Leadership has evolved over the last several decades as the baby-boomer generation moves out of the workforce and is replaced by Generation Y. Where leaders used to be able to give directives and get compliance without question, increasingly today workers want to understand the reasons behind the directive, want to be part of the decision-making process, and want to know the value that their contribution brings to the whole. As a result, positional leadership has become less effective, and leaders today need to have more and more tools in their toolbox to customize to the situation and maximize their influence.
More than ever before, employees want to understand the company’s values as well as the values of their leaders. These values aren’t just something to put on a PowerPoint slide or to use as a promotional tool with your clients. They shouldn’t be aspirational, but rather should be part of the fabric of your culture, guiding us as leaders in our priorities, decision-making, and our interactions with employees and clients. It is up to each individual leader in your company to understand and internalize the values so that they show through in your actions and interactions. If you don’t, those on your teams will recognize the hypocrisy and will start to “check out”.
Beyond the corporate values, people on your teams need to understand what your values are. They shouldn’t be inconsistent with the corporate values, but they also should be tailored to your team and situation. Each member of each team needs to understand what the values mean for them, and you may have additional or more detailed values within your group.
Leaders who don’t have clear values are likely to change their position with each new fad or situation. They become inconsistent with shifting positions, generate confusion instead of clarity, and create a climate that fosters unproductive politics instead of clear guidelines. Values serve as a guide or rudder to steer the leader and provide clarity of direction to the followers. Values don’t just support the culture, they define it.
In addition, if leaders aren’t clear about the values for their teams, people will interpret them for themselves based on what they think the leader values, or worse, what is in their self-interest. In general, people want to act in ways that please their leaders and improve their standing in the company, so communicating your values becomes critical to helping them do that. And then communicate those values again, and again, and again.
If you want to know how you are doing in the area of communicating your values, ask the people on your team what they think your values are. You may want to call them “hot buttons” or simply ask “what do you think is important to me”. If the answers lack consistency, then the onus is on you as the leader to create that consistency by communicating your values. I often ask these questions when I visit plants. In some cases, employees can communicate the values clearly and consistently. In other cases, they either can’t communicate the values or the responses aren’t consistent. Invariably, there is some direct correlation to plant culture and performance. Where teams don’t know what the leader values or expects, they struggle with consistency in actions, decision-making, and how they treat each other and the client.
Creating clarity around values and leading with those values is not necessarily difficult. Yet it is one of the most important and neglected responsibilities of the leader. Make sure you have defined your values and communicate them regularly with your team. Lead with values.