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Value Based LeadershipIf you treat people as they are will make them worse. If you treat people as they should be treated, so that you will help them become what they are capable ofbecoming. (Goethe) Today, the word leadership is used more and multifaceted enterprises. There are hundreds of different labels for leaders and leadership styles, where values fit, but that means Leadership based on values? Who is a leader?Not someone who tells you what to do. Someone who simply tells you what to do i

s a boss. You do so because he said to do so. A leader is someone you want to follow, but you are required to follow. The authority is required as part of lifein society and to work in enterprises, but this alone is not sufficient to makea leader. The original meaning of the word 'leadership' is a continuing journeyin the company of others. Thus a leader is going somewhere, he has one goal andone vision. It attracts the other, then it has appeal, and influence others. Those who join him on a journey, confident that he knows the road. Thus, being a leader comes from the natural human effort to reinvent himself. This means developing yourself. This involves the ability to see the whole picture and the systemmore widely, and watch where you're putting your feet on the road. And that means inspiring others to join you on the road. The authority is given, but leadership needs to be earned. Imagine this company. In one department, she has a boss w

ho tells people what they should do and expect them to obey. This boss is not interested in their staff, they are only a means to achieve one purpose - to get results. He has little interest in his staff, does not help them relate what theydo with the company vision, and is not interested in what is important to them.Their motto is 'It is either my way or not at all'. He has authority, but, strange as it may seem, people often seem to find excuses for not doing what he says. The people in his department are unhappy with their jobs and are delayed. Whenthings get delayed, it reacts by making more than they already are doing. He isthe archetype of the boss. Fortunately, this type is fading away very quickly because their methods do not work. However, some elements of this dinosaur can still be found in many companies. Contrast this with a leader. The leader has an interest in his staff, he knows his staff as individuals, and he knows and respects what is important to them. He knows that the same incentive does not work for

everyone and so he does not try to impose it for everyone. He does the coachingstaff, not only for those who are not performing well, but also for those who are doing well. People feel they are contributing to the organization and respecttheir manager. He finishes his work, but does not rely only on his authority, but the fact that his staff want to do the job well done. He inspires his staff to do everything they can. This is the manager who is a leader. What if all managers were

like this? All managers can pay attention to value-based leadership - in their own values of respect and justice, and motivate and inspire others through what is important to them, not through what is important in itself. A boss has power,a leader has influence. A boss depends on your position of authority, a leader g

ains the authority to be respected by his staff. A boss gets people to do thingsand a leader gets people to want to do things. Why do they want to do things? Because they are motivated and inspired by what is important to them and that isvalues-based leadership. There are two paradoxes about leadership based on values. The first is that it can only be given and can not be taken. A person can have power and authority, but this is not the same as leadership. People follow a leader because they want to and not because they are obliged to follow. A leaderwithout followers or fellow travelers is like the sound of one hand clapping. The second paradox is that the first person who inspires is a leader himself. As aleader can inspire others to join a journey if he can not inspire yourself? Soas leaders make people want to follow them on the journey? They appeal to what is important. All leaders have a vision, a vision of how the world could be,we allhave our individual views, but leaders explore something more than just their vi

ews, they explore a common vision. They are on a journey and this journey is important to them. And when we talk about how important we are talking about values, are simply what is important to you. Values provide the energy to get out of b

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ed in the morning, they provide the fuel for the journey towards our goal. Without values, the journey can not begin. Take a moment to think about some leadersthat you admire. People with whom you identify. They can be in any area: from business, religious, military or any area of life. They can be famous people, or friends or family members you know well, but others do not know. What these people have in common? One thing they should have in common is that they appeal to something that is important to you. If appeal not, you could not admire them. You

recognize these people as leaders because what they do and what they mean is important to you. The values of these people identify with their values. Good managers will deal with problematic behaviors of view of values. Instead of simply challenging behavior, they make it clear that the behavior is unacceptable, whiletrack and recognize the values that lie behind it. The behavior has a purpose. We always act to get something that is important to us, something we value. Unfortunately, the actions or behaviors that we have to achieve our goals may not bevery good, and can cause many problems for others. For example, a manager we know, had many problems with a member of your team. This person constantly challenged the views and proposals of other members. He played the devil's advocate, finding flaws in the details. That

turned out to be very stressful. The other team members began to resent him, oneof them said, 'I would not feel so bad if he could contribute something positive once in a while, but he is always so negative ...'. The behavior of this person was destroying the rapport of the team, however this area of expertise was essential and could not be replaced in the current project. We suggest to the manager to call this person aside, ask him what he wanted to get through this challenge and why it was so important to him. This showed that he valued the security at a very high degree. A project in his previous job had ended in disaster because the plans have not been checked properly and crucial details were left out. The company lost a lot of money. He swore to himself that it would never happen again in any job where he was involved. 'I wish that the plan is absolutely foolproof in every detail, "was how he expressed it. The safety and accuracy of the details were very important to him, and our friend shared these values and said th

is. Then comes the question that is worth $ 1 million. 'His constant challenge is to get what you want? " The answer was no. The other team members were not paying attention to their contribution, they were not listening, were agreeing withhim only in an attempt to move forward. This caused him to be even more nervousand challenged others even more. The manager suggested that he had a very useful function as Devil's Advocate Group, but should wait until the plans were in areasonable stage of training before asking for more details. He agreed. After that, the efficiency of the group soared. Others knew they had the space they needed to develop their plans and suggested they were good plans. The challenges arise later and be more constructive and valuable. Several small improvements havemade the project more cost-effective. Our friend accompanied the values of thisindividual and used these values to the benefit of the group. An extensive studyof leadership in mid-sized companies from Europe showed that approximately twothirds of the major decisions were made in line with the stated strategy of thecompany. However, only about a third of the decisions of average importance wasaligned with the stated strategy of the company. This seems reasonable because on the outside, but remember that major decisions were made behind closed doors by a small group of people at the top and the implications maxims were often keptsecret for good commercial reasons.The less important daily decisions that affected employees were taken outdoors and most of these were not consistent with company strategy. People saw every day, that the companies were not doing what theywere talking, and this can lead to disillusionment and cynicism. At the extreme,there is the example of a large organization in the United States that had published one of his core values were put employees first. This same organization has cut benefit payments to health plans and increased spending on associations of

country clubs for the high-ranking executives. This is not value-based leadership, and this organization can not even complain if the

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people realize this and become cynical. This is an important lesson - cling to their values. For sure, people will see. And that's important. The value-based leadership can come from anywhere in your organization. What is certain is that ifthe people at the top does not show it, they lose respect. People will be cynical about the values and even despise. Then they will begin to work only for money, and all polls show that although it is important to pay a fair wage for people, when this is achieved, then other values are more important than money, parti

cularly challenging, progress career and respect. Unless a manager to lead theirstaff make their work challenging and rewarding, and respect, they may very well change jobs, taking with them all those high knowledge and expertise, hard-won, for the competitors of his former bosses. Thus, it is easy to see that value-based leadership is not an abstract ideal, but it is taking care of our own interests and good management.

2006 Joseph O'Connor