In David J. Glew’s “Personal Values and Performance in Teams: An Individual and Team-Level Analysis,” he recognizes the difference in values between individuals and teams amongst undergraduate and MBA students. Although Glew recommends further study and research for this argument, he has a evidence-backed claim that values do not tend to matter amongst individual performance, but rather past behavior is a better indicator of success. Alternatively, values such as equality is a reliable predictor of success in teamwork.

Throughout my personal experiences, both in and outside of academics, I have consistently found myself thriving in teams. Whether it be sports, clubs, group projects, or work, I find that I work best when I am surrounded by like-minded people. With that being said, truly understanding my personal values and the ins and outs of value-based leadership should certainly help me in the long run and in my endeavors.

A text-to-text connection that took some serious thinking, and might be an exaggerated example, is “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding. It goes to show that with different values and interests in mind, it is hard to maintain unity and successful teamwork.

Finally, a real world example, although a bit drawn out, is the 2008 Financial Crisis. There is no worse group of people to complete a task then individualists with selfish interests in mind, as there is little to no shared values amongst them. This effectively led to financial losses for millions and millions of people, all from self interested and risk taking individuals.

Glew, David J. “Personal Values and Performance in Teams: An Individual and Team-Level Analysis.” Small Group Research, vol. 40, no. 6, 2009, pp. 670–693. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/1046496409346577.