“If you close your eyes you will see far.” Kenyan Proverb
Successful leaders have a clear set of personal values to which they are committed. What they do and say is guided by these values. When they speak we feel their passion because it is based on what they truly believe in. Examples of values are: honesty, courage, fairness, gratitude, humility, open-mindedness and creativity.
We can only speak with true voice when our voice expresses our deeply held beliefs. Otherwise it is an adopted voice that leads to inconsistencies in how we do things and to shifting positions. Leadership techniques will not help if we cannot articulate who we are. Speaking and acting with our own truth makes us authentic and provides firm ground under our feet.
But how can we find this true voice if we are not clear what we believe in and what really matters to us?
Finding our values is ultimately about taking ”a journey into those places in your heart and soul where you bury your treasures, …” ((Kouzes, Posner, 2002, P. 52), about finding out what we truly care about, what we hold passionately. Once we have taken that journey we can make our life and leadership consistent with our heart.
“(…), values are guides. They supply us with a moral compass by which to navigate the course of our daily lives. Clarity of values is essential to knowing which way, for each of us, is north, south, east and west. The clearer we are, the easier it is to stay on the path we have chosen.” (Kouzes, Posner, 2002, P. 48)
When we are clear about our values it is a lot easier to take control over our lives, take decisions and exercise choices because we are grounded. When we are afraid of something we need to do,clarity about how this fits with our values gives us courage. When things go wrong remembering our values and what we can do to bring them alive can reenergize us.
Research shows that clarity of personal values increases commitment to an organisation more than clarity about organisational values. The highest commitment occurs when we have clarity about both personal and organisational values. Listening to our own voice has the biggest impact on our commitment to an organisation because this enables us to know whether the organisational values match our own.
What can we do to increase alignment with our values? One practice for this is a daily reflection on what we have done during the day that demonstrates our core values. How was this or that action aligned or not aligned with our values?
Once we have experienced closing our eyes and seeing the passion within, every time we do not know what to do, we can do this to reconnect with our deepest values, moving onto firm ground …
References: Kouzes, J.B., Posner, B. Z., (2002). The Leadership Challenge, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass