The Importance of Values in Leadership

For new and emerging leaders, understanding and embracing your personal values is one of the most important steps you can take on your leadership journey. Your values are the foundation of who you are and what you stand for. They serve as a guiding compass, influencing your decisions, behaviours, and relationships with others. When your actions align with your values, you lead with authenticity, build trust, and create stronger connections with your team. When there is a misalignment between your values and your workplace environment, it can lead to frustration, disengagement, and stress. Recognising these moments of misalignment and taking deliberate action is critical for both your personal well-being and your effectiveness as a leader.

Taking the Time to Understand Your Values

The first step in aligning your leadership with your values is to take the time to understand what truly matters to you. This requires self-reflection and introspection. Think about moments in your life when you felt proud or fulfilled—these experiences often highlight when you were living in alignment with your core values. Conversely, reflect on times when you felt anxious, frustrated, resentful, or disengaged. These moments can reveal situations where your values were compromised or ignored.

You may find it helpful to use tools such as values assessments or journaling exercises to identify and prioritise what is most important to you. Common values might include integrity, empathy, innovation, collaboration, or respect. Whatever they are for you, defining these values clearly will provide a strong foundation for making decisions that feel right and authentic.

Recognising Misalignment

As a leader, there will inevitably be times when you encounter situations or environments that do not align with your values. This could be due to the culture of the organisation, the behaviour of colleagues or supervisors, or even the expectations placed on you in your role. Misalignment often manifests as discomfort, frustration, or a sense of inner conflict. You may find yourself questioning decisions or feeling disconnected from the work you are doing.

It’s important to pay attention to these feelings because they are signals that something is out of balance. Ignoring them can lead to prolonged disengagement, resentment, and distrust—not just toward others but also toward yourself if you feel unable to act in accordance with what matters most to you. Over time, this misalignment can contribute to stress and burnout, undermining both your personal well-being and your ability to lead effectively.

Taking Action When Misalignment Occurs

When you recognise that there is a misalignment between your values and your current situation, it’s crucial to take action rather than simply enduring the discomfort. There are several ways to approach this:

Pause and Reflect: Sometimes situations that feel misaligned may shift over time. Before making any major decisions, sit with the discomfort -take a moment to assess whether the situation might improve on its own or whether external factors (such as organisational changes) could bring things back into alignment.

Speak Up: If the misalignment stems from specific behaviours or practices within your team or organisation, consider having an open conversation about it. For example, if collaboration is one of your core values but you feel excluded from decision-making processes, expressing this concern constructively could lead to positive changes. Speaking up not only helps address the issue but also demonstrates authenticity and courage—qualities that inspire trust in others.

Explore New Opportunities: If the misalignment persists despite your efforts to address it, it may be time to consider whether another role or organisation would better align with your values. While leaving a position can be a difficult decision, staying in an environment that consistently conflicts with what matters most to you can have long-term negative effects on both your mental health and professional growth.

The Risks of Staying Misaligned

Remaining in a situation where there is ongoing misalignment between your values and the workplace can have serious consequences over time. It can erode your sense of purpose and fulfilment at work, leading to feelings of disengagement or even resentment toward colleagues or leadership. This lack of alignment can also damage trust—both in others and in yourself—making it harder to build meaningful relationships or feel confident in your decisions.

Aligning Values for Leadership Success

When you take the time to understand what values are important to you—and make choices that align with those values—you set yourself up for success as an authentic and effective leader. Core values like integrity empower ethical decision-making; empathy fosters stronger relationships; innovation drives meaningful progress; collaboration builds cohesive teams; respect creates inclusive environments.

Aligning with your values enhances not only personal satisfaction but also contributes positively to organisational culture and performance. Leaders who live their values inspire trust and loyalty from their teams while creating workplaces where everyone feels empowered to do their best work. By staying true to what matters most, leaders can build fulfilling careers while fostering positive change within their organisations.