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In the modern age, numerous leaders are striving to attain an ideal leadership persona in order to meet the expectations of those who have appointed them. They invest much of their energy and efforts toward this goal.
Real Leaders lead from the essence of who they are: values that they deeply embrace. These values are the guiding principles that often influence how they behave and interact with the people at work and society at large.
However, oftentimes, workplace situations test your commitment to upholding your values. If you do not strongly embrace your values, you could easily compromise them due to situational factors or by letting acts that violate your values get past you.
Therefore, as a leader rather than seeking validation from others, it is far more important to prioritise your own values.
Think of a critical incident or a situation where you had to make a tough decision to uphold your values. How did you handle the situation? What was your primary concern at that moment – did you defend your values?
Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft once had to make a difficult decision to lay off thousands of employees in order to streamline costs and restructure the organisation. It was a difficult situation for him both personally and professionally as he knew that this could lead to immense disruption and financial losses for those affected.
However, Satya decided to stand by his core values of transparency and honesty. He made sure that the process was explained clearly to employees and stakeholders alike. He also ensured that the decision-making process had integrity where decisions were taken in good faith rather than on whims or favoritism. This enabled Microsoft to move forward in the right direction and remain a strong player in its industry.
To be a real leader requires more than just being visionary and inspiring but staying true to one’s values even when faced with difficult situations. This will help you foster trust and loyalty among your team members, customers, and shareholders. After all, our performance does not define who we are as leaders but our values do.
For more on how to become a Real Leader, contact us at connect@pace-od.com, and let's begin this journey together!
