When you’re faced with a challenging business decision, it can be difficult to know where to turn for guidance. One of the best guiding forces a leader can follow is their company's values.
Values-based decision-making ensures that everyone in the organization understands why a choice was made, and how it reflects the overall mission of the company. To help you follow this practice, we asked members of Forbes Coaches Council how leaders can incorporate values-based decision making into their company. Their best responses are below.
Forbes Coaches Council members offer their best advice on making values-based decisions for your company.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Check Your Gut
Check your gut. As leaders contemplate decisions and want to ensure they are values-based, they should do a virtual body scan and see what news is there. Does it feel like a good decision, process or approach? Our bodies carry a great deal of intel and often we ignore this data. - Michele Davenport, MOSAIC COACHING SOLUTIONS
2. Base Your Values On Your Best Self
Make sure your values are grounded in the essence of your best self and not your ego or inner critic. We might assume a value such as "hard work" is important to us, but that might be stemming from a limiting belief. A more accurate value might be "meaningful and fulfilling work." With that clarity, you'll make decisions that align with your deepest desires and not a "should." - Rosie Guagliardo, InnerBrilliance Coaching
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3. Commit To Having Your Behaviors Measured And Evaluated
The key is commitment. Are the leaders willing and ready to have their behaviors measured and evaluated to the highest standards? Values declare what we stand for. Values guide the most important decisions for the organization. Values ensure we are doing the right thing, and when we hold true to our values in all our behaviors, our brand has integrity. - Bill Koch, Bill Koch Leadership Coaching
4. Consider Why You Exist And Who You Exist For
To make value-based decisions, you need to fall back on two questions. Why do we exist, and who do we exist for? Referring back to these answers are like your north star guiding the organization back to the core values. Everyone in the organization needs to be able to answer those two questions without faltering. Then everyone is on the same page when making decisions. - Melinda Fouts, Ph.D., Success Starts With You
5. Focus On Character
Align words and behaviors, and focus on character. Character is simply your values in action. Reflect and codify the expected behaviors of your team members based on the core values of your organization. This will make your values explicit for you and your team members, as well as make values-based decision-making easier to put into everyday practice. - Dennis Volpe, LRI
6. Align Objectives With Values
Decisions are made to meet objectives, which themselves need to align with the core values from the outset. The leader needs to commit to that piece, understanding that they cannot be biased toward one way of executing on a decision because values are embodied differently by various people. This alignment chain will drive decisions and strategies to be values-based. - Samara Hakim, CulturGrit
7. Put It On Your 'Front Porch'
As my mother used to say, "Put it on your front porch." If you want your organization to operate within the parameters of its values, it is imperative that all team members know what they are and, more importantly, see clear examples of how you put them into practice in every decision you make. Stating the values isn't enough. People need to see you operating from and standing by those values. - Tonya Echols, Vigere
8. Ensure Core Values Are Collectively Decided And Maintained
Core values must be collectively decided and maintained. It begins with leaders assessing what really matters to them and what they want to instill. They must then find ways to express those values, share them with their teams and use them in daily communication. Making the values "core" to everyone is the only way to build value-based decision-making. - Candice Gottlieb-Clark, Dynamic Team Solutions
9. Define What You Will Never Do
Values are your internal compass to guide you on your life journey. Other than what you would do in a difficult situation or crisis, consider what you will never do. This self-leadership introspection will be congruent with your true nature and help to safeguard your integrity in situations that may be out of your control. Your personal brand authority depends on it. - Jon Michail, Image Group International
10. Talk With A Trusted Mentor
You need a mentoring relationship on difficult decisions. When I have made mistakes it was often because I reacted emotionally. It "felt" right at the time to tell someone how I felt but it did not correspond with my values. When I have vented to mentors as one needs to they often give me the advice I need. Patience, thoughtfulness and caring responses in the face of justified anger wins the day. - John M. O'Connor, Career Pro Inc.
11. Prioritize Congruence
Is what you do congruent with your values? It will show up if things are not aligned and incongruence will tear up the chain of command. Leaders will have to spend some time to think about the implication of decisions and how it shows the congruence of beliefs and values. Apart from the decision is the very action of the decision that counts. How they take mindful steps forward matters. - Jedidiah Alex Koh, Coaching Changes Lives
12. Take A Human-Centered Approach
Take a page from human-centered design and consider this tri-modal values framework in decision-making: 1) What is it that you personally value? 2) What do other stakeholders value? 3) What is valued in the organization? Considering all three angles will not only contribute to the decision, but also direct how you show up, interact with others and communicate decision outcomes. - Holly R. Pendleton, HCL Technologies
13. Gauge Where You Are On The EI Spectrum
We all make different decisions based on where we are at any given moment on the Emotional Intelligence Spectrum. Using the EI paradigms of Fear, Duty, Achievement and Integrity as a compass, ask yourself, "Which paradigm am I applying to this decision?" Integrity will always lead you to the best values-based decision. If your answer is Achievement, Duty or Fear, take another run at it! - Kevin Leonard, Emerald Bay Performance
14. Include Values Alignment As A Key Decision-Making Criteria
For every decision, begin with the criteria for how you'll choose. Make one of the criteria, "must align with our company values" to assure congruence. Even when it's a decision you make routinely, a fresh look at these criteria is a chance to incorporate changes and lessons learned for ever-better choices. - Dodie Jacobi, The Consultant's Consultant™
15. Establish And Follow A Values-Based Operational Guide
Once an organization has established a values-based operational guide, the leader should thoroughly understand the premise and use it daily as a guide for decision-making. Reminding oneself of these important foundational elements can drive the best organizational decisions and set a precedent for others to follow. - Deborah Hightower, Deborah Hightower, Inc.
