21st Century Business Demands A Values-Based Leadership Model

The leadership landscape is constantly changing as businesses become increasingly tech-enabled and more considerate of inclusion and compassion toward employees. In this environment, companies are pushed to reflect on whether their leadership strategy fosters innovation and fulfillment or prevents it.

Values-based leadership is based on respect, mutual appreciation, goodwill, and safety. It has become an effective and well-received strategy for managing teams because of its authentic and humble approach to bringing structure and empathy into the workplace. Intentionally practicing these values can significantly improve brain functioning and elevate emotional intelligence, which enables heightened performance long term.

Unfortunately, discordant office politics and misalignment with the company's purpose create division in many businesses. These barriers restrict communication and transparency, which negatively impact business operations. Values-based leadership can harmonize business purpose, and stakeholder and employee relationships, and elevate the entire company culture. Choosing a values-based approach to leadership also enhances financial and cultural gains worldwide.

Carol Ann Langford, the Founder and CEO of Langford Leadership and an expert with over 20 years of experience in organizational development and leadership communication, provides her thoughts on the current state of leadership and advocates for businesses to reap the rewards of this new era.

Within the last decade, the world of business has seen unmatched transformation. Some of these changes have been led by the availability of highly advanced technology like AI and machine learning. Other shifts have resulted from unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable events like the pandemic, the Great Resignation, and subsequent labor shortages. Throughout this time, and even before tech and culture revolutionized fundamental principles of business, companies have always stood to benefit from values-based leadership.

When implemented company-wide, values-based leadership can create safer, more fulfilling work environments. The positive relationships staff have with one another fosters the ideal environment for optimized neural performance. Several thought leaders have explored this idea, and research into positive psychology, neuroscience, and organizational science shows that positive relationships at work can improve creativity, productivity, and satisfaction. These benefits trickle into society, enabling businesses to make positive impacts on the world through products, services, and their ideas toward work.

As leadership has been passed from generation to generation, new issues have emerged relating to the core idea of work culture. Many forward-looking organizations are moving away from rigid corporate values of unwavering service into a mutual give-and-take relationship. Carol Ann Langford asserts that this evolution will greatly benefit society if businesses can understand how to effectively implement values-based leadership while effectively handling issues that arise along the way.

From her diverse experience in organizational development, entrepreneurship, and consulting, Carol emphasizes the importance of moving from transactional relationships to transformational connections. She suggests businesses should examine the main challenges of their workplace to implement values-based leadership strategies. Asking leadership–and employees–for their opinions is a quick way to find problems. Depending on the size of your business, leadership issues can stem from a single manager, an entire department, or a company-wide mindset toward something. Some of the biggest barriers preventing companies from utilizing values-based leadership involve organizational silos, generational and cultural differences, and more. The remedies for these issues often come from value systems, highly effective communication, and spaces for collaboration.

"Many problems I see in workplaces that prevent the use of values-based leadership are tied to communication issues, a disconnect from a company-wide 'true north' purpose, and an absence of a coherent, motivating vision," Carol shares. "One of the easiest fixes for these situations is to encourage transparency, connection, and collaboration by being intentional with what you do to show your staff that they matter."

She also draws on her experiences working with clients to improve her approach.

By collaborating with an organizational development expert and keynote speaker like Carol, staff and business leaders can access these benefits. Through keynote speaking, executive coaching, and hands-on training, Carol offers bespoke support for identifying solutions, initiating change, and sustaining the benefits.

As companies enter an uncharted territory of leadership, they must reflect on the gravity of communication, collaboration, and intentionality in the workplace. By transforming alongside these changes, businesses can optimize the collective capabilities of their talent while achieving a level of innovation the world needs.

"It is important to get all leaders, no matter their age or background, to understand how critical values-based leadership is for their business regardless of their industry," Carol asserts. "In simple words, values-based leadership hinges on a manager's authentic connections with their team. Since those relationships are built by genuinely caring about people, leadership that uses this approach can deeply motivate staff to be committed to the company mission without manipulating them to do so through incentives and a cat-and-mouse type game."