ON MAY 12, 1962, an aging Douglas MacArthur left his hotel for the United States Military Academy at West Point to accept the Slyvanus Thayer Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the military academy. Little did anyone know that his speech that day would go down as one of the greatest in American history:
“Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”
MacArthur’s speech was about core values, the unassailable principles for which you are responsible and by which you keep the arc of your life on a straight and noble course.
To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., core values comprise the content of your character that provides the spiritual force to your ability to lead. Quite simply, people respond to honest, authentic, and principled leaders.
Quite simply, people respond to honest, authentic, and principled leaders. Tweet This!During my military career, the Air Force adopted the core values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. I found that those words served as a constant touchstone for the decisions I made, particularly when I served as judge and jury for disciplinary cases in the units I commanded. I can honestly say they never failed me.
Deeper Insight into Core Values for Leadership
Core values are your unchanging guide for principled behavior and action. They help you discern right from wrong and ensure that your organization remains true to its purpose and mission. In their book Lies and Truths: Leadership Ethics in the 21st Century, Nancy Kovanic and Kenneth D. Johnson (2005) wrote: “…individual values are the essence of leadership practices.”
Core values provide a basis for interpersonal interaction, group identification, and loyalty. They also form the foundation of your performance, problem solving, and committed effort. Alignment of your values with those of your organization is crucial. Alignment allows you to willingly unleash your energy toward collective goals, while also ensuring that you uphold your values.
According to ethicist Robert Rue, our values are “…the essence of who we are as human beings. Our values get us out of bed every morning, help us select the work we do, the company we keep, the relationships we build, and ultimately, the groups and organizations we lead. Our values influence every decision and move we make, even to the way we choose to make our decisions” (Rue, 2001).
Without core values, people and organizations risk implosion as exemplified by Worldcom, Arthur Anderson, Healthsouth, Enron, Tyco, and the recent string of Wall Street financial scandals. Core values provide the enduring compass that keeps us on course.
A Useful Framework for Discovering Your Own Core Values for Leadership
There are several frameworks that can help you discover your core values. One of the most useful frameworks was developed by Shalom Schwartz, a social psychologist and cross-cultural researcher. Schwartz’s theory of basic human values identifies ten common values recognized across cultures (Schwartz, 1992). His assessment tool, the Schwartz Values Survey, measures the priority and intensity of these values:
- Self-direction—need for control, mastery, autonomy, and independence
- Stimulation—need for variety and excitement
- Hedonism—need for pleasure and aesthetic beauty
- Achievement—need to demonstrate competence
- Power—need for dominance
- Security—need for safety, harmony, and stability
- Conformity—need to restrain impulses or avoid violating expectations
- Tradition—need for respect, commitment, and acceptance of cultural or religious beliefs and norms of behavior
- Benevolence—concern for the welfare of others
- Universalism—need for understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection of people or nature
Understand Your List of “Master” Values
Another way to understand your personal core values is to start with a list of “master” values and to follow this process:
- Identify all values that you feel are relevant to you personally.
- Rank-order your top five to seven values. In doing so, choose those that apply to your life, help you live out your life purpose, are compatible with the communities and organizations that are important to you, and align with your moral compass.
- Define your top values clearly. For example, if you choose power, what does that word mean to you?
- For each of your top values, make a list of behaviors and attitudes that conform to those values. That way, you will have explicit guidelines for action that are congruent with your top values.
- Implement your core values. In essence, live your life by them.
- Find an accountability partner to help you stay true to your core values.
I don’t know about you, but I like to sleep well at night knowing that I have stayed true to my values and done my best to do the right thing.
Knowing your values and consistently acting in accordance with them are absolutely necessary to your success as a leader and your ability to lead with authenticity.
Core Values Recap
- Core values are your unwavering guide for principled behavior and actions.
- Core values compose the moral essence of who you are as a leader.
- Core values are the internal compass that keeps you on the straight and true path.
- It is best when your core values align with those of your organization.
- There are several frameworks for discovering and assessing your core values; it’s important for you to discover what your values are.
- Knowing your values and consistently acting in accordance with them are critical to your success.
Self-Coaching Questions
- What makes your core values important to you, your people, and your organization?
- What are the most important core values that underpin your approach to leadership?
- Are your actions consistent with your core values?
- What struck you deeply from the core-values discovery process suggested at the end of this chapter? Why?