Values: Leading Through the Storm

We were heading north for the weekend, rolling down the highway with lots of excitement. A bit of snow started to fall. Then more, much more. And finally, a raging blizzard with whiteout conditions. Terrifying. All conversation stopped and everyone fixated on one thing: The yellow line in the centre of the road. Sometimes in a panic, we’d lose it for a moment and then it would reappear. In a swirling world of snowy confusion, there was one constant. The yellow line.

Your values - personal and corporate - are your yellow line. When the weather is clear and all is well, the yellow line is in your sub-conscious quietly showing you the way. But when things go bad, it’s front and centre: It’s the “truth” that keeps you on the right path.

In a coaching situation, establishing values is a great place to start. But often - and this drives me crazy - the attitude seems to be, “Ok, sure, we can do the values thing, but let’s try to get past the fluffy stuff so we can focus on the real world”. Values are the real world. Knowing your values, internalizing them and living them, has real world consequences. 

Our values are the foundation of what we stand for. We become better at making routine decisions because some options are simply off-the-table. But the real power comes when we need to make decisions in stormy times, when visibility is poor, danger is high and it’s all we can do to see the "yellow line"… if you have one!

Have you taken the time to figure out your personal values and those of the company you may be leading? This can be a rich and inspiring process and it doesn’t need to take long. Once you have them, the key is to internalize them and live them. I’ve got 2 very unique tips for “internalizing” values and I’ll share them with you in my next post. In the meantime, be careful out there and watch your yellow line!

Jack Ott - Coach & Founder at BolderBlue Leadership

www.bolderblue.com