Practicing Values & Principles

This post explores the second area of personal development in Authentic Leadership: Values.

Bill George and Peter Sims wrote True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership. I’ve shared many of the concepts in previous posts. As before, I recommend that you visit Bill George’s web site, read the articles, watch the TV and videos, and download the study guides to enhance your study of the book. You will especially want the study guide on chapter five for today’s post.

In the previous posts  we analyzed several aspects of authentic leadership (The links on each will allow you to download the study guide for that particular chapter). They included the following:

•  Leadership is a journey with three phases: beginning, peak leadership, & mentoring
• Why leaders lose their way including 5 archetypes that contribute to losing their way: Imposters, Rationalizers, Glory seekers, Loners, and Shooting stars
• Transforming from “I” to “We” leadership
• The first area of personal development to authentic leadership: self-awareness

Practicing Your Values and Principles

The five areas include the following. I explained the first on Monday. I will explain 2 today, & 2 more on Friday. The questions listed with each area will help you discover your authentic leadership:

1. Self-Awareness; What is my story? What are my strengths and developmental needs?
2. Values: What are my most deeply held values? What principles guide my leadership?
   • “In gaining a clear awareness of who you are, you must understand your values and the principles that guide your leadership. Several leaders referred to their values as their moral compass…Staying centered on our values is not easy. You can easily drift off course as the temptations and pressures of the outside world pull you away from your moral center. But if you are centered through/a high level of self-awareness, your compass can help you get back on track.”
   • Values: The relative importance of the things that matter in your life.
     • “It is under pressure—when our success, your career, or your life hangs in the balance—that you must decide what your values are. When you are forced to make trade-offs between your values under difficult circumstances, you learn what is most important in your life and what you are prepared to sacrifice for.
     • Those who develop a clear sense of their values before they get into a crisis are better prepared to keep their bearings and navigate through difficult decisions and dilemmas when the pressure mounts.”
     • The authors illustrate the importance of values with stories from David Gergen, Jon Huntsman, and Keith Krach.
   • Leadership Principles: A set of standards used in leading others, derived from your values. Principles are values translated into action.
   • Ethical Boundaries: The limits placed on your actions based on your standards of ethical behavior.
     • “Your ethical boundaries set clear limits on what you will do when you are tempted or are under pressure or when you start rationalizing a series of marginal decisions. If you establish clear boundaries early in life, your moral compass will kick in when you reach your limits and tell you it is time to pull back, even if personal sacrifices may be significant.”
3. Motivations: What motivates me? How do I balance external and internal motivations?
4. Support Teams: Who are the people I can count on to guide & support me along the way?
5. Integrated Life: How can I integrate all aspects of my life and find fulfillment?

Combining self-awareness with values and motivations begins to balance our personal development. However, authentic leaders add solid support teams and integrate all five areas to achieve authentic leadership.

Join me on Friday when we examine the third area of personal development: motivations