I spent a lot of time reading through a research review, “The Role of Values in Leadership: How Leaders’ Values shape Value Creation” by Scott Lichtenstein. To open his review, he started by briefly mentioning the organizational leadership of great historical leaders– Egyptian pharaohs and Chinese emperors– and comparing them to modern day companies. A stark contrast exists between these two, once common, forms of leadership. The author then moves into reviewing existing research, which he claims to be minimal due to conflicting measures. According to him, personal values and personality types are often used interchangeably when discussing leadership traits. He goes on to identify what values are and their use in leadership. The article itself focuses on how leaders can create values within their company and shift cultural norms. 

One line in particular stood out to me: “a vision that isn’t shared is an unrealised dream”. It stressed out the importance of clarity with employees and stakeholders. If leaders do not share values of the larger company they are likely to be let go. This is because they are not a proper fit for the mission and execution of company goals. By ensuring that the entire company, including stakeholders, are on the same page, a leader’s vision is more likely to become a reality. This raises an important question: how much of leadership is about personal vision versus collective support? It also makes me think about whether values should be implemented from the top down or should it be co-created by the larger organization to create sustainable change.

The Role of Values in Leadership: How Leaders’ Values shape Value Creation – Integral Leadership Review. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2025, from http://integralleadershipreview.com/6176-the-role-of-values-in-leadership-how-leaders-values-shape-value-creation/