How to reconnect with your values to re-energize your authentic confidence as a leader and create a positive work culture

Imagine walking by a store where the sign on the windows says “everything 50% off.” You rush inside to take advantage of the sale and feel lucky to find so many items in your size. Excited to score some new outfits with a deal, you are smiling as you approach the cash register, only to notice that the sales clerk rings up everything at regular price. Turns out that only the green stickers are actually 50% off. How would you feel? Perhaps deceived, frustrated or maybe even a bit angry? 

Unfortunately, many leaders and companies are doing just that with their stated values. They advertise their commitment to values like honesty, integrity, and respect on their website, but their actions suggest otherwise. This misleading sales approach is not enough to create a positive work culture, inspire employees towards shared goals and retain top talent.

As the workforce is re-energizing their power, they expect more for themselves and the organizations they dedicate their time and energy to. According to  PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022 people want to feel empowered to be their authentic self, connected to a greater sense of purpose (which aligns to their values) and the ability to discuss vulnerable topics in the workplace which matter, like social political issues happening in the world.

This requires leaders who not only realize the importance of 'leading with values' they also have authentic confidence to leverage these values to shape the culture of the organization by role-modeling behavior which guides communication, decision making processes and inspires their teams towards achieving shared goals. 

Leadership in the workplace is an essential aspect of organizational success. 

One example is the story of Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. In his book "Hit Refresh," he shares how he transformed Microsoft's culture by leading with empathy, growth mindset, and inclusion. He recognized that the company's culture needed to change from a "know-it-all" attitude to a "learn-it-all" attitude. This shift in mindset led to a more innovative and inclusive culture that has helped Microsoft become one of the world's most valuable companies.

Of course you can find many articles which demonstrate the proof that leading with values is critical, yet what causes the disconnect? 

Over the years, I have coached many people in this area and I believe that the root cause of the ‘misaligned sales approach’ is that so often people confuse values with beliefs which not only results in dissatisfaction for individuals it leads to misaligned teams and increasingly high disengagemement in organizations.  

Let’s take a closer look at the difference between values and beliefs and how you can start to reconnect them in order to re-energize your authentic confidence as a leader and create a positive work culture. 

Values are principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life. Values shape how we view the world. They usually unite people as they address core common needs for humans. To understand more about common values, read “A List of 20 Values [and Why People Can’t Agree On More].”

We have a strong desire to choose values that are consistent with our authentic self. This becomes more difficult in life as we are more influenced by our environment and we start to hold beliefs which conflict or contradict with our values. 

Beliefs are defined as an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof. In other words, beliefs are stories that we can choose to believe or not.

So many have lost sight of this choice. They have allowed the illusions of beliefs to become more important than our values. This results in contracted Mindset Energy - dissatisfaction, uncertainty, unhappiness, insecurity, unnecessary conflict and much worse. 

Now let’s take a look at a common example in the workplace where someone is leading from their beliefs versus their values, the impact it has and how one can reconnect their values and beliefs in order to elevate individual and organizational potential. 

Richard (hypothetical name) is being promoted to a Senior Leadership role based on his outstanding performance. Richard might be an expert in the area he is now expected to lead, however he has become quite anxious about his new role as he realizes that this means he will be leading a team of other experts, some of which Richard perceives to be more intelligent and capable than he is. As a result, when Richard first steps into the new role he finds himself implementing ineffective behaviors to cope with the anxiety and stress. Unfortunately, these behaviors aren’t producing the desired results for him, the team or the organization. 

To address this challenge, we must first reconnect with Richard’s values as a leader, how this aligns to the organizational values and his desired impact as the leader of this new team.  

Richard: “As a leader, I value humility, which is also one of our stated values as a company. To me this means listening to others, seeking feedback, knowing I have room to grow and not being afraid to ask for help when I feel others have more insight than I on any given topic.”

We then look at any beliefs that could be competing or contradicting their values, causing the inner tension, and any fears that could be reinforcing these beliefs and driving one’s ineffective behaviors.  

Richard: “I hold a belief that I should have all the answers as a leader. What drives this belief is the fear of losing control and then worrying I won’t be respected or valued as a leader. As a result, I find myself feeling the need to be the first to speak up in meetings, or attempting to be right during arguments or trying to gain control of discussions when I feel I don’t know the answers.”

Now Richard is able to realize the opportunities for expansion. He can then reimagine the beliefs which are limiting him from elevating his potential. 

We do this by setting intentions which guides him to focus on the desired behaviors and experience along his leadership journey enabling him to align with his desired impact. Notice, we do not focus on setting goals or getting to a specific destination. As such, intentions play a different role than affirmations or goals. They are expansive and encouraging, providing clarity for the behaviors which reconnects to one’s values and aligns to their desired impact.  

Using Richard’s example, consider the statements below - which one would re-energize you and help you align to your values without feeling disbelief, ashamed or under pressure to meet certain expectations and goals? Which would thus create a higher probability you would be able to achieve your desired impact? 

• Affirmation: “I am a humble leader”

• Goal: “I will become a better listener”

• Intention: “I look forward to finding more opportunities to lead with curiosity, to seek new perspectives and to ask for help. I know that as I elevate, the team elevates.”

Intentions are a game change for reframing beliefs and aligning with our values. Our motivation is not sustainable when we chase only the “what” - goals, metrics, skills or even financial success. These may be important, yet they don’t provide the inner peace, alignment, happiness and ultimate impact we authentically desire. 

Which is why it is more effective to reflect and focus on “how” you show up - what Mindset are you operating from? What energy does this create? How aligned is this Mindset Energy to your values and your desired impact? How does this impact your behaviors? The way you interact with yourself and others? How could it be impacting the way you lead, or hold meetings or even make decisions?   

It's not enough to simply state values to your team, on a website or in a company mission statement. Leaders with authentic confidence expand beyond words by actively demonstrating and prioritizing values in their actions and decisions. This creates a workplace culture that fosters teamwork, creativity, and innovation, while also attracting top talent and leading to higher levels of employee engagement and job satisfaction.

Where in your business or life could your values and beliefs be more aligned? What could the impact be if you were able to close the gap? Who could you be if you were able to reimagine your beliefs, set new intentions and re-energize the authentic confident leader inside?