Personal vs Organisational Values

In a blog last month we talked about how leaders can gain trust and set the ethical agenda for their organisations.  But how do the values of individuals fit in?

There are two aspects of values at work that influence individuals:  what the organisation does and how it sets about doing it.

The ideal is to work for an organisation whose purpose and culture resonates for the individual and where the leadership and management styles chime with the values and behaviours of the individual.

It’s common to have one of these things right but rarer to get both right at the same time.

Layers of meaning
To my mind it’s unreasonable to look at one particular sector or industry and leap to a broad brush conclusion about what the people or the companies in that sector are ‘typically’ like.  Different organisations within the same sector can have quite distinct cultures.  Similarly, the values of the individuals that work in a sector or within a particular organisation vary widely.

For example, the idea of ‘the banks’ may attract opprobrium on the streets around St Paul’s, but many individuals within banks are following their own personal values when they do their best to provide good care and service to their clients on a daily basis.

Many people employed in the health sector are attracted by the cause and take pride in what they do, often driven by the ethic of their profession in the values they display and in the way that they operate.  However, this may be quite separate from the way they regard the organisation in which they happen to operate.

Taking responsibility
In small private businesses employees are closer to the ground.  The identification between owners / leadership / managers and their staff will be much stronger and disconnects much more obvious.  There is nowhere to hide but it is often easier to make a difference.

It is as much the responsibility of individuals to represent the values of their organisation when at work as it is for organisations to accommodate and respect those of their staff.  That goes as much for, say, a GP Practice as for a large financial institution.

Making choices
When making career choices, the ideal is to find an employer and a career path where professional skills and personal values can happily co-exist.  As Chris Bones from Henley School of Management so succinctly puts it: “Work and personal behaviour are different. At your happiest there will be a lot of convergence”.

So we would like to have a job we like in an organisation we like - but what this means differs between individuals and varies over time. 

People are always making calculated choices.  They may have to balance short term pain against long term gain - taking a tough job now for the experience that will create future opportunities; persisting in an arduous role now for the income needed to raise a family but with a view to downshifting later.  Conversely some may choose to sacrifice current income to spend more time with a growing family or to have time to pursue other interests and passions. 

The choices we make are not right or wrong.  They may be constrained by circumstances. They reflect our values and reveal what is important to us.

Jo Ouston
November 2001