Blog - Values Can Be Revolutionary: Values-based Leadership

Forum Panel:  Ashley Munday (Moderator, Barrett Values Centre-BVC), Dr. James Orbinski (UofT Professor in Global Health), Bob Elton (former CEO of BC Hydro), Tor Eneroth (BVC and formerly Volvo IT), and Emmanel Arruda (League Assets Mgt.). 

I recently attended a Values-Based Leadership conference hosted by the Vancouver Board of Trade and Rix Center for Corporate Citizenship & Engaged Leadership in cooperation with the Barrett Values Centre and Institute for Values Based Leadership at Royal Roads University. I was one of three ‘RRU Roving Reporters’, there to glean insights from the keynote, panel, and attendees on the themes of values, cultural transformation, collaboration, and resilience. The forum provided an opportunity to leaders in the room to learn how to enable themselves and others to create an environment where we can reach our full potential to serve the common good in the face of converging crises with global causes and consequences for us all.

Keynote speaker, Dr. James Orbinski, past President with Doctors Without Borders and founder of Dignitas, shared examples of revolutionary effects of values-based leadership, while plenary speaker and Barrett Values Centre network director, Tor Eneroth, underscored the importance of values within organizational cultural transformation that can generate mutual respect, open dialogue, and trust in the workplace. Former CEO of BC Hydro, Bob Elton, and Director of the Institute for Values-Based Leadership at RRU, Marilyn Taylor, and founder of League Assets Corp, Emanuel Arruda, also shared their insights on navigating these turbulent times during a panel discussion facilitated by Ashley Munday with the Barrett Values Centre. The panel focused on the importance of building trust within organizations and being engaged in our organizations and communities in pursuit of greater equity.

Our Greatest Wealth

We need new frameworks and new ways of being in the world. Self-interest at both a personal and corporate level is getting in the way of the change we need so desperately need to see. In his keynote, Dr. Orbinski was adamant that values can be revolutionary. To have such impact, we must move beyond “simple sympathy” to thoughtfully and conscientiously reshape the way we are with each other and the way we orient ourselves towards future generations and the planet. This was something the late Vancouver philanthropist Milton Wong believed in. His vision was one of borderless stewardship, which he defined as the act of caring for that which does not belong to you. Similarly, Dr. Orbinski suggested that our greatest wealth as human beings is the degree to which we can be more humane, fair and just. I’d like to not only imagine a world that encompasses these values, but act towards creating one as well.

A More Equitable World

Standing up for what you believe in. It's not so hard, right? But without support, it can be a daunting task. Even a small group around you with a similar mission and vision can help multiply the positive impact you are creating within your organization and community. That is why Tor Eneroth truly believes that managing corporate culture can change the world. 

Eneroth suggested we envision where we’d like to be and spoke eloquently about how fear, distrust and other limiting values block this vision. Our potential to love and facilitate change within our organization is limited when we let our egos guide us. He shared with us seven levels of consciousness: survival, relationships, self-esteem, transformation, internal cohesion, making a difference in the world, and ultimately, service to humankind. Transformation is where we realize that who we are as leaders impacts our organizational culture. Service is what I see in leaders like Dr. Orbinski whose tireless efforts to provide not only essential medical service to the suffering, like those during the Rwandan genocide, but also his commitments to education and engagement as well is creating a more equitable world.

Global Crises & The Role of Participatory Communication

Dr. Orbinski shared with us this striking quote from Hannah Arendt: “We are not born equal. Equality and equity are the result of choice and of human organization." With 3.8 billion people living on less than $2 a day, clearly not enough of our major decisions have not been based on a value-based perspective. We need global leaders willing to make the shift from ‘I’ to ‘we’ thinking and inspire us all to make the changes needed. Most of the speakers touched up on the intertwining food, fuel, water, energy, and climate change crises that have alerted us to how far we are testing the capacities of our planet to sustain us. 

The controversy swirling around the proposed Enbridge pipeline made its way into discussion. Marilyn Taylor was adamant that we cannot move forward without first looking back and taking note of how we missed opportunities for thoughtful engagement among all sectors and affected parties from the very beginning. There is a distinct lack of trust on all sides, according to Bob Elton, who believes that decision-makers need to learn how to discuss and debate energy in a more reasonable way in a public forum. 

I believe leaders have a responsibility to present issues intelligently, humanely, and with a commitment to listen. Participatory development communication involves listening to all voices and valuing the process from beginning to end. Without this level of engagement, we won’t be equipped with the knowledge needed to effectively address pressing global issues.

Intercultural Harmony

I believe there is a role for intercultural skills to play in leadership. This includes being able to see situations from multiple viewpoints. It also means valuing humility. This has helped me to remain mindful that I have certain lenses on, and adjusting them helps me connect meaningfully with others. Being "interculturally flexible" will allow leaders to recognize the social construction of discrimination, remain open to and respectful of cultural beliefs, and to continually reflect on the ever-shifting context in which they make decisions. 

Overall, it was an inspiring forum and the leaders I interviewed showed me how their values-based decisions can tackle the challenges facing humanity. We hold the power to reform our values and therefore, our choices, which can lead us all towards common ground for dialogue and the common good. I think all leaders should invest in possibility, the kind that values-based leadership nourishes and that will lead us towards a more equitable, healthier, and happier world.