Perry Maddox explains why the power of values leadership isn’t found in the statements that we make but in the questions that we ask.
“That’s against our values.”
No phrase excites me more at work.
Normally, the last thing I need is another problem. But when someone raises a values-related concern, I get excited. We’re about to have a good conversation.
Here comes the kind of tension that makes us better.
Challenging by Design.
When we rebuilt our values at Restless Development ten years ago, we did something fun.
We began by asking our teams to simply tell us what mattered most. Why did they work with us? What made them proud at work? What got them out of bed in the morning?
The answers were remarkably consistent, with clear themes arising globally.
Drawing inspiration from our rebrand the year before, we took it one step further. Our brand is built on the positive tension between the concepts of “restless” and “development,” so we created values that challenge each other.
We designed our values such that there is no right answer.
Behaviour or belief that might clash with one value is often grounded in another. So when somebody says “that’s against our values”, we end up in a conversation, using the language of our values to challenge each other and to think together about the issues that matter most.
There’s a recipe for growth.
Good Values Leadership Asks Questions.
We work in a complex and changing world.
Of course we need good plans and management discipline to execute those plans. Yet the world and the needs of those we serve are constantly changing. So must our work. Programmes are only as good as they are adaptive, and performance over time is only as good as the staff learning and growth behind it.
Our success comes down to how well we listen, learn and adapt.
That’s why I love it when someone raises a values issue. It means we’re about to have a good discussion. When we get that discussion right, we’ll come out the other side stronger. Values leadership helps us to stop and to think about what matters most.
This requires tension. Values leadership should make us a little uncomfortable.
That’s where growth lives.
Create the Tension You Value.
The most common organisational values are usually boring, bland and basic.
That’s probably because most values are developed by an executive before being forced on staff. The results are predictable. Communication, integrity, respect, excellence… blah, blah, blah.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with these concepts. The problem is that they don’t really demand that much of us. People should have integrity and respect, regardless of where they work. Telling people to have integrity, to be team players or to listen isn’t interesting. It’s expected.
Small wonder most that staff ignore the bland values statements hanging on office walls. Such concepts are better housed in policies, the rules and minimum standards of the workplace to which we all adhere. Good values are neither rules nor standards. They are not directive statements or answers about how to behave.
Values are the beating heart of culture and growth.
The best values, and values-based leaders, compel and challenge us to think, to change and to improve. They ask questions that cut to the core of what we’re about, seeding positive tension and supporting teams to ask and to wrestle with the questions that matter most.
The Real Value of Values Leadership.
Want to build a great culture? Stop telling people how to behave.
Take the values mantras off the walls and treat your people like the adults they are. Start asking them the important questions that lead to growth, to the fire that drives them, and to what makes your organisation special.
Growth lives here, and so does staff trust and satisfaction. Last year in our staff survey, 98% of staff believed we live our values. Not surprisingly, 98% trusted our global leadership and 99% were proud to work with us. There’s no question that values leadership makes a difference.
The question for leaders is which tensions do we want to create.
What questions do we want our organisations and teams to ask? Which tensions do we want to worry about? Which discussions will drive us to deliver our mission, to change and to improve? What do we want staff to hold us to account for as leaders?
There’s a conversation I can get excited about.
