Every organization has values written down somewhere. The question is whether employees and customers actually experience them. This site is a practical resource for leaders who want to close that gap: to define what they stand for, hire and build teams around it, and make the hard decisions that keep an organization true to its word. Here you'll find values exercises for individuals and businesses, recommended books and thought leaders, and lessons on the real cost of incivility in the workplace.
I'm Christy Giardino, Director of Administration and Information Systems at ADMO, Inc., a custom plastic injection molder in Elgin, Illinois. My perspective on values-based leadership comes from the manufacturing floor and the front office, not the classroom. I've seen firsthand how clear values shape hiring, culture, and customer trust. Whether you lead a team of five or a company of five hundred, I hope these resources help you lead with intention.
A Values Driven Leader is one who sets course by determing the type of person they want to be and the character of the organization they want to lead. These values then become a filter or a litmus test for all major decisions, especially recruitment and talent retention decisions.
There is a significant tension that develops in an organization when the stated values don't reflect the reality of the day to day experience of the employees or the customers. Integrity matters to people even if they can't really name it as a key factor in their daily decisions. When someone or a business claims to be one thing but behaves in a contrary way, seeds of distrust and discomfort are planted.
But, when a leader makes hard choices to ensure that values are followed and used as a schema for building the team and business, a strong, integral foundation is built.
As a Values Driven Leader, it's important to be intentional about planning processes, products, and even hiring people who align with the mission and values of the organization. This drives more towards harmony than other organizations who do not spend this energy intentionally.
Being a Values Driven Leader does not mean everything will be perfect, or easy, but it is the foundation upon which a high-performing, dare I say, Legendary brand is built.
Time spent identifying key values and understanding why they are important
Process and Products built around the mission and values
A strong sense of integrity. Are you who you say you are? If not, are you doing all you can to close the gap?
Choosing team members who align with the vision and values of the organization.
Making hard choices when people or processes are no longer in line with the values.