Leadership: Leaders, Followers, Environments

Values

Values are philosophies and beliefs people consider important in their lives and careers, the standards and rules at the core of behavior. They reflect a person's sense of right and wrong, and drive life directions, personal tastes, and preferences. Whether we hold these values consciously or not, we all have some set of them. Some people live by these standards; they let their values guide their actions. Some people do not. Examples of values, ranging from the ordinary and everyday (e.g., neatness) to the transcendental (e.g., social justice), include the following:

• Ambition
• Cleanliness
• Self-control
• Courtesy
• Dependability
• Equality
• Fairness
• Freedom
• Fun
• Holiness
• Honesty
• Humility
• Independence
• Neatness
• Patriotism
• Power
• Punctuality
• Respect
• Security
• Self-reliance
• Simplicity
• Social justice
• Truthfulness

Values are fundamental to the psychological make-up of a person. Many people have difficulty articulating their values clearly and publicly stating which ones they hold most dearly, perhaps out of a sense of privacy or because things like patriotism or social justice can be controversial. Divisive topics like abortion, affirmative action, and politics involve emotional arguments and value judgments because people's values define what they believe about them. Nevertheless, values are the most important element of self-awareness and among the most stable and enduring characteristics of individuals.

Personality and values are related, but they are not the same thing. Values are the ...