The Power of Purpose in Values Based Leadership
When you read Simon Sinek, ‘Find your why’’ becomes a rallying call to leaders and organisations that want to inspire the key attributes of alignment. These include trust, a shared vision, greater collaboration, focus, motivation, transparency, harmony, and much more. This is where core values-based leadership comes into play, aligning actions and decisions with personal values to foster a strong organisational culture. Leaders who embrace this approach are more likely to feel aligned with their purpose enhancing resilience during challenges and inspiration during opportunities.
Sinek’s theory of the Golden Circle encompasses three rings:
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- What: The outer ring – what you do or what you make. Everyone knows what they do.
- How: The middle ring – how you do what you do. Some people know this
- Why: The heart of the framework – describes why you do what you do. Very few know this.
Think about it. You know that your organisation makes widgets. You have a good idea how these widgets are made. Now, do you know why your organisation makes widgets?
What is Values-Based Leadership
Values-based leadership is a powerful approach that enables leaders to align their actions with their core values, resulting in a positive impact on organisational culture and performance. It involves establishing a set of guiding principles that reflect the core values and beliefs of the organisation, which serve as a framework for decision-making and shape the behavior of employees.
By leading by example and embodying the principles they espouse, values-based leaders create a culture of trust, transparency, and authenticity, driving employee engagement, motivation, and productivity.
Values-based leadership impact on organisational culture
Values-based leadership has a significant impact on organizational culture, fostering a culture of trust, transparency, and authenticity. When leaders act in accordance with their core values, they demonstrate authenticity and integrity that employees can respect and trust. This leads to increased employee engagement and loyalty, as well as a more positive workplace culture.
Values-based leadership drives innovation and creativity by encouraging employees to think creatively and take risks, leading to a competitive advantage and increased success over the long term.
Leading by Example
Leading by example is a crucial aspect of values-based leadership. Leaders must be willing to hold themselves and others accountable for adhering to the guiding principles they have established. This involves being transparent, approachable, and open to feedback, as well as being willing to make tough decisions that align with the organization’s mission and values.
By leading by example, values-based leaders create a culture of accountability, responsibility, and integrity, inspiring employees to do the same.
Benefits of Values-Based Leadership
The benefits of values-based leadership are numerous. It fosters a culture of trust and transparency, driving employee engagement, motivation, and productivity. Values-based leadership also drives innovation and creativity, leading to a competitive advantage and increased success over the long term. It enables leaders to make authentic decisions that align with their personal values, leading to greater alignment and a sense of purpose.
By implementing values-based leadership, organisations can create a positive and supportive work culture, driving business success and sustainability.
Creating a Values-Driven Organisation
Creating a values-driven organisation requires a clear and consistent approach. Leaders must start by identifying their core values and communicating them clearly to employees. They must then provide opportunities for employees to share their thoughts and feedback on the values, and provide training and development opportunities to help employees understand and apply the values in practice.
By embedding values-based leadership into the organisation’s culture, leaders can create a culture of trust, transparency, and authenticity, driving business success and sustainability.
To understand the challenges your organisation faces, and the opportunities for change, complete the Primeast PrimeFocus™ assessment.
The importance of discovering your core values
What you do is probably not unique. If you differentiate your organization, or yourself, on what you do, it won’t be much different to a million other companies and people. You make widgets. So do companies all over the world. You lead a team. So do millions of others.
What you do is grey. It melts into the background. Very rarely will your job title excite and enthuse someone to hear more. “I’m a managing director,” does not make a crowd fall over themselves to learn more.
The same can be said about your ‘how’. Describing how you do something may be interesting, but it’s unlikely to be awe-inspiring. The manufacturing process is pretty much the same if you make clothes or shoes or cars – it’s a production line on which people work machines to turn raw materials into finished goods. Have you fallen asleep yet?
There are notable exceptions, of course. You could be a deep-sea diver whose next job is to travel into space to explore why the moon is rusting.
What makes you stand out is your why. Your purpose in life. The values that prompt you to do what you do and how you do it. Now that’s a story that people want to hear. When Simon Sinek says ‘Find your why’, he makes a big point.
Why you must discover your why for organisational culture and performance
‘Why?’ is the question that many find hard to answer. It’s there, but it is abstract. It’s a collection of ideas, thoughts, values, and beliefs that a values-based leader embodies. Yet it is there. It connects who you are to what you do. It has huge power, too. It is what makes you unique and creates loyal employees, customers, partners, and other stakeholders.
The difficulty in explaining your why is its intangible nature. You can’t see it or touch it. When you discover your why as an individual, it will help you decide on the type of organisation you want to work for and the type of work you want to do. Genuine humility plays a crucial role in this discovery, allowing you to remain grounded and empathetic.
For organisations, being able to describe your why will help you identify the problems you want to solve, who you want to solve them for, and attract talent that aligns with your purpose.
Exploring your why
The question now is, how do you find your why through self reflection?
The starting point is to explore the reason you get up in the morning, the reason you go to work, the reason you do what you do. What is your story? It is that that will engage, excite, and inspire. Implement values-based leadership to ensure that your actions are aligned with your core values, helping you navigate challenges effectively.
This may sound an easy exercise, but only when you begin the discovery process will you learn how difficult finding your why can be. A partner is often essential. They will help you to identify the thread that connects your stories together, the experiences that have had most impact on you, and why your tangibles help you realise the intangible nature of your purpose.
Understanding your why will allow you to clarify your direction. It will give everything you do its purpose. It’s the reason why people are loyal to their manager and their employer. It’s the reason why customers don’t source their products based on price.
Start your journey to finding your why by completing this short Personal Values Assessment. Once you have your results, you can dive deeper with the ‘Understanding your Purpose’ free virtual workshop by Sarah Cave. Client Partner & Primeast Director, Sarah is an accredited coach and certified practitioner of the Leadership Circle™.
