to develop profound
insights about their “strengths, weaknesses, drivers and blockers”
as leaders.
Once
armed with deep knowledge of who they are, and what they can be, a
transformative blueprint for effective personal leadership and
development can be created and implemented.
In
work and life, self-aware leaders make tough decisions that will be
guided by core values.
One
very simple way people can start the journey of thinking more deeply
about their values is to remember some specific moments of success,
fulfillment, anger and frustration in their personal and professional
life. Then reflect on what values were present in these. Try
articulating these values and see what insights are generated.
Ian C. Woodward, INSEAD Affiliate Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Programme Director of the INSEAD Advanced Management Programme
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