Leadership with Purpose: How Core Values Influence Decision-Making

Written by Michael Huff on 10/31/2024

Imagine having to consciously think through each of the 33,000 to 35,000 decisions we make daily. It sounds overwhelming, right? Fortunately, we don’t have to. Our values quietly guide most of these decisions, helping us align with what matters most. In leadership, however, understanding and staying aligned with your values is even more critical because those values don’t just influence your decisions—they shape your team’s culture and performance.

The Power of Knowing Your Core Values

In our Leadership Fundamentals training, I share an example from one of my all-time favorite drinks: Arizona Iced Tea. Co-founder and chairman Don Vultaggio has kept the price of their 22-oz can the same since the 1990s. When The Today Show asked why he hadn’t raised prices like most other brands, he responded, “Why should I raise the price when people can’t afford their rent?”

His values of fairness and social responsibility guided this decision, reflecting his desire to give back to his customers, even when it meant sacrificing potential profits.

Values don’t just influence business decisions—they make decision-making easier. I believe Roy E. Disney said it best, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”

Values Drive Decision-Making

Leaders face countless daily decisions, probably exceeding 35,000, such as allocating resources, addressing team dynamics, employee engagement, or responding to external challenges. Participants in our leadership workshop go through an exercise where they identify their top three values from a long list. A big challenge of this exercise is narrowing it down to only three.

Next, the participants identify specific behaviors supporting their top three values. For instance, if they chose respect, they might say, “I make a concerted effort to actively listen to others or not speak poorly of others when they are not in the room.”

However, it’s important to remember that no one is perfect. Even with a clear understanding of your values, there’s a good chance of unintentionally undermining them occasionally, which can cause employee disengagement. Self-awareness is critical here as it’s not enough to know your values; you must also reflect on whether your actions consistently align with those values.

How We Sometimes Undermine Our Values

We all have moments where the pressure of deadlines, uncertainty, stress, or unforeseen challenges can cause us to act in ways that contradict our beliefs.

After participants have selected their top three values, we take the values exercise a step further by asking them to identify behaviors they exhibit that may undermine those values. For instance, a participant who values being a good listener might undermine this value by cutting people off in meetings or looking at their phone while someone else is speaking.

Recognizing these gaps is essential for growth, building trust, and creating a psychologically safe space for employees. When leaders have the self-awareness to identify where they are falling short and where they are living out their values, they can actively work to ensure that their actions better align with their values moving forward.

Living Your Values Consistently

Living your values isn’t a one-time decision—it’s a daily practice. Here are a few practical ways to ensure you’re consistently acting in line with your values:

1. Self-Reflection—Regularly take stock of your decisions. Ask yourself: Did I act in alignment with my values today? Don’t overthink it; recognize your wins and decisions that fell short.
2. Awareness of Triggers – Recognize the situations or your “hot buttons” that make it harder for you to live by your values. Maybe stress or fatigue leads you to make decisions that don’t reflect your principles. Understanding your triggers allows you to prepare and respond more thoughtfully.
3. Course Correction – When you realize your actions have undermined your values, don’t dwell on it—course correct. Acknowledge the misstep, make amends if necessary, and commit to acting in alignment moving forward.
4. Lead by Example – As a leader, your team looks to you to model the behavior you expect from them. Demonstrate what it means to live by your values, even in challenging situations.

When leaders’ decisions align with their core values, they can lead with integrity, improve team performance, and create an environment where their team knows what to expect from them.

Values as the Foundation of Leadership

During our workshops, senior leaders often begin the session by sharing the value of training and insights from their leadership journey. The most impactful messages are ones of vulnerability, learning from mistakes, or instances when a leader is bold enough to have a courageous conversation with them.

At Double E Workplace Solutions, we understand the pitfalls of leadership. We design and customize our training sessions to deliver the most significant impact for your organization and accelerate leadership effectiveness. We believe this is the most effective way to reshape culture and deliver results. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your leaders align their values with their daily actions and elevate your organization’s performance.