University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

Value Basis
672
Finding one’s true identity requires an in-depth examination of one’s value basis.
The question is: Have you found a set of basic philosophical or religious values that
your outlook on life can be based upon? Your mission should spell out the values
which you build work on. At individual level this is a meditation exercise on how to
take personal responsibility for one’s actions.
At organizational level the company or other organization needs to find a set of
values that all its members can accept and identify with. This happens if the
organizational values match the individual values. Hence the best outcome can be
achieved by allowing all members to participate in the creation of the organizational
values. The problem is that this grass-root value creation takes a long time, for large
organizations even a year or two, to accomplish. Most top managers cannot wait that
long and instead draft a list of organizational or corporate values on their own. If
these top-down values are created with a large heart, the employees and other
organizational members may accept them, but their in-depth commitment succeeds
only through their personal involvement. Well-established organizations have a long
history with a strong organizational culture, which implicitly reflect their true
organizational values that may not coincide with the explicitly expressed values
drafted by current top management.
Societal values are even more deeply rooted in culture and slower to change than
organizational values. Yet at societal level, powerful leaders often set an example,
good or bad, for citizens to follow. This example may inspire massive-scale altruistic
or egoistic behaviour in societies. For example, Mahatma Gandhi’s (1869-1948)
values of non-violent resistance to tyranny still inspire civil rights and freedom
movements all over the world while Adolf Hitler’s (1889-1945) egoistic and racist
values still inspire parties, groups and individuals for tyrannical behaviour towards
people of other cultures across the world.
Self-Image vs. External Image
The self-certainty question for responsible leadership to answer is: Do you feel that
your self-image is consistent with the image you present to others? Or is your selfimage
better/worse than your external image? Arrogant boasters or cringing
subordinates cannot become responsible leaders. Taking humble pride in oneself and
in one’s achievements creates a healthy image. Superficially glittering images
become easily scratched and may sometimes be so badly battered that the responsible
leadership identities built on them collapse. Many individuals, organizations and
societies are presenting green- and whitewashed images to others while acting
unethically and/or demanding others to act unethically behind the scenes. This does
not remain unnoticed for long.
Hence there becomes a huge gap between the self-image upheld and the way the
image is seen by others. For example, Hitler’s grandiose self-image as a good saviour
and external image as an evil oppressor did not match in the long run, which was his