How can Leaders Ensure their Actions Align with their Core Values?

Effective leaders “walk the walk” and serve as a good example for  their team members, earning respect and trust for having high integrity. It is essential for them to reflect often on whether their behavior is  lining up with their stated values and make changes if they’re not.

While it isn’t easy to get an objective view of oneself, senior  leaders can learn to watch for this alignment. Here, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council discuss the best ways for leaders to ensure their behaviors, actions  and communications align with the core values they espouse.

1. Stay In Touch With Your Intuition

Intuition is an invaluable tool when it comes to maintaining the  balance between our values and our behaviors and actions. Refining our  ability to monitor our energy and check in with how we are feeling is  vital to developing awareness. This intuitive feeling is also called “a  gut feeling.” When a leader feels that something is off, this is a great  time to consider whether a value conflict exists. - Lori Wilson-Hudson, Energy Wellness Coaching

2. Allocate Daily Time For Reflection

First of all, be really clear on your top five values and then become  consciously aware of how to know if they are in or out of alignment.  It’s essential for leaders to allocate time for personal reflection on a  consistent and regular basis to notice where they are in alignment and  where out of alignment, and then adapt and change accordingly. - Cath Daley, Cath Daley Ltd

3. Reflect In The Present Moment

Leaders need to become more skilled at reflecting in the present  moment. Usually when leaders’ values and behaviors are misaligned, their  gut feeling leads to negative thoughts and feelings. By becoming  self-aware in the moment of the negativity, the leader has the  opportunity to pause, reflect and choose an alternative response that is  more closely aligned to their values. - Andrew Tallents, The Tallents Partnership Limited

4. Hold Each Other Accountable

Leaders and teams need to hold each other accountable. When decisions  are made, ask the team to do a values check to ensure alignment. Review  key actions frequently as a team to ensure core values are at the  forefront. Ask yourself, “Did I role-model how I want others to be?”  Communicate and model how to live each value, and consider strategies to  respond when values aren’t aligned. - Susan Murray, Clearpath Leadership

5. Know What Your Core Values Are

Make sure you know what your core values are; if you don’t, there are  many exercises out there to help you articulate them. Ask yourself, “To  what extent am I embodying these values as a leader?” The beauty of  working from your values is that when you know what your values are, you  often feel it in your body when you’ve violated them—it’s now down to  you to decide how you will realign yourself. - Palena Neale, unabridged

6. Solicit Feedback And Be Present

Core values are principles that help guide our behaviors, attitudes  and decisions. Leaders come across as congruent when their values and  behaviors seem to align. Soliciting feedback, being present and finding  ways to embed core values into our everyday work practices are valuable  tools, which can assist us in monitoring our value alignment and enable  us to course-correct where necessary. - Remi Adebonojo, RESILIGENT

7. Create Open Formats For Anonymous Feedback

To remain effective and serve as a good example for their team, a  business leader needs to identify and/or create formats for gathering  ongoing feedback—an open format where their team members can deliver it  anonymously. - Cheri Bachofer, Forwarding Leaders

8. Look To Your Conscience

Values are spoken about often, yet hold a nebulous meaning. Portrayed  as big, nonnegotiable aspects of who you are, how they translate into  action can feel unclear. To check the alignment of values and action,  simply look to your conscience. Do you feel uneasy about the choices  you’ve made? Do you feel guilt about the trade-offs you’ve made? If yes,  then it’s time to take a closer look at why. - Saba Hasanie, OSC Leadership Performance

9. Remind Yourself Of Your Principles

Congruence—which means to have your values and actions aligned—is one  of the most powerful states for a leader to operate in. Life happens  whether you are in the workplace or at home, and making decisions based  on emotions is where leaders fall off-track. When emotions go up, logic  goes down. Start and end your day by reminding yourself of your  principles. - Jay Gauthier Jr., Tenacity Inc.

10. Share Your Stated Values With The Team

Relationships provide a mirror as to how we’re showing up (or not).  Share your stated values with your team so they are aware. Once a  quarter, ask for them to rate you on a scale of zero to 10 on how you’re  doing against your definitions. Let them know what you’re going to  focus on over the next quarter. Check in throughout the quarter during  one-on-one meetings for real-time feedback. Ready, set, grow! - Chris Herndon, lucidly™️

11. Listen To The Voice Within You

Most leaders know when they have overstepped or stepped out of line.  There is a little voice within that might feel like guilt or regret. The  problem is, often they ignore their own internal compass. I encourage  my clients to remember that their feelings are telling them something.  Listen to the voice inside and course-correct when necessary. - Lisa D. Foster, Lisa D. Foster, Coach

12. Create Psychological Safety

Every leader has blind spots that, when triggered, cause them to have  a knee-jerk reaction, chilling the voices of team members. To avoid  this behavior, leaders must create—daily, through their words and  actions—the psychological safety necessary for team members to be not  only safe but also comfortable in pointing out when the leader is not  acting in alignment with the organization’s core values. - Paul Glover, Paul Glover Coaching

13. Notice Others’ Values In Action

Applying principles is different from simply understanding them. It’s  harder. Leaders exploring the difference between their intention and  their impact discover whether they are actually living their values by  slowing down enough to avoid reactivity and taking the time to listen  and consider. Spend time noticing values in action in others, discussing  dilemmas and adjusting habitual behaviors. - Jessica Hartung, Treelight Leadership

14. Keep The Greater Good In Mind

Intentional leadership takes conscious effort. In order for a leader  to be aligned with their own values and their organizations’, they must  take a moment before every decision, conversation or interaction and ask  themselves, “Why does this matter to me, the team, the company and our  customers?” Then, they can intentionally create their next action or  mindset with the greater good in mind. - Christie Garcia, Mindful Choice, LLC.

15. Get Feedback From Colleagues

The best way is to get feedback from those who work closely with you.  Use the net promoter score (NPS) that is typically used for evaluating a  company’s values alignment with customers. Ask team members to  anonymously rank your NPS—how your values align with your actions. Most  importantly, once you receive the feedback, create an action plan to  address it. It’s only through taking action that we change the status  quo. - Lital Marom, UNFOLD Media Group

This article was originally published on Forbes.

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