Values-based leadership is a management theory where employee and company behavior is based on the company’s stated values, which revolve around the company’s relationship with its customers, workforce, society, and the planet. It seeks to inspire the workforce and create a more efficient, effective, and productive business. However, it is often criticized for being dishonest and misleading if not scrupulously maintained by all levels of the company. Successful values-based leadership programs prioritize the well-being and dignity of employees and seek to unleash their full potential.
Values-based leadership is a theory of management in which employee and company behavior is based on the company’s stated values. Values may be different for every company, but they tend to revolve around the company’s relationship with its customers, its workforce, and with society and the planet. Many companies use values-based leadership as a means to inspire their workforce and create a more efficient, effective and productive business.
In a sense, values-based leadership is an emotional and psychological method of business management. The logical point of a business is to generate profits for owners and shareholders, but this concept may not instill workforce and motivation. Meeting problems or challenges with the maxim “we need to make more profit” can quickly make employees and customers feel like cogs in a machine, rather than valued employees in a company. Values-based leadership seeks to attract workers who agree with the mission and goals of the business while improving morale by focusing on core issues that are important to workers.
Creating the values upon which a leadership program will be based is an important step in the process. Leadership experts point out that a company’s core values must be timeless ideas that don’t melt and wane with fashion. Integrity is a very commonly used core value, meaning that the company and employees will act according to a corporate code of ethics. Superior service and customer relationships are another common and timeless goal. Other core values may include a mission to be a good corporate citizen, support research and innovation, and build professional trust in the workplace and with other companies.
While values-based leadership is quite common in the business world, it is often criticized as dishonest and even deliberately misleading. This cynicism is not always unwarranted, as a core value system will become worthless if it is not scrupulously maintained by all levels of the company. Integrity is often a critical part of a values statement because it’s so easily abused. Everyone, from the CEO down to supervisory staff, must be equally involved in maintaining a value system; uneven management of values-based leadership can quickly erode employee morale and respect.
Some experts suggest that the defining quality of a successful values-based leadership program is that the drive for profit and wealth is never anticipated to the well-being and dignity of employees. Values-based leaders tend to want their workers to be self-inspired to contribute their best, and they seek to achieve this effect by letting workers know they are valued and respected. By creating a mission values statement that employees agree is productive, noble, and valuable, values-focused leaders can help unleash how employees can reach their full potential.
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