Neuroscience has taught us that decisions are made emotionally and then rationalized.
We’ve also learned that stories are the most effective way of instilling models of behavior in the human brain.
We speak of values as behaviors we can measure.
The more I work with people helping them discern their values, the more I think in terms of how humans feel about right and wrong.
What’s appropriate? What’s fair?
There are studies where toddlers react to perceived injustice.
They “know” when a behavior is unfair.
This sense that everyone knows right from wrong is at the root of many an interpersonal problem.
Especially in the world of business.
In clear cut cases where the choices are black and white it’s safe to say most people can be relied on to make an appropriate decision.
Unfortunately, critical decisions regularly involve managing polarities.
Decisions requiring choosing between competing values or deciding which alternative is the lesser evil.
These are the times when we as leaders are called upon to do the “heavy lifting”.
Unless we’ve articulated why our organization exists (mission/purpose) where we’re going (vision) and our organization’s way (values) our employees will make decisions based upon their personal priorities.
Not because they’re willful or selfish, but because without clear direction otherwise they have no other tools at their disposal.
We live into the stories we tell ourselves.
Those stories explain our reason for what we do, our mission. They explain our destination, our vision. They explain how we do things in our community/organization, our values.
Discerning and crafting these stories to reach the emotional parts of our brains, so they will impact our behavior requires effort.
The next time you’re unhappy with an employee’s decision ask yourself, “Did I properly equip them to make that decision?”
I’d love to hear about your efforts to discern your organization’s values and how you’ve gone about applying and instilling them in your workforce.