The idea is that the leader has a well-developed character that establishes an environment of mutual respect, fairness, and trust, at a minimum. VBL serves as the guiding force to create a healthy company culture. It all starts with the leader.
Here are a few key highlights for anyone considering a VBL model for an organization.
Attributes of values-based leadership
Four basic attributes create the character of a values-based leader: self-reflection, grace, agility, and influencing responsibility. Each of these attributes has various components:
- Self-reflection: The components of self-reflection are
- Honesty: Uncovering your strengths, embracing your weaknesses
- Authenticity: Saying and doing what you mean, leading by example
- Making difficult decisions: Doing what’s right when it’s not convenient or comfortable
- Ethical integrity: Keeping it all on the up and up, no matter what
- Grace: The components of grace are
- Servant leadership: Paving the way for others to succeed
- Humility: Embracing “quiet confidence” rather than a rock star persona
- Social distance: Bridging the power gap between you and others
- Agility: Concepts relating to agility include
- Five components of agility: Optimism, commitment to success, learning, focus, and innovation
- Getting real: Unpacking your strengths and weaknesses
- Failing: Learning from mistakes and missteps to ensure success
- Influencing responsibly: This type of influence requires
- Emulating values: Being a powerful example to everyone in the organization
- Creating good: Supporting the community you serve and doing right by your employees
VBL within four quadrants of business
Values-based leadership really is a business proposition. It’s the animation of what you believe is important and it leads to profitability. The following lists describe how values-based leadership relates to the four quadrants of business.
How the company does business is done in a healthy environment built on mutual respect:
- Establishing the rules of engagement (a values statement)
- Building an authentic company culture
- Creating a healthy workplace
- Developing relationships with vendors and resources
How the company serves and impacts the community is a representation of cooperation:
- Engaging in philanthropic corporate social responsibility
- Engaging in economic corporate social responsibility
- Reminding employees that what they do matters to improve the customer’s life
- Supporting stakeholders’ families with fair wages
How the company invests in others illustrates both nurturing and sustainability:
- Recruiting and retaining the best talent
- Establishing a culture of learning
- Creating values partnerships with vendors and resources
- Building human resource programs and initiatives
How the company becomes sustainable in business creation depends on elements and outcomes of the prior three areas:
- Solving problems creatively
- Reinventing processes and business models
- Addressing global human needs
- Circling back around to investment, serving, and how we do business
Important principles of values-based leadership
The following principles are the foundation of building a strong, healthy organization that engages in values-based leadership:
- Sets direction
- Creates a values statement to serve as a guiding force for all
- Provides meaning and purpose to the company and its stakeholders
- Reflects the company’s values in everything it does, everywhere it operates
- Creates proactive company culture
- Increases value in the lives of stakeholders and the community
- Utilizes its influence responsibly to achieve goals
- Creates an environment of mutual respect
- Betters individuals
- Invests in the education and development of stakeholders
- Empowers others by developing other leaders
- Commits to correct job fits to foster job satisfaction and improve effectiveness
- Expands business opportunities
- Inspires collaboration and innovation by creating a shared value community