THE ROLE OF VALUES IN CORPORATE LIFE

Genesis chapter 2




Today we are walking in: The Role of Values in Corporate Life








Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.







The Torah Testifies.............................

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The prophets proclaim...............







Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.


















The writings bear witness.............







2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword






Chapter 6
The Role of Values in Corporate Life


“Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.”
—Warren G. Bennis, leadership expert and author


A popular television show depicts what life would be like in the world, particularly in America, if suddenly all the electrical power went out—and no one could turn it back on again. While the TV show is fiction, the problem it portrays is a reality for many people in certain regions of the world, including the country of Nigeria.


Several years ago, while on a speaking trip to Nigeria, I was talking with a top lawyer in that nation who was one of my hosts. I inquired, “Nigeria is the seventh-largest oil producer in the world, but most Nigerians don’t have electricity. Everywhere I go, people use generators for power. There is no national grid in place to run electricity to people. Explain that to me.” He said, “Well, it’s not in the best interests of the politicians for the people to have electricity. Every time they discuss that issue in the parliament, they vote it down.”


When I asked why government leaders would vote down giving people access to electricity, he replied, “Most of the politicians own either generator companies or companies that prepare them or provide fuel for them.” Because the politicians had a particular business interest, the majority of their country’s citizens were being denied a key resource for their lives.


Perhaps you, too, live in a nation where corruption or mismanagement is holding back resources or improvements from its people. When I became aware of the underlying problem in Nigeria, I knew I could not address the issue directly, because it was a symptom of a greater issue—an apparent lack of values among many of the nation’s leaders. Therefore, when I had the opportunity to speak to a number of these leaders, I talked about character and how it affects national life. I knew that when leaders catch a vision of character, they begin to change their values and their conduct. Subsequently, their values become their policies.


Slowly, the situation has begun to change in Nigeria. There have been efforts to reform and privatize the electric industry. But there are still many internal challenges, and there have been setbacks. Reportedly, 120 million people in that nation, or three quarters of the population, still do not have access to electricity.1 But leaders are continuing to work on the problem. Such issues require commitment and perseverance, as well as the development of shared values among the leaders and citizens.


When leaders catch a vision of character, they begin to change their values and their conduct; subsequently, their values become their policies.


Corporate Influence


As a leader, always be aware of this reality: Your personal values and moral principles have a significant influence on those who participate with you in your corporate effort, as well as others who are affected by your policies and conduct. I use the word corporate here to refer to any form of association or joint effort, on any level—families, nonprofit organizations, churches, businesses, local communities, county or regional governments, states or provinces, nations, coalitions of nations, and so forth.


You set the tone for your followers. Your leadership role and its influence include some or all of the following:
Maximizing the corporate vision.


Transforming the corporate culture to the point that your personal beliefs, attitudes, standards, and behavior are adopted by your followers or constituents.
Establishing policy, or the regulations and laws that govern your constituents.


Determining the direction, security, and prosperity of the group.


Setting standards in relation to corporate ethics and intended outcomes.


Effecting change.


These are substantial responsibilities, and it is essential to know how the corporate values that you establish and promote will impact the ethical environment and success of your endeavor. Additionally, although you are a leader in the realm of your own gifting, you are also a member of other corporate entities whose values exert influence on you. Are you aware of the impact they are having on you? Moreover, what responsibilities do you have as a participant in these groups?


For example, you are the citizen of a nation. Do you know the vision and values of your country? Are its values constant, or are they shifting? What influence do these values exert on you? What are your commitments to your nation?


You may also be a member of a community organization, such as a volunteer group. Are you aware of its purpose and values? Could you express them to someone else? Do you agree with them? What are your responsibilities in relation to this group?


In this teaching, we will look at the vital role that values play in corporate life. We will further explore how to apply to our particular leadership situations what we’ve learned about values and morals over the last few teachings, and we will discover how corporate values influence our own lives.


Values and Corporate Life


As I wrote in teaching 1, leaders have always fulfilled a central role in human life. Organizations, communities, societies, and nations are founded, established, and maintained by leaders. People look to leaders for direction, and they listen to their views. Even when a leader is wrong, many people still think he is right, simply because he is a leader. Additionally, what a leader values usually determines how a group functions.


Corporate Entities Have Character


Each corporate body manifests a distinct character, just as each human being does. And, as is the case with individuals, that character can be either positive or negative. It all depends on what values the group holds. If an individual leads a group long enough, his character will eventually permeate the community. As a corporate entity is directed by its leader/executive/supervisor/administrator, it manifests particular beliefs, convictions, values, and moral principles. It may also manifest ethical flaws and their consequences—sometimes on a large scale. For example, a business’s motivation for creating its products, as well as the manner in which it creates them, is related to its corporate values. Values, morals, and ethics are clearly significant on a corporate level, just as they are in the life of an individual.


If an individual leads a group long enough, his character will eventually permeate the community.


Corporate Values Should Be Intentional


Leaders have an indispensable role in the development of corporate culture. Every leader of a common endeavor should be intentional about establishing positive values that will govern how the members function—with honesty, respect for others, a conscientiousness about quality, a commitment to providing excellent service, an eagerness to be productive, and so forth. Good character can be developed through careful training, but it can also deteriorate through neglect. A leader should not only personally adopt strong values, moral standards, discipline, and an ethical code, but he should also encourage the group’s members to do so.


Principles of Corporate Values


In teaching 4, we defined values in this twofold way:
Ideas, principles, and qualities on which you personally place high worth.
Standards or ideals that determine your conduct or policy.
Let’s see at how these definitions apply in a collective context by looking at several principles of corporate values.


1. Values Are the Foundation of a Corporate Entity


Corporate values shape the lives and daily experiences of the members, sometimes in profound ways. These values can take the form of (1) core ethical values that become moral standards and disciplines; and (2) specific ideas and approaches upon which the organization places high worth and on which it has chosen to focus.


Core Ethical Values


We know that an individual’s values are derived from his beliefs and convictions. In a similar way, a corporate entity’s values develop from the beliefs and convictions of the leader and the group members, which are based on their purpose. A group’s values are the source of its character. For example, a nation’s laws, which reflect its character, should be derived from the core values of its people; these laws should then be guarded and enforced by its leaders.


An organization’s core values are the guiding principles by which it is committed to achieve its vision. The “core” of a person or thing is the place from which its energy emanates. Therefore, the core values of an organization, a business, or a country are its center of control. They control its associations, moral standards, discipline, and environment.


If a corporate entity’s ideals and standards are based on solid principles, they will minimize and contain incidences of corruption within the organization. Conversely, in unprincipled corporate entities, corruption will be unconstrained. In the case of a nation, if the leaders do not value honesty, justice, and respect for the weakest of their citizens, there will be corruption and abuse throughout the country’s system of government.


The Red Cross is an example of an organization whose strong values are based on its convictions. Its stated mission is “compassionate care to those in need...preventing and relieving suffering, here at home and around the world.” It holds the conviction that every human life is worth saving, protecting, and helping. It doesn’t matter who the person is; if he is in need, the Red Cross wants to help him. The organization has demonstrated its values by, among other outreaches, providing international assistance in seventy countries and working to “meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable communities.”2


A corporate entity’s core values are the guiding principles by which it is committed to achieve its vision.


Specific Ideas and Focuses


Let’s look now at the second definition of corporate values, in which an organization has specific ideas and approaches upon which it places high worth, and on which it has chosen to focus. For instance, in the business world, each company reflects distinct characteristics. Rolls-Royce is unique among automobile manufacturers. Its vision is not just to produce cars. Rather, it is to create an “experience” of driving. To achieve this vision, the company builds every car by hand. “A pioneering spirit and a sense of adventure define Rolls-Royce,” the company says on its Web site, where consumers can read background stories about its “legendary” models.3


People can buy a functional car from almost any automobile company. If they want to be purely pragmatic—and many consumers do—they can buy a much less expensive car that runs well. But if a customer is looking for unique performance and custom features, he will go to a Rolls-Royce dealer or another high-end car company because of the specific value it places on bespoke workmanship.


The quality of a car is a manifestation of the character of the individuals who built it—and the character of these individuals reflects the overall values and character of the company they work for. Those who are employed by a particular company abide by corporate values that may be distinct from the corporate values of other companies. For example, if your job was to oversee the installation of seats in Rolls-Royce cars, you couldn’t focus solely on the mechanics of the installation—you would have to make sure your performance contributed to the “experience” for the consumer, by your personal care of the product and your fine attention to detail.


Similarly, corporate values can indicate ideas that are important to one group but not to another related group. To use the example of automobiles again, one company may value speed of production more than quality of goods produced. The former was a value that many American car companies appeared to embrace a number of years ago. Their primary value seemed to be getting as many cars as possible through the assembly line, as quickly as possible. Quality took a “backseat.” Essentially, the idea was, “We want to assemble vehicles faster and at less cost. So, we’ll use cheaper parts, and we won’t be as concerned about quality, in order to make more money.”


In contrast, the values of Japanese companies seemed to include producing well-made cars that would last a long time, run well, and require fewer repairs. The car industries of two different countries were manufacturing the same mode of transportation but under distinct value systems. In the end, the companies who prized quality won out among consumers, forcing their rival companies to focus more on quality, as well. This gave consumers more choices when looking for reliable transportation.
In relation to all companies, we can—and should—ask ourselves, “What are the values and character of this business? How does its character compare to other companies that make a similar product?” We can ask similar questions of all forms of corporate entities.


2. A Corporate Entity Must Promote Positive Values to Function Well


Corporate bodies have to promote and protect positive values in their community if it is to function well, maintain its viability, and thrive.


Society, or the “National Community”


For instance, society—the “national community” of a country—must support values like cooperation, honesty, and trust, or it will decline. For the community’s well-being, these values have to be found among its citizens and those with whom the citizens interact. The national community must work to preserve its cherished values, and its leaders must endeavor to protect those values in various ways for the sake of its members. The community comes to rely on those positive values in order to function. (When a nation’s leaders and/or citizens do not esteem and protect positive values, the community will become oppressed and demoralized—a situation that has occurred in various nations throughout history, such as the former Soviet Union and North Korea.) Let’s look at a few illustrations related to values of trust and safety in the context of communities that esteem positive values.


When a member of a society buys a bottle of water from a business within that society, he places faith in that business, as well as the manufacturer, that the water is safe for him to drink. The consumer hasn’t witnessed the bottling process personally, and the bottle is sealed, so he can’t test it for contamination before he purchases it. He has to trust that the business is offering bottled water from a reputable company. And, he has to have faith that this company has character—that what it states on its label concerning the contents of its product is truthful.


Some countries have instituted safety ordinances, holding companies accountable to live up to the standards that the national community has established for the welfare and protection of its citizens. As a corporate entity, the United States of America has created agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whose motto (value) is “Protecting and Promoting Your Health”4 and whose task is to monitor the quality of the food and drink that are offered for sale to the nation’s people.
The “national community” of a country must support values like cooperation, honesty, and trust, or it will decline.


Another example of corporate trust is the confidence that members of a society place in their banks. When people make deposits, they have faith that their money will still be there when they want to make a withdrawal. If a bank is reputable, its guarantee that the money will be kept safe and available is one of its corporate values, which it extends to its depositors. There is a legal and moral transaction between an individual and his bank anytime he makes a deposit or utilizes the bank’s other financial services.


Many national communities maintain programs to ensure that the society’s values are upheld in such financial dealings. Years ago, the United States government created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). If a depositor’s funds are held in a participating bank, his money is insured for up to $250,000; these funds are guaranteed if the financial institution should fail. Although the FDIC was established by the government, it is not funded by it. It is financed primarily by the insurance premiums that member banks pay to the agency. Banks take part in this program in order to show good faith to their depositors and to protect their own values and reputation in the community.5


Even so, large banks or other lenders sometimes experience massive failures, such as we saw happen during the global economic downturn of 2007–08 and the years following. A lending institution’s failure may result from the reckless investments or unethical practices of its executives. Yet, even in such cases, the U.S. government may still authorize “bailouts” of banks, in order to cover depositors’ funds that are above the insured amount. (Other governments have taken similar action.) It does so for the purpose of protecting the economy—and, ultimately, the community’s values of trust and safety.


These bailouts are usually controversial, since the money for them does come from the government—through the taxpayers. In this way, certain members of the national community sometimes end up paying for the mistakes and unethical conduct of other members of the national community, often causing the first group to feel that they have been taken advantage of. Under such circumstances, the national community’s bond—based on mutual cooperation, honesty, and trust—can begin to break down. Leaders of all fields and industries must therefore seek to abide by strong core values, keeping the crucial relationship of mutual trust in their societies strong.


Business


It is not just national communities but also other corporate bodies, such as civic organizations and individual businesses, that depend on values like integrity, honor, fairness, and respect in order to function. Let us look at some examples from the world of business. Suppose you are hired by a company, with the agreement that you will be paid every two weeks. To enter into such an agreement, you have to accept the company’s word that it will compensate you for your work. You have to trust that your employer is going to give you a paycheck for the negotiated amount every other Friday. Likewise, the company has to trust that you will perform the agreed-upon work. This is an exchange of integrity and honor between the company and its employee. You have entered into a mutual contract on the basis of specifically stated or implied values of trustworthiness.


In another example, when you go to a car dealer to buy a new or used automobile, you have to trust that what the salesperson says about the car is true. People trust salespeople all the time, even though they may joke about the stereotypical “crooked used-car salesman.” In the case of new cars, manufacturers provide warranties guaranteeing certain repairs and maintenance for a given number of years or a specified mileage. These warranties are reflections of the companies’ value of accountability. They are one method by which the company works to maintain association with its dealers and its customers, new and repeat alike.


In the case of a used car, you might be able to review the car’s service history, or you might arrange to have a mechanic inspect the vehicle. But you still may not know everything about the condition of the car. Therefore, if you make a final decision to purchase it, you have to do so with a degree of trust. Regardless of the ultimate trustworthiness of a product, trust is a necessary part of sale transactions.


To strengthen consumer confidence, thus supporting values of honesty and fairness in their society, citizens have created various nonprofit organizations that promote trust, integrity, and fairness in business. One such organization is the Better Business Bureau, whose mission is “to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust.”6


“Seven Social Sins”


Because corporate entities must rely on values to function, it is necessary for nations, businesses, nonprofit groups, families, and so forth to work to ensure that strong values are promoted and protected within their own group. We have looked at some examples of how nations and organizations have done this. But what happens when strong ethical values aren’t protected and promoted within a corporate entity? Mahatma Gandhi published a list of “seven social sins” in his newspaper Young India in 1925 that provides a vivid picture of a society deficient in values and morals.


1. Wealth without work


2. Pleasure without conscience


3. Knowledge without character


4. Commerce without morality


5. Science without humanity




6. Worship without sacrifice


7. Politics without principles


To these seven, I would add an eighth: 1. Action without accountability


A Perpetual Problem


The above ways of conducting life can destroy a society. We should realize that a breakdown of ethics in a community will become a perpetual problem unless there is some intervention. When leaders are unethical, they negatively influence the people, and, sooner or later, the culture becomes infected with unethical behavior. Then, new leaders emerge who have been brought up in that culture and therefore mirror its lack of ethics. They, in turn, negatively influence the people, and so on.


Ironically, after these new leaders are elected or appointed, their constituents often expect them to suddenly be wiser and more ethical than they were beforehand. The people somehow expect a miracle of transformation to happen between the election/appointment of the person and the time he begins to exercise the responsibilities of his office. (This phenomenon is one evidence of human beings’ inherent moral sense of right and wrong, which we will investigate in the next teaching.) Yet leaders produced by a culture that is pervaded with a lack of values will have a similar lack of values. They will be no wiser or more moral than the general public.


Occasionally, there are exceptions to this general rule. Sometimes, we encounter extraordinary people who almost seem to have been born with a strength of character that causes them to rise higher than the ethics of their environment. But such leaders are rare, and all of them would likely affirm that they still had to intentionally work on cultivating their character.


Monitoring and Protecting Values


Considering the moral and ethical decline of societies around the globe today, we must take seriously the need for character development. It has to begin with individual leaders, like ourselves, and we have to promote character on a grassroots level—since, as we’ve discussed, leaders are produced by their culture. This is why we must encourage the teaching of character development in our leadership training courses and schools. The culture itself has to be changed—one person at a time—if moral character is to be fully established among our leaders.


Values are integral to national and social development. When the leaders and citizens of a country begin to place less worth on the foundational values that once held their nation together, the country starts to lose its character. All nations must decide what values they will monitor, protect, and maintain.


In America and other nations today, leaders are tampering with core values —either adjusting them or rejecting them outright. In expressing their opposition to these changes, some of the spiritual leaders in the Western world have said, “We’re moving away from traditional values.” By using the term “traditional values,” they are expressing this idea: “We’ve relied on various core values for hundreds of years. Now, we are debating moving away from them and relying on different values, which means that we are going to change the essence of our country.”


Changing a national core value is beneficial only when doing so will realign a country with what is true and just. Often, other changes are detrimental because they contribute to a breakdown of moral standards. When considering the role of core values, the question is, “Do you want to change the core beliefs and values of your country to the point that it takes on an altogether different character?” If half of the citizens say yes to this question, and half say no, a nation is in serious trouble, because the people cannot agree about what they consider of greatest worth to the community as a whole.


A society must monitor and protect what it values, because its values become its character.


3. A Corporate Entity’s Values May Be Unspoken yet Recognized


A third principle is that values do not have to be explicitly stated in order to exist in a community. For example, in many nations, there is an unspoken value that younger men and women who are seated on a bus or another form of public transportation will stand up and allow an elderly person to sit down, as a courtesy. This value is no longer universally followed in some societies. However, the people who do observe it probably accepted it as an unspoken value when they were children, by watching the conduct of their parents and other adults. In some families and societies, this practice is still specifically taught.


Let’s look at another example of an unspoken value, in the context of business transactions. Suppose someone took his clothes to a dry cleaner. The individual shop may or may not have a prominent sign guaranteeing its work. Yet even if it doesn’t, the customer relies on the unspoken value connected with doing business that he is going to get his clothes back, and they are going to be clean. If the dry cleaner violated this unspoken value, especially more than once, the association between the customer and the shop would be broken. This simple example demonstrates that shared values—even unspoken ones—are necessary for continued relationship in any corporate entity.


How Corporate Values Function


Keeping in mind the above principles, let’s explore what is required for values to operate successfully in a corporate body.


1. Core Values Must Be Communicated Clearly
Members of a corporate entity should be fully aware of the values of the community and be periodically reminded of them, so that the values remain clear and in the forefront of their minds. In a previous section, we talked about the role of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in protecting consumers from bank failures. On its Web site, the FDIC plainly states its mission, its vision, and its six core values. I have included its core values below as a good model of what written corporate values look like:


Integrity: We adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards.


Competence: We are a highly skilled, dedicated, and diverse workforce that is empowered to achieve outstanding results.


Teamwork: We communicate and collaborate effectively with one another and with other regulatory agencies.


Effectiveness: We respond quickly and successfully to risks in insured depository institutions and the financial system.


Accountability: We are accountable to each other and to our stakeholders to operate in a financially responsible and operationally effective manner.


Fairness: We respect individual viewpoints and treat one another and our stakeholders with impartiality, dignity, and trust.7


All corporate entities should establish stated values that communicate their character and expectations. For example, a company might post a sign in several prominent locations in its building that says “As a company, we are not interested in only your gifts—we are interested in your good character.” If an employee has exceptional gifts but lacks character, he may engage in unethical and/or illegal acts—like stealing from the company. For example, a personal assistant might be able to type over 100 words per minute, but if he is dishonest, he may take a computer home one day and never bring it back. I’ve seen similar things happen.


2. Core Values Require Total Corporate Commitment
In any corporate entity, there has to be a general agreement among the members about what values have high worth and therefore must be upheld and preserved. Otherwise, there will be disorder and confusion, as well as a breakdown of unity, as we have discussed. Every member of an organization should concur with, and be governed by, the corporate values.


3. Core Values Must Become the Personal Values of the Individual Members


This point is related to number 2, but it reflects the idea that although corporate affirmation of values is essential, values can be fully effective only when they are personally embraced by the individual members of the group. Remember that an individual’s personal vision is always found in the context of a larger corporate vision. If a member doesn’t see how his personal vision may be fulfilled within the corporate vision—if what he values most isn’t aligned with that corporate vision—he will become detached from the rest of the group, and the quality of his contribution will diminish. In such a case, it is not necessarily a problem of unethical standards. The individual may have the same moral principles as the rest of the group, but what he values in terms of his purpose, and how he would like to fulfill it, differs from the vision and goals of the rest of the community.


How is the vision of a corporate entity protected? It is protected by the participants’ shared values, accompanied by common moral standards— whether written or implied—discipline, and ethics. A corporate standard will mean nothing if the members don’t accept it as their personal standard. When they don’t, they become a drain on the organization; they begin to undermine its purpose. Values always originate with individuals’ beliefs and convictions. Then they are applied to corporate arenas. The personal and the corporate must align.


When a member isn’t aligned with the corporate vision, he will become detached from the rest of the group,
and the quality of his contribution will diminish.
Corporate Responsibility and Personal Responsibility
I remember hearing about an incident in which an aircraft had to make an emergency landing because one of the engine plates had not been locked properly before a flight, causing a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation. As I understand it, if an engine plate falls off a plane in midair at 300 mph, it can become like a razor-sharp knife able to cut right through steel.


During the investigation of the incident, people in the media were asking, “Who is at fault here?” The discussions I heard on television were interesting in light of corporate values. One person said, “First of all, the pilot should have checked for that while doing his walk-around of the plane.” It is routine for a pilot to check specific items before a flight. So when a pilot walks around an aircraft, he isn’t just stretching his legs; he’s looking at various aspects of the plane, double-checking the work that the maintenance crew has performed.


The television commentators then asked, “Did the captain fail to check it? Or was it the fault of maintenance?” Any individual who performs maintenance on a plane has to sign off on a checklist of items. The authorities knew which individuals had been involved with the maintenance of the plane. Had they failed to close the plate properly? The commentators went on to say, “The supervisor is then supposed to sign off on what the maintenance crew signed off on.”


As I listened to this ongoing commentary about the plane incident, my conclusion was that it was a corporate values issue. Even though it was determined that someone on the maintenance crew had neglected to lock the plate correctly, the fault came down to a company issue, not an individual one. Everyone connected with the airline was supposed to personally accept what the company had agreed upon as its corporate values—including those related to safety. That means the pilot had to do his part during his walk- around; the maintenance crew had to do its part and not sign off until it had checked all the details, such as whether the engine plates had been locked properly; the supervisor had to make sure the maintenance crew had done its job; and so on. Everyone has to work together toward corporate success. And working together means having common values.


A Realigning of Values


When someone becomes a member of an organization, he may find it necessary to adjust some of his core values so that they align with the core values of the group. Suppose someone seeking employment interviews with a corporation and reads on the job application a list of the company’s core values, one of which is teamwork. The candidate realizes that, up to this point in his career, he has been very independent-minded. One of his values has been to work on his own rather than with a team.


The candidate has two choices. He can retain his former value of working alone and try to find a position where he can do so at a different company. Or, he may decide that working with others to some degree is a necessary component in any endeavor and is a value he would like to develop. In that case, he can decide to embrace the company’s value and adhere to it if he is hired.


In another example, suppose a citizen of one nation immigrates to a different country and wants to become a citizen there. The governing articles of the new country delineate certain core values that reflect its character. Because the immigrant wants to become a citizen of that society, it becomes necessary for him to accept its stated core values. In fact, many people are motivated to move to a new country and take up citizenship there because they are especially drawn to its values.


A new citizen could, of course, merely pretend to have a commitment to his adopted nation’s values. If he does, he weakens the unity among the members of that society. He might even become a danger to them, if he wanted to actively attack those values. To become a committed and meaningful member of his country, a new citizen must personally adhere to its foundational beliefs. Relatedly, if all the citizens of a country made a commitment to actively embrace the ethical values that the national community espoused, then ethical and moral corruption would quickly diminish.


When someone joins a group, he may need to adjust his core values so that they align with the core values of the organization.


Let’s look at a third example. Suppose a young person has just graduated from high school. His parents allow him to live at home rent free, so he finds a part-time afternoon job. Then, he spends the summer staying up late with his friends every night and sleeping until eleven o’clock in the morning. At first, he is happy with this arrangement; he values the lack of demands in his unstructured existence. Soon, however, he realizes that his life isn’t going anywhere. After looking at his options, he decides to join the army. In making this choice, he has to change his value system from living an unstructured life to living a very structured one. He would not be able to survive in his new environment unless he accepted the values of the new corporate entity of which he had become a part.


Leaders, as well as Followers, Must Commit to the Corporate Values


Leaders are not exempt from the need to adhere to the community’s values as their own personal values. Leaders are a part of the corporate entity, but they aren’t the entity itself. They are not above being governed by the community’s values—although some leaders act as if they were. A leader should never tell a follower, “Do what I say—not what I do.” He has a responsibility and an accountability to his followers, and he must demonstrate that he personally holds to the values of the group.


4. When There Is a Breakdown of Shared Core Values, Some Members Will Function According to Unspoken Negative Values


In organizations where positive values are not communicated, repeated, or demonstrated by the leaders, negative values can develop among the members as a means of personal survival and/or advancement. Individuals may start seeking a competitive advantage, rather than using their gifts for the benefit of the whole community.


Negative values are rarely talked about among the members of a corporate entity, except on the sly. These values may be in direct conflict with the organization’s policies. Here are some commonly heard phrases in which people communicate, especially to new employees, the unspoken values of a company, as opposed to the formal ones:


“Don’t contradict the boss.”


“Never be the bearer of bad news.”


“Anyone lower on the ladder is inferior.”


“Don’t rock the boat.”


“Everyone is on the take.”


“‘Borrow’ ideas and resources from other groups whenever possible.”


“Always cover your butt.”


“Win at all costs.”


The message is that if you want to succeed in this organization, these are the things you should do and should not do. New or different ideas are not welcome. Many companies have an “underground” culture that can have an immediate negative effect on the values of new employees. These are some realities of the workplace that many people have to deal with.


How Negative Values Develop


Sometimes, negative values develop in an organization when members become frustrated by its practices and procedures. For example, they may find it difficult or impossible to make their required contribution to the group, due to flawed policies or a lack of cooperation from other members. Suppose a business had a policy that an employee was to complete a particular task through a certain department alone. The employee discovers that the members of that department won’t work with him. So, he decides to work through someone else, in a different department, who has agreed to help him.


This way of functioning becomes a pattern for the employee. He has a difficult problem, yet he is establishing a negative value by ignoring the company’s policy—one that had originally been set up to create an efficient process. Similar scenarios are found in businesses across the globe.


As a result, that employee may tell a new employee, “If you need something done, talk to so-and-so rather than going through the designated department,” or, “Don’t go by the book—do your job this way, instead.”


Negative values can also surface when members reject a corporate value due to selfish reasons. For example, they may discard the value of competence and instead cut corners in order to get a job done faster, in hopes of obtaining praise from a supervisor. Or, they may discard the value of competence because they have become lazy and no longer have a passion to pursue excellence.
Many companies have an “underground” culture that can have an immediate negative effect on the values of new employees.


From Negative to Positive Values


Leaders of corporate endeavors need to become aware of unspoken negative values among their followers. They must discover why these unspoken values developed, and then help followers to recommit to, and realign with, the stated core values. Leaders should ask themselves questions such as the following: “Have I demonstrated the corporate values by my words and actions? Or have I exhibited a double standard?” “Do any corporate policies need to be updated in order to better align with our values and/or to help the group function better?” “Have I listened to what the members have been telling me about their difficulties in fulfilling their part of the corporate mission? What can I do to help them?”


Members must also recognize unspoken negative values in their community and assess whether they have accepted any of them. They should ask themselves questions such as the following: “Am I aligned with the corporate values?” “Have I accepted an unspoken negative value in order to solve a problem, instead of addressing the problem directly?” “Have I disregarded a corporate value due to carelessness, or in order to pursue my own agenda?” “Do I review the corporate values on a regular basis?” In addition, if the unspoken negative values of a group involve unethical conduct, individual members must remain committed to function according to a positive value system and code of ethics, rejecting peer pressure to compromise.


Vital Roles of Corporate Leaders


I have received invitations from leaders across the globe to whom I’ve presented the principles contained in this series. They have asked me to come and speak to all the employees of their company, or to all the civil servants from every department of their government. They have organized large meetings so that those employees and government workers could learn the significance of character. When strong values are “caught” by the members of an organization, the organization will be transformed in numerous positive ways.


Yet, as many of today’s leaders try to fix the problems in their families, organizations, businesses, communities, and nations, they often focus only on power, diplomacy, or manipulation—over their family members, employees, associates, economic systems, institutions, and so forth. There is a great need for principled leaders who can...


Create an environment that will help individuals to discover, develop, refine, and exercise their abilities—providing an opportunity for their gifts to be served on behalf of the community and others. Good leaders do not only employ others; they deploy them.
Build a diverse but unified team, where each person can contribute his unique strengths, and where each person’s weaknesses are either strengthened or made irrelevant by the complementary strengths of others.


Promote and demonstrate strong values, morals, and ethics, which have been translated into operational and relational standards—how people in the group conduct themselves as they contribute their strengths, and how they treat other members of the community and their constituents/clients.


Have you personally accepted the core values of your corporate vision? Do you demonstrate those values in your life and through your policies? Have you clearly communicated those values to your followers? This is the commission of a leader of character.