Values-based Leadership focuses on a community’s shared values and works based on the fundamental principle that people are motivated and live according to their beliefs. These shared values give workforces shared clarity, provide consistent cohesiveness and ultimately create a positive and supportive environment to encourage the team to express their best selves. Values-based Leadership identifies what is essential to the team. It provides a laser-like operational focus for mutual success by creating an organisational culture of mutual respect, fairness and trust. Values-based Leaders promote open and transparent communication and consistently base their decisions upon understandings which do not compromise the group’s aligned and agreed beliefs.
When describing a Values-based Leader, we portray someone who leads with integrity, is honest and ethical, inspires others to reach their full potential and is not afraid to be collaborative. They lead from a place of mutual respect, regardless of their position or status. They come from a place of equality, encourage a climate of diversity of thinking and understand the utility of varied and different perspectives. Values-based Leaders are acutely aware that leadership starts from within and consequently use their personal beliefs as the guiding force to create a healthy company culture.
When we have leaders that believe in their people, wonderful things happen. Organisations benefit from open communication, increased productivity, building more substantial and meaningful relationships. Such an environment motivates people to do their best work and collaboration becomes commonplace. In addition, shared purpose fosters teamwork and enhances performance. Leading with clear principles transforms organisational culture, creating a ‘truly lived’ environment so that people feel valued and respected in times of rapid change and become more trusting of the decisions made.
In a time of values confusion, organisations must begin to look closely at how they can better articulate and live out their mission and their core beliefs. This situation means that organisations rely heavily on their leaders to be able to expound shared moral ideals, and maintaining this stand is not easy. It must be recognised that Values-based Leadership is an evolving process, and can manifest modifications as leaders search within themselves to modulate their own biases, endeavour to become better listeners and share their beliefs more openly. Values-based Leaders must strive to develop the ability to scaffold working relationships that build trust, which is a skill which comes with maturity and experience. As a consequence of this developmental prerequisite, organisations must also play their role in supporting leaders by encouraging them to move away from transactional, incidental and unintended interactions through the reinforcing and rewarding of purposeful practice.
