At the heart of every successful organization lies a set of core values that define the organization’s identity and guide its actions. Organizational values are the lifeblood of the organization and serve as the moral compass guiding a company’s culture, operations, and relationships. They represent the core beliefs and principles that define an organization’s identity. However, establishing and instilling values requires a leader who can actively engage and consistently reinforce values in every aspect of the organization’s operations, interactions, and culture. A leader can create a cohesive and robust organizational culture in line with core values by exemplifying these values in their actions, ensuring transparent communication, incorporating values into daily operations, and rewarding the team members who exemplify them.
Leaders are the most visible and influential figures within an organization. Their actions, decisions, and behaviours set the tone for the entire company and speak volumes about the importance placed on the stated values. Leaders who consistently demonstrate the organization’s core values through their behaviour, decision-making, and interactions with employees send a powerful message that these values are a fundamental part of the organization’s culture. Tsai’s (2011) study findings show that organizational culture is correlated with leadership behaviours, which also influences employee job satisfaction. The foundational core values of an organization stem from its leadership, shaping the leadership style and subsequently influencing the conduct of subordinates. Leaders model these values through their behaviour and set a precedent for others to align with these principles. The alignment of behaviour between leaders and their teams fosters the development of a unified set of beliefs and values, paving the way for a robust organizational culture (Tsai, 2011). Therefore, leaders must recognize their pivotal role in upholding and nurturing the organization’s culture to facilitate a harmonious coherence in behaviour among members and minimize conflicts between employees. Therefore, leaders should lead by example since employees align their behaviours and attitudes with the established values they witness their leaders practicing.
Consistent and transparent communication ensures that all employees understand and embrace the organization’s values. Organizational values reflect the company’s mission, vision, and desired culture, shaping its approach to conducting business, treating employees, serving customers, and engaging with the community (Almeida et al., 2021). Therefore, clear and consistent values communication is fundamental ( Musheke & Phiri, 2021). Leaders must articulate the values significance and explain to subordinates how values it ties into the company’s vision and goals. Regularly revisiting and reinforcing these values through town hall meetings, internal communications, or training sessions also helps employees understand their relevance in day-to-day operations. Contrarily, unclear communication about organizational values can lead to confusion, behaviour inconsistency, trust erosion, decision-making challenges, and reduced employee engagement (Musheke & Phiri, 2021). In addition, organizational values need to evolve to remain relevant. So, leaders should encourage open communication channels where employees feel empowered to provide feedback on how well the values are being upheld and necessary improvements. Ultimately, effective communication and feedback support encourage employees to integrate organizational values into their work and make necessary changes to ensure the values stay aligned with the organization’s changing needs and its environment.
Values need to be more than statements and guide daily operations. First, leaders must use performance reviews and feedback mechanisms that align with the organization’s values to ensure that employees are held accountable. A culture of values cannot exist without accountability (Metwally et al., 2018). Therefore, leaders must hold themselves and subordinates accountable for upholding the organization’s values. Accountability includes addressing any discrepancies between stated values and actual behaviour in a timely and consistent manner. By taking swift and decisive action when values are compromised, leaders send a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated and reinforce the importance of ethical conduct. Also, leaders should encourage employees at all levels to consider core values when making decisions. Whether it is a decision about product development or internal policies, all decisions must align with the organization’s ethical and moral compass (Metwally et al., 2018). Leaders who integrate values into daily processes reinforce the alignment of actions with the organization’s core values.
Also, recognizing and rewarding employees who exemplify the organization’s values further reinforces the desired behaviours and encourages others to follow suit. Leaders institute recognition programs that highlight employees who consistently demonstrate the desired values. Recognition and rewards benefit team members and the entire organization. First, when employees see their colleagues being recognized and rewarded for demonstrating the organization’s values, it reinforces the desired behaviour and encourages others to follow suit (Almeida et al., 2021). Positive reinforcement creates a virtuous cycle where core values are normalized, leading to a more ethical and productive work environment. Similarly, recognition fosters a sense of belonging and engagement among employees, making them feel proud to be part of the organization and motivating them to continue exhibiting exemplary behaviour suit (Almeida et al., 2021). Therefore, leaders can recognize and reward employees who exemplify organizational values to encourage others to follow the desired values.
Conclusion
To sum up, leaders play the main role in establishing and promoting the values of an organization in different ways.They are responsible for setting the tone, embodying these values through their actions, and ensuring that these principles are integrated into the organization. They serve as the guiding force, steering the company’s behaviour and decisions toward aligning with its core principles. Through transparent communication, leaders ensure employees comprehend and internalize these values, creating a shared belief system. In addition, leaders integrating values into daily operations and holding individuals accountable for upholding them further cements their significance within the organization. Also, leaders promote organizational values by recognizing and rewarding those who exemplify these values. The action promotes a culture where such behaviours are encouraged and celebrated. A cycle of positive reinforcement positively influences employee engagement and a more ethical work environment. Besides, leaders promote values by emphasizing the importance of values in decision-making and adaptation to ensure that core principles remain relevant and evolve with the organization’s changing needs. Ultimately, leaders effectively promote company values, which enhance employee satisfaction and guide the organization toward ethical and successful outcomes.
References
Almeida, D., Beuren, I., & Monteiro, J. (2021). Reflexes of organizational values on the reward system in a family business. BBR. Brazilian Business Review, 18, 140-159. https://doi.org/10.15728/bbr.2021.18.2.2
Ghanem, K. A., & Castelli, P. A. (2019). Self-accountability in the Literature of Leadership. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 16(5).
Metwally, D., Ruiz-Palomino, P., Metwally, M., & Gartzia, L. (2019). How ethical leadership shapes employees’ readiness to change: The mediating role of an organizational culture of effectiveness. Frontiers in Psychology, pp. 10, 2493. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02493
Musheke, M. M., & Phiri, J. (2021). The effects of effective communication on organizational performance based on the systems theory. Open Journal of Business and Management, 9(2), 659-671.
Tsai, Y. (2011). Relationship between organizational culture, leadership behavior and job satisfaction. BMC health services research, 11(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-11-98
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