What Is Values-Based Leadership?
Defining Values-Based Leadership: Values-based leadership (VBL) is the exercise of influence to make a difference in relationships, teams, organizations and communities through choices and decisions guided by explicit and consistently practiced values that serve the common good. Here are some definitions from pioneers in the field of VBL: “The essence of leadership in any polity is the recognition of real need, the uncovering and exploiting of contradictions among values and between values and practice, the realigning of values…The leader’s fundamental act is to induce people to be aware or conscious of what they feel – to feel their true needs so strongly, to define their values so meaningfully, that they can be moved to purposeful action.” (MacGregor Burns, 1978, p. 43) “[Leadership is] about creating a values-based umbrella large enough to accommodate the various interests of followers, but focused enough to direct their energies in pursuit of a common good. In practical business te
