Page 149 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

Humility helps create a positive work environment of
learning, service, appreciation, and growth.

2. Attitude Toward Value and Values:
Implicit Versus Explicit

One of Yogi Berra’s (an American athlete known for his
witticisms) notorious restatements of the obvious was “If
you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up
someplace else.” Many terms have been used to articulate a
direction: strategy, mission, vision, purpose, goals, intent, and
aspiration. Underlying these concepts is the importance of
making both value and values explicit. Value refers to the
worth, importance, or significance placed on something by
key stakeholders. Values are ethical norms that guide behav-
ior. A direction statement not only positions the organization
with stakeholders in the future but also suggests the beliefs
and moral behaviors that will guide action to fold the future
into the present. Value is about what matters to others; values
is about what matters to me. A positive work environment is
shaped by leaders who intentionally and thoughtfully build
both value and values.
Abundant leaders must create clear and explicit value
prop ositions for several groups: employees, customers,
inves tors, and communities. An employee value proposi-
tion clar ifies what employees give to the organization and
in turn what good employees get back in return. In a posi-
tive work environment, an employee knows what is expected
and what he or she can expect for meeting (or not meet-
ing) those expectations. Negative work environments persist
when employees don’t know for sure what they should do or
understand what happens if they reach or miss goals.
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