Values Vs. Results

One must not give up what is important (values) in order to achieve results. I am aware of the pressure to constantly achieve more results. If one starts thinking results are what matters for their overall performance and professional growth, this can be very damaging for the organizations. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stated, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least”

To help communicate these values, I have a group of mentees whom I run book reading sessions with.? These folks read a book and come together to discuss their learnings from the book. The team recently finished reading Gung Ho! from Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. During our discussion, one of the team members asked this question, “What if we come to a situation where we may have to compromise our values in order to achieve expected results?”

My answer was something like this: I understand that there are expectations from your leadership, and when these are not met, it may have a direct impact on your performance and even on employment. Yet, if you compromise values this can directly affect the organization’s existence. Sometimes you must decide to compromise short-term expectations in order to keep your values held high and have a longer-term outlook. In my opinion, we must never compromise our values for gains. I will not be able to live with myself if my values are compromised for any kind of gains.

Values are what drive us and show us the path to success. Leadership must play a pivotal role in ensuring that values are never compromised. I know many large corporations continue to remind their teams about their core values and how each decision must be made with these values in mind. On the other hand, many other corporations look for quick wins and forget about their values. Decision making is a critical skill and when making decisions, desired results should never outweigh core values.

Some simple logic I tell people to apply in decision making is, “if the results of your decision are on the national news or front page of local newspaper, can you successfully defend your decision? If the answer to this question is a ‘YES,’ go ahead and make the decision.”

No matter what the outcome is, if you can defend your decision and are confident about it, you have weighed all your values and your organization’s values. Now if the results come out to be negative because of your decision, there is no reason for you to hide your face. You made the decision with the right intent, and this should give you a feeling of pride and satisfaction.