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CHANGE IS HAPPENING

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IGNITING HUMAN POTENTIAL

You—and all people—were born with the extraordinary potential to make a positive difference in the world. Making a difference is a choice, a conscious choice that only you can make for yourself.

How you live your life is up to you. It's your move.

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WHAT IS VALUES BASED LEADERSHIP?

Values Based Leaders live, work and lead in alignment with their core values, beliefs and principles; igniting the human potential in themselves and those around them. Values Based Leadership is for anyone who wishes to live their life with purpose and make a positive difference in the world.

5 STEPS

OF VALUES BASED LEADERSHIP

AWARE
ALIGN
UNDERSTAND
ADAPT
ACT

AWARE

Know who you are, where you are and what's going on around you

Awareness is knowing who you are, recognizing how you are feeling and what you are thinking. It means understanding your core values and how they influence the way you live your life and the decisions you make. When you are aware, you pay attention to the situation you are in and who is around you. You remember your goals, in the moment and over time. And you pause before taking action.

Simple, not easy

It seems like a simple thing. But awareness takes hard work. And courage. It is a discipline that can be challenging, even painful at times, but ultimately rewarding. Awareness involves recognizing your strengths, your weaknesses and your stumbling blocks and looking inward to see if you are showing up the way you really want to. When you are aware of and act in alignment with your core values your effectiveness in influencing and impacting those around you increases dramatically.
ALIGN

Draw strength from your core values

When you are aligned, you recognize which values you are utilizing, what you are at risk of compromising and how your values are influencing your thoughts and feelings. You feel comfortable and confident in your relationships and decisions because you take strength from your core values. Alignment feels fluid and natural; and you are in prime position to unleash your potential.

Out of alignment

You’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if you are not acting in alignment with your core values. You won’t filter what you say, you won’t pause or process before acting and you’ll jump into situations without thinking. You’ll just feel “off” and others around you will recognize this as well. When you find yourself in this place, it’s time to go back and check your awareness.
UNDERSTAND

Learn what others think, feel, believe and need

Understanding involves being curious about other people’s thoughts, needs, beliefs and feelings. You do this before sharing your own thoughts. You ask questions, listen and observe those around you in order to make your conversations and actions purposeful.

Cultivating an others-orientation

Values Based Leaders find a balance between self and others by setting personal agendas aside. Understanding how to support the success of others requires self-control and a genuine others-orientation. This builds trust, loyalty and impactful relationships.
ADAPT

Modify your behavior for the situation and the person

Adapting means deciding to modify your behavior based on what you understand about the situation, others and about your own style and core values in a way that benefits others.

Being human

Being human means we are resistant to change, preferring to take the path of least resistance. But as a Values Based Leader, you often have to put yourself aside—or modify your behavior—in order to achieve an outcome that best supports the individual or the organization. There is no one leadership style that is better than another. Instead, adapting your personal preferences and adopting the right leadership style for each situation is what matters most.
ACT

Do the right thing for the right reason at the right time

When you act, you dynamically practice your awareness, alignment, understanding and adaption. You make informed, discerning choices that are effective both in the moment and over time. Choices that ignite your potential and the potential of others.

It begins with you

When you move through the steps from self-awareness to others-awareness you also realize you have the ability to impact those around you in a positive way. You believe everyone has the extraordinary potential to make a positive difference in the world. Your actions can ignite the potential of those around you, leave them neutral or douse their possibilities. It's your choice. It all begins with you.

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VALUES BASED LEADERSHIP AT WORK

Values Based Leadership at Work is a methodology that challenges organizations to develop a Mission, a set of Values and a Leadership Point of View and identify the aspirations of the culture and its embedded processes, models, tools and rituals. This methodology best ensures the alignment of the leaders’ values, principles and beliefs with those of the organization and charts a course for doing good (making a difference in the world) as the best path to doing well (extraordinary business performance).

STEPS FOR CREATING

A VALUES BASED CULTURE

MISSION
VALUES
LEADERSHIP/COMPETENCIES
CULTURE
MODELS & TOOLS
MEASURES OF SUCCESS

MISSION

A bold stretch statement that articulates how your organization wants to change the world, the difference you want to make and the impact you want to have.

What's your purpose?

Transforming your organization by identifying and adhering to a powerful mission provides purpose for your employees and customers. They understand where your company is going and why it exists. Your mission gives clarity for decision making, long-term strategic planning and communication. Your company and associates have a clear purpose to align around, work toward and get passionate about. Values Based Organizations develop a mission that leads with making a difference in the world, ultimately resulting in a strong business performance.
VALUES

Qualities or standards the organization considers non-negotiable imperatives that guide behaviors (thoughts, emotions and actions) and decision making.

A common language

Successful companies have strong alignment between their mission, culture and strategy. Culture and informal processes are intentionally managed and values provide a common language for communicating and managing expectations. Defining your organization’s values may take time; you need to consider the history of your company as well as the aspirations for your future. Your values should be the building blocks that help your organization remain true to its mission. But one thing is certain—to become a Values Based Organization, your values cannot just be words that hang on a wall. They must be embraced, nurtured, practiced and visibly alive.
LEADERSHIP Point of View & Critical Competencies

Point of View: The attitudes and beliefs about leadership that are most important to the organization. Clear expectations of leaders are identified so they can act in alignment with the mission and values.

Providing clarity

In a Values Based Organization, a clearly defined Leadership Point of View is essential because leaders, through upholding the company's core values, set the tone of the organization and serve as role models. Employees need to understand, believe in and align around the mission, as well as the organization's attitudes and beliefs about leadership. And leaders need to be highly aware that employees look to them for cues on appropriate actions and behaviors that the organization expects.
CULTURE

The values, attitudes, norms, customs and rituals that are shared by the individuals in an organization become the guidelines and rules by which the organization operates.

Bringing your culture to life

A Values Based culture is not created by accident and the journey to bring your culture to life doesn’t happen overnight. It is deliberately crafted and translated into tangible behaviors at all levels of the organization. Aligning on a desired culture is critical—it's the environment that surrounds you at work and often carries over to your personal life. It is a powerful element that shapes satisfaction, relationships, trust and ultimately the success of your mission and business performance.
MODELS & TOOLS

Programs (practical methods/skill sets) specifically designed to enhance an individual’s ability to effectively manage and develop themselves, others, teams and the organization toward a shared mission, values, strategies and objectives.

Implementing Values Based Leadership

There are hundreds of models and tools that your organization can use to put your Mission, Values, Leadership Point of View and Culture into action. The challenge is to identify which ones best support your organization and the needs, strengths and opportunities of your employees. Consider the importance of training, process alignment, accountability, stories and rituals and celebrating success when selecting and designing your Values Based Leadership implementation program.

CLICK HERE TO EXPLORE OUR TOOLS:
Core Values Exercise
MEASURES OF SUCCESS

Contracts for responsible parties that are the Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. These measures deliver results, which provide evidence of progress toward the mission, values, strategies and objectives of the organization.

Is it working?

Like Models & Tools, the most important part of this step is identifying the critical few measures that will help you manage your organization and give you and your employees feedback on progress. Measures of success should not be purely financial; they also need to measure how impactful your values, culture and leadership point of view are. Ultimately, these measures will inform you if your mission resonates with your employees, your customers and the lives you want to impact.