All communities in society have belief systems practiced by their members. These cultural systems vary from one community to another. They are intended to create law and order in society. There are dire consequences for any member of the community who does not abide by them. Organizational values are a set of beliefs which the company ascribes to. The management indoctrinates them into their teams. All employees are expected to practice them in the course of performing their duties. These beliefs are part of the corporate culture and strategy. In this article, we are going to look at how leaders can best inspire organizational values.
Examples of Organizational Values
Ingenuity
This refers to inventive and innovative thinking. Companies encourage teams to adopt new ways of performing their duties and providing services to consumers.
Quality
This refers to the highest possible standards in the production of goods or provision of services. Companies invest massively in quality management systems to guarantee customer satisfaction.
Loyalty
This is a commitment to the corporate culture and strategic plan. Companies want employees to be committed to their vision and mission to have a competitive advantage.
Honesty
This refers to the use of factual information in decision-making and undertaking company activities. Companies encourage employees to be truthful in all their professional dealings to avoid unnecessary business risks.
Reliability
This refers to a high level of competency. Companies encourage employees to be effective and efficient at work to meet their targets.
Accountability
This refers to a sense of obligation and ownership among employees. It is about the belief in the corporate culture and strategic plan. Employees are encouraged to perceive the company as their own to protect its interests.
Transparency
This refers to easy access to information. Companies discourage withholding information, especially if it hinders operations and equal opportunities.
Simplicity
This is the state of not being complex. Instead, companies want their operations and activities to be easily understood and executed.
Respect
This refers to acknowledging the status and opinions of other people. Companies encourage employees to honor everyone they come into contact with.
Leaders Through: Best inspire organizational Values.
Practical Application
Leaders need to practice what they preach. They need to walk the talk. They need to lead by example. They need to demonstrate to others that they believe in the values and ascribe to them. This will have a major impression on the employees, who will, in turn, emulate the decisions and actions of their leaders. In addition, employees will observe the progress made by their leaders as they apply the values. This will make the employees use the values since they will desire similar experiences in their own lives.
Problem Solving
Leaders should be problem solvers and motivators. They should collaborate with their teams to develop solutions when challenges arise. They should offer constructive criticism and practical suggestions that can help the teams overcome the challenges. They should motivate the teams so that they don’t despair when they are overwhelmed by the challenges. This will keep the teams energized, and they will eventually succeed in their endeavors. In addition, this will make employees believe in their company culture and strategy since they are supported.
Constant Communication
Leaders should routinely interact with their teams. They should repeatedly remind their teams of the significance of corporate culture and values. This will help the teams internalize these values. The employees will automatically practice them since they are constantly reminded about them. Through constant communication, the leaders will better understand the group dynamics. The leaders will also realize effective ways of positioning the employees to maximize their full potential. Leaders will relate to employee behavior and reactions in various situations. This will help them identify appropriate areas to use their diverse personalities to improve company operations.
Training
Leaders should identify organizational values that are giving their teams a challenge. Once this is done, they should organize internal or external learning sessions to impart more skills in the challenging areas. This will help the employees understand and apply the difficult values more effectively in the future.
Mentorship
Leaders should provide advisory services to their teams. First, since they are more experienced, they should nurture the teams to become ideal employees. Second, they need to guide them in undertaking their duties and responsibilities. Third, they should give accurate instructions for achieving goals and objectives. Finally, they should give them a blueprint for implementing decisions and actions. This will help employees understand the corporate culture and strategy. As a result, adopting the organizational values is easier and faster since they have articulated the relevance.
Supervision
Monitoring and evaluation are important to gauge whether or not the employees are making progress in any area. Leaders need to constantly check on their teams’ progress to find out whether or not they are on the right track. This can be in the form of tests or reviews to determine the content level grasped. This will make employees remain alert and conversant with corporate culture and strategy. It will also give them an incentive to perform better while carrying out their roles in the company.
Employee Engagement
Leaders should identify ways of improving employee participation in company activities and decisions. This will make them more loyal and committed to the company and its values. In addition, they will want to preserve the company’s reputation and stability since they have a sense of ownership.
Employee Recognition
Leaders need to recognize efforts made by employees in achieving company goals and objectives. They should acknowledge their role in the success of the company, no matter how insignificant it may be. This improves the self-esteem of team members and their belief in company values. They will also have better performance and productivity, which improves the company’s profitability.
Team Building
Leaders should encourage cohesiveness and harmonious interaction among team members. The leaders make the teams focus on the corporate culture and strategy instead of personal differences. This unifies the team members, and role integration is enhanced. It also improves the efficiency levels when they are working on projects or performing their duties. As a result, performance increases, and so does profitability.
Target Setting
Leaders should direct their teams in the path they should follow. They should be at the forefront, guiding the way. They should set goals and objectives with timelines. This keeps the teams focused and energized on company interests. This helps in the actualization of the corporate strategic plan. It also helps employees articulate the organizational values quicker and better.
Empathy
Leaders should always put themselves in their employees’ shoes. They should experience their employees’ roles to understand their actions and reactions in various situations. They should avoid being judgmental and harsh when errors occur. This will make the employees feel worthy and trust the organization’s leadership. In turn, organizational values will be accepted willingly.
Benefits of Organizational Values
Compliance Management
Organizational values enhance adherence to professional ethics and statutory laws. They set guidelines on the performance of duties and operations of the company. They set standards that employees must follow. This awareness makes employees more responsible and keen on their conduct. As a result, opportunities for committing offenses or mistakes are reduced.
Risk Management
Organizational values reduce the chances of risks happening. They guide decisions and actions. They are a moral compass for the employees. They help develop policies and procedures which minimize risks. They also provide mitigation measures should the risks arise.
Strategic Management
Organizational values are part of the corporate strategic plan. They help employees align with the strategic plan. They are also part of the corporate culture. The corporate strategic plan and culture help companies have a competitive advantage in the business environment. This is because employees understand their roles and targets.
Conflict Management
Organizational values help prevent and resolve misunderstandings among employees. They are a reference point in case of disputes between employees. They help detect the offensive person in a dispute to correct their conduct. This fosters justice and fairness in the workplace.
Revenue Management
Organizational values lead to increased profits. Since they create law and order, employees remain focused on official duties. It also fosters cohesiveness which makes teams work better and faster together. All these increase performances and productivity of the teams. This, in turn, increases the company’s profitability and stability in the business environment.
Workforce Management
Organizational values help reduce staff turnover. In addition, these values reduce conflict and violation of human rights. As a result, employees enjoy a safe and peaceful working environment. This not only prevents them from looking for alternative employment but it increases their commitment to the company. In turn, the company remains stable with long-term employees who understand the industry well and give it a competitive edge.
Performance Management
Organizational values help in the management of employee performance. Integrated, focused, productive, and committed employees will always undertake their jobs effectively and efficiently. In addition, they are more alert and energized due to a positive working environment.
Drawbacks of Organizational Values
Time
To successfully indoctrinate employees on organizational values, the time has to be set aside for training and follow-up. This implies that some company operations may be placed on hold to facilitate this process. This may not be viable since the ultimate goal of a business is to be profitable. Both leaders and employees work with strict schedules. Getting a specific timeline to suit all the teams may not be possible due to the nature of their work.
Resources
Implementation of organizational values is often difficult due to a lack of resources. For instance, training may be required, which comes at a cost. These corresponding expenses may not be at the disposal of the company.
Leadership
The character of the leaders can also be a stumbling block in the implementation of organizational values. Leaders who do not take these values seriously will be a negative influence. The employees will use such leaders as an excuse to avoid following organizational values.
Supervision
Constant monitoring and evaluation are needed to ensure the successful implementation of organizational values. This requires commitment from the management and leaders. In some cases, this is not always possible due to their busy schedules. Therefore, employees can easily default or ignore these practices.
Restrictive
Organizational values are used as both a guide and control measure. However, the control aspect can lean more on being punitive than beneficial to the employees. Since they have to follow these standards strictly, their morale and creativity are suppressed. This can reduce their performance and productivity. It may also lead to high turnover in extreme cases as they search for freedom of expression.
Superficial
Sometimes when leaders develop organizational values, they create extremely ideological values that are not achievable. These values are more aesthetic than practical. Not much thought was placed into the relevance of these values to the organization or industry. As a result, employee adoption levels are extremely low.
Division
Organizations have diverse groups of people working in them. They are from different cultural and professional backgrounds. They have different aspirations and career goals. This creates divisions at various levels. They will not all perceive things in the same way. Each of them has personal interests and reasons for being part of the organization. Conformity to organizational goals may not be to the desired level due to their differences.
Conclusion
Organizational values are a set of beliefs which the company ascribes to. They form part of the corporate culture and strategy. The directors and management teams often develop them. There are several examples of organizational values, and each company has its own set of preferences. Leaders can inspire organizational values through several ways to increase the adoption levels by employees. These values are beneficial to the organization, but drawbacks prevent their successful implementation. Leaders should find ways to strike a balance between the benefits and drawbacks to reap their full potential.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are organizational values?
They are a set of beliefs which the company ascribes to.
- Why are leaders important in the implementation of organizational values?
This is because they are the custodians of these values, and they imbue the employees about them.
- What are the other components of a company’s strategic plan other than values?
The components of a strategic plan include vision, mission, objectives, goals, and values.
