Loyalty in Leadership

Values, the Strategic Plan, and You
There are volumes written about values. Unfortunately, much of what I’ve read tends to
indicate a basic misunderstanding of the subject; at least from a leader’s or planner’s point of
view. It’s not uncommon to hear that a person or company “has no values,” or “lacks a value
base.” I disagree with that analysis because I’ve never run into another human being who didn’t
have some sort of value base. The problem usually is that a person’s or organization’s values
don’t agree with ours, or with those generally accepted by society. I’ve also observed that for
many people, values tend to be situational. For instance, most people will tell you they value
honesty, but will think nothing of keeping the extra money a busy cashier mistakenly gave them.
When creating a strategic plan it’s essential that you define your values early in the process.
That means the leader must know his or her own values. This is critical because they are the
foundation for everything you do. Likewise, they provide a benchmark for the rest of the plan.
You will measure the plans components against them to ensure the plan doesn’t encourage a
violation of those values.
As the leader in the planning process, it is vital that you define your own values. In planning
sessions, I find that most people share a very similar value set and the hardest part is reducing the
list to those that are most important to the organization’s success. However, as the leader, you
need to understand a couple of things about how your values affect your interaction with others.
As an example, I personally value integrity above all else. That means I will always deal
honestly with other people and I expect the same from them. If I detect that someone is being
less than honest with me, I will probably not continue to do business with them. I use this
example to illustrate another point about values. We tend to hold others to our own standards.
There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we keep two things in mind. First, since we are
holding others to our values; which they may not feel are important, we create a potential
conflict if the two value sets are diametrically opposed. Second, expecting others to adhere to our
values means we cannot stray ourselves. Credibility will instantly disappear when someone else
feels there is a double standard.
This applies at the organizational level as well. The organization’s credibility can be severely
damaged if subordinates, or customers, feel it is not living up to the stated values. If they
perceive the leadership only gives lip service to the values and doesn’t actually live by them, and
make decisions that conform to them, they will not feel a need to conform either. As I mentioned
earlier, everyone has a set of values. For instance, that guy who’s trying to sell drugs to your kids
has a value set. It isn’t the same as most of us subscribe to but it guides his actions. As a leader,
you need to have a value set that is known to your subordinates, but you must also understand
they may not share all of your values. I’m not suggesting your subordinates are drug dealers;
that’s an extreme example. There will be differences in individual values though that can lead to
conflict. So, how do you deal with that? Employees must understand, while they may not always
agree with the values expressed by the organization, they are expected to live by them while
doing the organization’s business. See why it is so important for the leadership to cling jealously
to the organization’s values?
My favorite example of organizational values is Johnson & Johnson, whose corporate values
were sorely tested in a case now studied in business ethics classes. The maker of Tylenol was
rocked when an unknown person or persons laced Extra Strength Tylenol tablets with cyanide
causing multiple deaths. Though Johnson & Johnson was not responsible for the tainted tablets,
they reacted immediately by recalling all Extra Strength Tylenol, a move that cost the company
millions of dollars. They were not at fault, and didn’t have to take such a drastic step, but the
company’s leaders felt it was the only appropriate course of action in keeping with the
company’s values. Those values are stated in the Johnson & Johnson Credo, available for anyone
to view on their website, http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/jnj-credo/. Their response to the
crisis cost millions, but probably saved the product line and possibly the company.
Values are critical to leadership and the planning process. The leader must understand their own
values and, while everyone’s individual values may not always agree, the organization must
understand the values they are expected to adhere to.
Everyone has a basic set of rules by which they make daily decisions: their values. As a
leader, you must know what your values are. Organizations too must know what values guide
their actions. The organization’s value set is a critical foundation for a successful strategic plan
as it gives everyone a set of ground rules to guide both short and long term actions.
If you haven’t given it some real thought, sit down with pen and paper and write out your
own values. Then write down the values your organization lives by.
Bob Mason is a speaker, trainer, facilitator and President of RLM Planning and Leadership, a
consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses meld smart strategic planning with leadership
excellence. To learn more visit http://www.planleadexcel.com. His book, Planning to Excel,
Strategic Planning that Works, will be released this spring.