Lead by Values: Clarify Your Core to Sharpen Decision Making

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Well, welcome back to the laboratory where we explore how effective leaders think, act, and evolve. I'm Greg Gillum, and today's episode is titled Lead by Values, How Clarifying Your Core Values Sharpens Your Decision Making. We're going to walk through insights from the recent Harvard Business Review article and pull out key takeaways and then give you actionable steps that you can try immediately with your team.

Well, let's begin with the why. Why should you as a manager care about your personal core values when so many decisions are shaped by metrics, by budgets, by your stakeholders, and by other operational constraints? Well, according to this article, Leaders face ever more complex moral and strategic dilemmas every single day With pressure from economic uncertainty, social expectations. And just overall rapid change. And in that operational fog, if you will, a clear moral compass really matters.

So here's three reasons to consider why really knowing your core values is helpful. Number one, consistency and credibility. When your decisions link back to a stable set of values, people can perceive that and perceive you as authentic and consistent, and that builds trust. And trust is what, that's the glue that really holds your team together. And then compounding that, number two, compounding that trust over time. So fresh decisions don't really carry the weight of your past track record.

But over time, if your values consistently show through, you build moral capital with your team. So that consistent and credible action aligning with your values is going to compound trust over time. And then the third thing it allows is faster, clear judgment. So when your values are explicit, you reduce ambiguity. You know which trade-offs are acceptable and which aren't. I used to talk about this when I used to be an executive coach. I would talk about my value of creativity.

Oftentimes, I'd be asked to serve on particular boards, chamber of commerce boards, whatever it might be. And my question was all, my first question was always, do I have creative license when I'm sitting on this board? Or do you want me to just rubber stamp things and kind of approve things as we go? Because if I've got creative license, that aligns with my value. If I don't, then it doesn't align and I'm not going to be happy. I'm not going to be satisfied.

And it's going to be really kind of a waste of time. So that one little filter really helped me in the moment make a decision of whether or not I should serve on those types of committees and boards. But this process only works if those values are internalized, not just an aspiration you post on a wall. The article emphasizes personal core values, not just the company stated values. Now, I would say right now, do you know what your company values are? I'm thinking about mine.

People are our priority. Character is our strength. Performance is our commitment. And innovation is our way forward. Those are our core values. And so I know those, and I have a chance to reflect on those often when I make decisions and making sure that those align with my personal values. So how do we surface this? How do we test those core values? Well, you've got to identify them up front. And the article outlines a structured process for uncovering core values.

So here's a distillation with a few additions. Number one, step one, reflecting on pivotal stories in your past. Think of two or three moments in your leadership career that you really felt deeply, deeply, meaningful connections with a person or with a project, whatever it might have been. Times when you felt really proud. Times when you felt energized or in just total alignment with your organization. What themes kept recurring? What qualities in those moments really mattered most to you?

So that's number one, reflecting on those types of stories. Number two is then distilling those recurring themes. So from those stories, extracting current or recurring values like generosity, or maybe you noticed that courage was sort of the thread through all of those stories, or maybe fairness or growth. Aim for like four to six core values that really feel like they're non-negotiable for you.

Third step is to test the draft list. So the article really suggests that you put your values to test with four questions that validate your values. Number one, ask yourself this, if I violate this value, would I feel strong regret? Second question, would I stand by this value under intense pressure? Third, is this value truly mine or am I adopting it from someone else? And then fourth, will this value guide me in future dilemmas?

If a value doesn't pass those tests, those questions, drop it altogether or refine it in some way that makes it more aligned. And then finally, step four is operationalize and surface your values. Once you have your list, don't treat them as a private journal. Write them out. Speak them. Display them. Ask yourself and your team, is this decision consistent with my stated values? And then in your meetings, you can refer to those values and see what guardrails kind of come up.

So before we go on to actionable tips, which I love to put in every podcast, let's highlight some key takeaways. Number one, values are not optional. In a world of complexity, choices will stretch your limits. Values become your anchor. Number two, values are not principles. Values are deeply held personal commitments. They differ from external principles or codes, which can feel abstract a lot of times.

Third, trust is relational and cumulative. One decision won't make or break you, but many decisions will compound either your credibility or compound your hypocrisy. And obviously, we want to compound our credibility here. Fourth, trust, I'm sorry, fourth, values create boundaries. So part of defining values is also knowing what you will not do. And that's very helpful. And then last, not all decisions are clean. So even with values that you know very well, trade-offs will remain.

The role of your values is to guide you, not guarantee perfect outcomes.

So how can we put this into practice today? Here's five very practical tips that you can try this week. Number one, journal with intention. Set aside about 15 minutes to write down one leadership moment that felt very meaningful to you. And then extract the values from those things that felt meaningful, that truly lit you up, that or drained you. Because sometimes if something really drains you, it's the opposite.

That's your value, right? And then reflect which values are present in those moments. Two, run a values mirror meeting. So in your next one-on-one or your next team meeting, ask yourself, which of my values should guide us in this decision? Or have team members name which of your values they saw or didn't see in your recent choices.

Third, frame decisions as trade-offs. So before you make a decision on something, explicitly articulate, here's what matters and here's where we may compromise, but we're not going to go beyond this particular line. We're not going to cross this line. And this keeps your values visible in very complex decisions. Fourth, anchor your performance conversations to values. So in your feedback sessions with your team, don't just ask, what did you do? Ask, which core value were you trying to honor?

And how did your actions align or misalign with that decision? And then lastly, run a values retrospective. So this is like an after action review. After a really tough decision or a project is finished up, do a mini debrief. Which choices honored or violated your core values? And what will I do differently next time? And over time, these habits can help internalize your values and keep them alive. And in action. So to wrap up, a leader's values are not a fancy add-on.

They're a compass in unsteady times. When your decisions spring from clarity about what you'll stand for, and conversely, what you won't stand for, you lead with integrity and you build trust that lasts. So lead with clarity, act with intention, and let your values light your way. And until next time we meet in the manager lab. Do good work.