By the time a situation emerges and we are supposed to deal with, we could find best decision in three different ways: we can use either our beliefs to formularize a response, our values to formularize a response, or our intuition to formularize a response.
First of all, Let us compare beliefs and values as decision-making means. When we apply use our beliefs as decision maker, what we will do is reflecting our past history in dealing with similar situations. Our past history is always based on experience and context. Our beliefs herewith are not well-equipped to handle new complex situations in which we have never experienced before. Beliefs are steeped in our past personal history, traditions and habits. They are compelled by the past and not as adjustable to new situations.
Meanwhile, when we apply our values to make decisions, the decisions we take will align with the future possibility we want to experience. Values outrun both experiences and contexts. Hence, they could be applied in making tough decisions in such complex situations we have never experienced before. If we use values in decision making, then we consciously create the future we want to experience. Values are not constrained by the past experience and are adaptable to new situations.
Because the world we are living in, especially the business world, is getting increasingly chaotic, unpredictable and complex, values provide a more flexible mode of decision-making than beliefs. Values are the anchors we use to make decisions so we could weather a hurricane. They keep us aligned with our authentic self. They keep us true to ourselves and the future we want to experience.
Formulating a response with values is becoming the preferred mode of decision-making in business. It is not surprising, therefore, to find ample research showing that adaptable-and-values-driven companies are the most successful organizations on earth. When organizations come to unite around a shared of values set, they would then become more flexible, less hierarchical and less bureaucratic, and in addition, they will develop an enhanced capacity for collective action. When employees not only share the same values, but also share the same vision, the company performance is significantly enhanced. Shared values would found trust, and trust is the glue that enhances performance. The same is true for nations.
Hence, when there is a question of “What is values-based leadership?”, then the most suitable answer is that Values-based leadership is a way of making authentic decisions that builds trust and commitment of employees and customers.