Values and Values-Based Leadership - Why Now?

Key reasons why values and values-based leadership (VBL) matters now:

In a time of unprecedented change, conventional practices no longer deliver desired results—new challenges require us to ‘dig deeper’ and anchor leadership decisions, goals and actions in thoughtfully identified values. Our immense capacity to affect the future through global interdependence amplifies the urgency for capable, mindful leadership that serves the greater good.

Leadership credibility no longer goes with the position; credibility is earned by demonstrating beliefs and values in actions that are meaningful to employees, clients, partners and the community.

Highly educated knowledge workers expect to participate in workplaces that respect their knowledge and capacity for good judgment; work has to be effectively aligned through shared commitment to both outcome and operational values.
 
Our own Canadian National Values Assessment (2009) highlighted a serious level of organizational dysfunction and wasted resources that lead to public discouragement and skepticism, and to sapping the energy of our citizens.

Workplaces and communities in a global context of multicultural interdependence demand awareness, appreciation and capacity to negotiate values differences.

Recent events like the 2008 financial collapse underpinned by greed and corruption and the apparent negligence around the largest oil spill to date in US history reconfirm that single-minded attention to financial value is a limiting factor for a healthy natural and social environment and sustained prosperity.

The newscast of A Channel, Victoria, BC below illustrates clearly how these recent failures in leadership have a serious impact on all of us:

Increasing attention in professional publications and public media illustrates the growing realization that values which serve the common good and long-term sustainability of our prosperity and our natural world, are critical for humanity and our survival on this planet. As a result, there is widening interest to learn and to understand more about values-based leadership (VBL) and how it can contribute to improving organizational, community and national cultures.

For the past several decades, evidence has been accumulating that shows that sustainable organizations and communities that focus on values, or what matters most, and select values that serve people and the planet, are also those that create lasting prosperity as measured by such factors as enhanced reputation and return on investment. Several sources of this evidence are:  J. Collins & J.Porras (2004) Built to Last: the Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. New York: Harper Collins and R. Sisodia, R., Wolfe, D., & J. Sheth, J. (2007) Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.

Read our Director's Message here for an in-depth viewpoint on the importance of living and working by our values.

Why VBL at Royal Roads University?

While there was an increasing focus on the relevance of values-based leadership (VBL), there was no university with a dedicated centre in Canada and few in the world. Royal Roads University with its recognized strength in applied research and education in the leadership domain, an entrepreneurial model, and a mandate to serve working professionals was a natural fit. And, as of this writing, there are no other graduate certificate educational programs to our knowledge, that specialize specifically in values-based leadership in the world.