Have you ever heard of the north-star? It's consistently present in the northern hemisphere's sky and was the traditional way sailors aligned their course corrections at night-time. Your company's leadership provides your north-star ( and ) to aid decision-making. values objectives Mid-level managers need to learn to balance back pressure feedback from the teams while implementing the forward direction from the leadership team. In order to explain how to , I am going to return to the foundations of value-based decisions by creating a shared understanding of personal values, integrity, and ethics. Then I will explain how to combine them with your upper leadership direction and company values. utilize decision-making through values principles - What are examples of personal values? Honesty, loyalty, efficiency, fairness, openness, optimism, family, hospitality, etc. If you are self-aware, you will recognize them and acknowledge that you are giving stronger weighting to some over others to guide your actions under different circumstances. If you have not consciously thought of your personal values up until now, do not be concerned, you are already using them. Examine some of your recent decisions. A simple example would be your last couple of purchases. Did you check if it's recyclable, free trade etc.? When you parked your car, did you choose to use the parent and child spaces? These are examples of using personal values in your decision-making. What is personal integrity? My understanding is that personal integrity is . doing what is right even when no one is looking and doing what is right even when under pressure This is the product of your personal values. It's sometimes easier to understand by providing a strong contra example, as doing the right thing for most people is so ingrained as to be unnoticed.  If a person's personal values are selfishness/dishonesty, this is often observed as making that benefit themselves over others. poor ethical decisions This is evident when people are doing what they want even if it negatively impacts on other people. A specific example of a low level of integrity, resulting from when honesty is weak, would be manipulating performance figures to get a bonus. This occurs when a person doesn't hold honesty as a high personal value. To use values in decision-making requires developing a strong sense of and self-awareness self-confidence. happens over time and only with . on your decision-making inputs to understand your own values in action. Learn to those values as part of your personal . If your reflection identifies areas to improve, that's great, start working on them and you will become a better value based decision maker. Self-awareness intention Reflect accept growth journey is being positive, organised, goal orientated and using assertive language. You are capable of asking questions, stating when you do not know the answer or when you got something wrong. You are sufficiently confident in yourself to . Self-confidence assert the values even under pressure Decisions Making Situations that Benefit from Value based Leadership Only when there is a , will decisions arise that require the of the value approach,  most decisions will be obvious trade-offs that lie generally within the correct direction. The company values will guide your decisions in these conflicting situations, in conjunction with your upper managers short and long term objectives. conflict in your direction active use Place the company values and department objectives . literally in front of you on your screen/desk Step back into the abstract and , validate your final decision against these values, rather than your own personal values. If you are in a company that doesn't seem run by its values, then still use the stated company values, you can be the snowflake that starts the avalanche that returns your area to the original leadership's vision. Lead by example. make the decision using them Common real-world examples The but the delivery date hasn't moved. You have the choice of pushing on and squeezing the team for a bit of free overtime, you may even benefit by receiving extra recognition for leading successfully through a stormy sea situation. scope of your project has had a sudden increase Instead, look through the lens of your company values (let's say employee wellbeing is on the list), then you need to bring strong influence based on the wellbeing value and negotiate a new deadline or reduced delivery scope with upper management. This demonstrates strong leadership incorporating the company values. : Every business situation is unique, your role is to find a way forward within the bounds of the values. Caveat Example of . Your team has committed to deliver on a project milestone, but another team has a commitment that depends on critical people within your team. Let us make it even more real, you are unable to change resources, time or scope. cross-team dependency pressure This isn't that uncommon a situation for shared service teams to encounter. The choice here is known as Sophie's choice, all are terrible based upon the theoretical company values of ( employee, customer and profit ) Common Choices Try and do everything and your team members will need to work overtime and experience burnout. Delay your own project and your manager's objective will be missed. Refuse to assist and the other team will rightly state you are not a team player and your actions have resulted in them missing a customer deadline. This is where using values as your can assist . north-star when faced with only poor choices Your leadership team have stated their priorities, they are not to be ignored, nor blindly followed. I recommend for this situation, you do not attempt to make the decision at your level, instead the situation upwards to a shared management level and have a negotiation at that level so that a new acceptable option emerges. request the other team to escalate A little bit more explanation around why you should not own the issue. In this scenario it's the other team that needs to change the situation or they will miss their delivery date, so it's their responsibility to escalate, not every problem laid at your door is for you to solve, you should unless they release you from them. hold your team's commitment to your own manager's direction There are other scenarios where multiple company values may seem to be in conflict. Profit Vs Employee wellbeing. It's your role to negotiate the way forward that achieves the correct balance and avoids the extremes. Conclusion It's important for every employee that company values are not just words on a poster, that they are manifested through daily actions and open conversations about values happen. that make up , and when a crisis occurs you will be able to navigate with calm, resiliency, and purpose. Never forget where you come from to maintain your empathy and humility. Find the components your north star live your values every day

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Leaders Embody Values: How to Become a Better Manager

Leaders Embody Values: How to Become a Better Manager

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