Values-Based Leadership

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Values-Based Leadership


By Stephen Treacy
Principal
Steve Treacy and Associates


For more than 15 years, Illinois ASBO has been committed to the leadership development of its members. Administrator academies (e.g., Life Orientations, Leadership Practices Inventory, Myers-Briggs), our new Leadership Conference and the Leadership Institute (over 140 individuals have now completed the Institute) have provided individuals with the opportunity to increase their effectiveness and expand their influence as a leader. This is quite an accomplishment and Illinois ASBO deserves its reputation as one of the preeminent organizations in Illinois, delivering high quality leadership training to its members. It has been a privilege for me to be a contributor since the start.

Over the past several months, Illinois ASBO Executive Director/CEO Dr. Michael Jacoby and I have been conversing about some new directions for our leadership development efforts as an organization. I would like to share some of these ideas and get your feedback regarding if this might be the next step in Illinois ASBO’s ongoing support for school leaders in Illinois.

What Makes Leaders Worth Emulating
In my nearly thirty-five years of helping leaders grow, I think back to the times when I worked in the industry as an individual contributor and a follower. I was very aware of leaders who I wanted to follow and those that I did not. The leaders I wanted to follow possessed certain personal qualities that I admired; they engendered allegiance because 
of the ways they lived their lives in plain view. They made me want to “lean in” to learn more about what contributed 
to their effectiveness. They made me want to emulate them. While they may have been skilled in certain behaviors 
(e.g., a good listener, decisiveness, adept at solving problems), what stood out were the values they lived by as human
beings. Prominent were the values of truth-telling, empowerment, generosity and openness. I call the use of these values-based leadership.

Defining Leadership Values
Truth Telling means saying it as it is. Stressing the “what is” — what happened, what you saw, what you think, how you feel. Furnishing the whole story, including all that the listener needs to know.
Openness is sharing what you know and what you think so your follower has the best chance for success. This can especially apply to giving and receiving feedback. If your followers experience you as willing to be open, your trustworthiness and effectiveness increase.
Generosity is more than financial. It can mean giving your followers everything they need to 
be successful, including your time.
Empowerment relates do the design of the follower’s job. Is it interesting? Does it include decision making responsibility (autonomy)? Does it include the opportunity to use 
multiple skills?

My Story
In my early career in the industry, and later as an educator/consultant, I had two memorable leaders to follow. Ironically, they both had the same first name, Richard. “Richard One” was the owner of an engineering-construction company. I was his chief executive officer. His values of generosity and empowerment made me work hard to succeed and avoid failure. In terms of generosity, he paid me extremely well and gave me a very liberal expense account. He empowered me by allowing me to make all the corporate decisions except those affecting serious policy matters. His downside behaviors did much to lower my enthusiasm and genuine love of my work. Richard One was not truthful and as such not trustable. I worried about his telling stories about me to others just as he did about others we worked with. He practiced openness only as much as he needed to, and it was not always genuine. See the notes to the right for more examples and the rankings I applied. Ultimately, the rewards he gave me were not enough to make me want to stay under his employment.

“Richard Two” was owner of consulting company I worked with early in my career in the field of organization and leadership development. Richard Two’s chief qualities were the opposite of Richard One’s. He was totally trustworthy because anything he had to say was truthful. He was open to sharing my good points with me; if there was constructive feedback to share, he delivered it clearly, at the right time and in an appropriate setting. Conversely, any time I wanted feedback or support he was ready to give it. He would never discuss my shortcomings with anyone but me. Regarding empowerment, he let me run my client engagements as I saw fit and generously rewarded me with a significant share of project margins. In terms of openness, he was willing to share his plans for the firm and invite suggestions for change. Again, you can look below for a description of how these values were measured.


Your Story
Who are leaders that have inspired you or are currently inspiring you? Who are the leaders in your life that you want to follow and learn from? Using the format below, assess these leaders’ performance as it relates to Truth-Telling, Empowerment, Generosity and Openness. Add additional values as they apply to you. What do you learn about leadership from this review?
Click here to download My Leader Analysis template.

Create a Values-Based Improvement Plan
Assess your current performance as it relates to Truth-Telling, Empowerment, Generosity and Openness by completing the notes below. When and where have these values contributed to your leadership effectiveness? Could more intentional adherence to these values help you in your role as leader? Are there other values that have or might contribute to your leadership growth? You might consider asking a trusted colleague to help you complete the notes below or review it when you have finished.

Self-Analysis and Improvement Plan
Click here to download Myself Analysis template.

A New Leadership Direction
Could examining the values of those who inspire us as leaders be a new direction in Illinois ASBO’s leadership development strategy? Could Illinois ASBO members benefit from identifying their most cherished values and looking for ways to live them out? I welcome your feedback to these two questions. Watch for an upcoming Lunch and Learn webinar where we can take a deeper dive into values-based leadership. In the meantime, feel free to contact me at steve@streacy.com or Dr. Jacoby at mjacoby@iasbo.org.