How do your values influence your role as a leader?
Your personal values influence how you perform as a leader. Your values are the things you believe are essential for the way you live and work. They (should) determine your priorities, and deep down they are probably the yardstick by which you can tell if your life is turning out the way you want it to.
If the things you do and the way you behave are in line with your values, life is usually good - you are satisfied and happy. But when these things are not in line with your personal values, things feel.... wrong. This can be a real source of unhappiness. That's why it's so important to look at your own values consciously.
How we behave and how we think, how we solve problems and how we negotiate, how we work and how we play - all of these are influenced by our beliefs and values. We often don't think much about the values that matter most to us, but that doesn't mean they aren't necessary in our lives.
Why are values important?
Your values determine the way you live and shape your behavior by guiding your judgments and decisions. They also have a big impact on how you approach your work and how you interact with your colleagues and your organization.
A strong set of values helps in everyday working life, even in difficult situations and under pressure from outside. It is important not to regard your own set of values as restrictive, but rather as supportive guard rails for yourself and your dealings with employees.
Organisation have values as well
An organization also has its own set of values. They shape the corporate culture, support the core mission and vision and determine the actions and behavior of the organization and its employees.
Our values tend to stay the same throughout our lives, but that does not mean they are "absolute". People may adjust their beliefs because they have new information or because they have been influenced by the opinions of others.
Leaders are in a position to make a significant contribution to a values-based corporate culture. Values in a company, in an organization must be exemplified!
It is therefore all the more important that leaders regularly review their value framework.
Most of the managers we meet in our daily work are unconsciously guided by their values, but they often do not know or recognize their influence on day-to-day decisions. Nor do they recognize the connection between their own values and their impact (positive or negative) on their abilities and inclinations.
Identifying and understanding your own values is a challenging and important task. Your personal values are a central part of who you are - and who you want to be. By becoming more aware of these important factors in your life, you can use them as a guide to make the best choice in any situation.
Some decisions in life are really about finding out what is most important to you. When many options seem reasonable, it is helpful and reassuring to rely on your values - and use them as a strong guide to go in the right direction.
Only leaders who are aware of their values and the resulting strengths and weaknesses are able to become the best leaders.
Not (only) does the knowledge from trainings and seminars for leaders and managers make a good leader, but much more the personality and the values of the leader are in focus for a successful leadership.
Here are a few questions on how to align your leadership values with your personal values:
Which leadership values are important to me at work?
Which values are also lived by other leaders and employees?
What consequences does the company take if company values are violated?
Do my employees know my leadership values?
Do I stand up for my values as a role model?
Which values have become more important to me in recent years?
And which have become less important?
Can I rank the five or seven most important values for me?
Which values are so important to me that I would certainly change companies if they were frequently or seriously violated?
Our own set of values, our character, is the central basis for our actions. It has a direct influence on how our employees perceive and value us. Only employees who (can) trust their leaders will follow them, even in difficult phases.
Therefore, it is important to become aware of one's own values and to review them regularly. This allows us to recognize the effects of our values on the current use of our skills and on our character traits. This provides concrete opportunities to set up targeted measures for the successful further development of leadership competences.
Identifying your values and Self-reflection in leadership if the first steps of my 4- Steps Guide To Becoming the Leader you want to be.
Your personal values define you as an individual. Values on this level underpin and guide our decision making and behaviors. We’re content and without conflict - both internally and externally - when we stick close to our own and our organization’s values. We are also able to lead with greater clarity around who we are and what vision we’re working towards when we lead with our values. Herein lies the value of values. Your values will define how you act and react.
Becoming the best version of a great leader is a journey. It means you have to reinvent yourself and work on yourself constantly. It takes courage, humility, and great self-knowledge to lead others effectively.
Let´s use the remaining days of the year to prepare for 2023. I am offering a 4-week program for 0€ (i.e. FREE) so that you can start preparing your plan to level up your leadership. LEVEL UP!
The four weeks will be structured like this:
Week 1: Self-perception "How are you as a leader"
Week 2: Vision "How do you aspire to be as a leader?"
Week 3: Reality Check "How are you perceived as a leader?"
Week 4: Action "What are my next steps to be the leader I want to be?"
Sounds straight forward? It is, you just need to do it! Follow my proven program. We start on the 10th of October. This is a program that I developed when training to be an even better leadership coach. Here is the link to join Become the leader you want to be!
Self-Leadership is a stand-alone course and as well part of my leadership program MOVE UP!
Click here if you are interested in the program to get the most recent information. Here is a link to book a discovery session with me to find out if I am the right coach for you.
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