In Scott Lichtenstein’s “The Role of Values in Leadership: How Leaders’ Values Shape Value Creation,” he identifies the pillars of value-based leadership as leaders identifying/recognizing their own respective values, and understanding the values dynamic.

Lichtenstein first claims that values act as perceptual filters, receiving input from the strategic situation and making it applicable for selective perception and interpretation. Furthermore, he seeks values as a key element of strategy and not just leadership. He backs this claim by quoting Finkelstein and Hambrick as they add that “Even though values are undoubtedly important factors in executive choice, they have not been the focus of much systemic study” (1996, p. 48). I find this to be a really interesting alternative opinion as opposed to what we have primarily been learning about values and how to apply them to leadership. Values do display themselves as a determinant of strategy, but they are joined by expectations and SWOTs.

A text to world connection that took some further research and deep thought is Patagonia. Being a clothing brand and having a firm commitment to environmental sustainability is not easy by any means, but Patagonia has proved that they can adhere to their commitment in competitive strategy and performance, not just a simple mission or value statement.

The passage is a good reminder to my personal self that although it is extremely important to identify your own values in business, values can equally be used in strategy and execution. As someone aspiring to be a leader in the financial industry at some point in my life, I want to be able to identify and execute my own values in business and people management to certify myself as a values-based leader.

Lichtenstein, Scott. “The Role of Values in Leadership: How Leaders’ Values Shape Value Creation.” Integral Leadership Review, Jan. 2012, https://integralleadershipreview.com/6176-the-role-of-values-in-leadership-how-leaders-values-shape-value-creation