Articles
What Do You Stand For?
October 12, 2011 (Number 26) If you read my book, you may remember the story where I observed a senior executive being asked, "What are your values as a leader?" He fumbled with some words, looked at his shoes and finally replied, "I haven't yet fully thought that through." Judging by the audience's silence that followed, his response was hardly helpful to his leadership stature.How about you? If someone pointedly asked, "What do you stand for?," could you give an immediate response that was meaningful — and more than a cliché like so many corporate "values statements"? Would it be authentically about you and memorable?
Bear in mind that your articulation of your values — and much more importantly, your living of them — gives people a sense of you as a person and as a leader. It therefore significantly impacts how much others are willing to trust you — and accordingly, how they respond to you.
If this is making sense to you, consider these tips:
- Make your values explicit, at least to yourself, so that you're more likely to act consistently with them. Then, to safeguard your integrity and your self-esteem, periodically review your values and ask, "How true have I been to these?" Be rigorously honest in responding.
- When you express your values to others, use natural language. Consider saying, for example, "This is what's important to me" or "Here's what I'm about." One or two spoken values is plenty. Examples: "It's essential to me to always give 100%." Or, "I believe in always treating others with respect, no matter what."
- "Own up" when you've acted inconsistently with your principles. You're bound to stumble and people will notice anyway. When you acknowledge your lapses, you will be signaling your self-awareness, your humility and the fact that you care about others and your impact on them. This will make you all the more trusted and respected.
Dean Herman
