Leaders: Does Your Values Equation Add Up?

By Linda Fisher Thornton

Every leader has a values equation. It can be calculated by the day, week, year and lifetime. In the ideal situation, a leader’s values equation is consistently positive.

How do you calculate your values equation?

Take the number of your intentionally positive values-based actions.

Add to it the number of ethical decisions you have struggled to make well.

Subtract the number of times you have acted in any of these unethical ways:

Too busy to be available to those you lead
Disrespectful to anyone
Self-interested
Putting profit before people and the planet
Not making time to learn
Not really listening
Misleading, leaving out the context
Not getting to know the people you lead as unique individuals
Paying more attention to your own career success than to theirs
(You get the idea….)

You won’t be able to calculate an exact number due to the speed of work and life, but you will be able to get a clear idea of whether your values equation is more positive than negative.

Ethical leadership is difficult to get right all the time.

Ethical leaders may make mistakes, but they learn and improve. The best leaders understand the importance of a values equation that’s positive – not just today, but every day, week and year… They know leading with a positive values equation is the most important legacy they can leave.

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