Values Based Leadership

Values Based Leadership requires leaders to be courageous. There can be difficult decisions to be made, well entrenched beliefs to be challenged and leadership behaviours to be changed when following a values-based approach. This does not always promise an easy route for leaders and taking these decisions requires courage. The military is an example of an organisation where values form an intrinsic element of leadership and leadership delivery.

Clausewitz is one of the foremost military influences on the art of war and today remains a highly acclaimed scholar within the military community.  He still features at the centre of many military debates on strategy and warfare and is a vehicle to develop commanders and leaders of tomorrow.  It is therefore extremely significant that he harbours such concerns on theory; Clausewitz cautions against adherence to fixed theories as every case needs to be considered afresh to the situation.  Reiterated from the introduction; he states that theory is the servant of practice; leaders need to be flexible enough not to rely on fixed theory (Howard 2002).

The quote, simple and noteworthy highlights one of the fallibility’s of change, the moral component, the need for empowerment, a shared vision and unity.  Without thorough understanding change will always experience friction, as Kotter (1996) highlights transformation will require to empower the employee. The concept of Values Based Leadership is intrinsically linked to the internalisation of the a set of values. Essentially internalising the values will empower the individual and create a greater comprehension of how to behave and accepted behaviour.  It can therefore be assumed that Values Based Leadership although underpinned by transactional and transformational leadership (Bass Bass & Riggio 2006, Bass 1998) relies ultimately on the leader and the follower having a greater understanding and application of the values.

There are a number of other factors need to be in place to bring Values Based Leadership to life. To test these factors we need to ask three important questions of leaders.

Firstly, are they willing to learn? Leading Values Based organisations is a dynamic process and one that requires people to constantly be learning and evolving their thinking.

Secondly, do they want to lead? Often people find themselves in a leadership position by default without really considering whether they want the responsibility. At the core of Values Based Leadership are leaders who relish the challenge and the responsibility of leadership.

Finally, are they able to deal with the change and ambiguity that exists in organisations in the 21st Century? And do they have the skills and knowledge to lead in an ever changing environment without being overwhelmed by the complexities of leadership?

Values Based Leadership gives leaders and organisations the flexibility to lead through ambiguity and change. When these factors are in place we believe that the three dimensions of Values Based Leadership come together in a powerful way to lead organsations.

 Leading Self - Leading Others - Leading the Organisation

The interconnection of these three dimensions is the critical factor. By understanding the inter-relationship between the dimensions and having all three covered, you can gain the dynamics and power of Values Based Leadership. So, having a strong set of personal values but not living the organisation's values will create a divide within yourself, and others will see this. Having a strong and successful team and leading that team well, but not understanding the purpose of your organisation will develop a rift between what you and your team are actively doing and what the organisation thinks it is doing. However, when all three dimensions collaborate this leads to…

Sustainability – a sustainable and dynamic organisational culture that has the agility to change and create long term repeatable success

The emotional connection and engagement of both employees and customers with the organisation

Organisational agility – the ability of the whole organisation to be responsive and adapt to the changing environment within which it operates

Authentic Leadership – Values Based Leadership wins the trust, respect and confidence of the people in the organisation

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Some great books on the mater of VBL.