The IJIS Leadership Academy offers leadership development programs for individuals and teams who increasingly interact between corporate, nonprofit, public sector, and academic environments. For each of these, regardless of where the leaders themselves spend their professional lives, each environment rewards different behaviors at different times, but the individual’s internal compass must continue to point to their “true north”.  

While the leadership challenges are many, we often see specific disconnects on both sides of the proverbial fence relating specifically to value (or measures) versus values. Mainly, leaders tend to fall victim to the over-indexing of value (outputs, metric, ROI) while under-indexing in values (principles, ethics, and humanity). However, the great leaders, the transformational leaders, meaning those invested in empathy and ongoing development, understand the interplay between the two, and their impact in defining transformation.  

For this article, let’s assume that most see value/measures (what) as those efforts that drive outcomes (for nonprofits, value proposition and for for-profits, the value of product and services). They include the ROI, measurable performance, what we create and deliver. And values (why) determine how those outcomes are achieved. The ethics, personal standards and organizational principles. Balanced leaders bridge both.  

So why do leaders in corporate, nonprofit, academic, and the public sectors need both? For corporate leaders, pressure for revenue and growth can eclipse core values yet employee trust, customer engagement, and long-term brand equity depend on values-aligned decision-making.  Values protect leaders and organizations from short-sighed decisions driven by numbers or growth-only goals. 

For nonprofit leaders, mission-focused organizations/societal impact often assume values are “built in” but that is not always the case, and can often lead to complacency and lack of ownership and accountability. Value/measures become/s essential for operational viability  and sustainability and these organizations risk failure when values are strong, but value is weak.  

Finally, public sector leaders have a duty to citizens and are required to have impeccable values including selfless service, fairness, ethics, and transparency. Inefficiency, however,  internal and external pressures, and politics require strong value-based execution. More than anyone, public sector leaders need to embrace dual fluency when it comes to value and values. 

The focus should then become the intersection of value and values, and what leadership behaviors, and style reflect that balance.  First, a focus on trust as a performance driver is paramount. Values produce trust, and trust increases value. Second, a commitment to behavior as a cultural outcomes engine will shape behaviors; behaviors will shape culture, and culture will determine performance and outcome. What we accept in terms of behavior becomes our culture, our brand, and our identity.  

Lastly, leaders can use both as a decision-making tool. When developing a core set of values, they anchor choices during uncertainty while a equally balanced focus on value ensures choices lead to results – values become the guardrails to protect organization purpose and mission; value becomes the engine fueling loyalty and growth. 

In conclusion, leaders on all sides of the spectrum will be better served, and serve their stakeholders in a better way, by applying a simple formula to their leadership portfolio. Value (impact) x Values (integrity) = sustainable, purpose driven, and empathetic leadership. Our leaders should start every initiative with two questions – what is the value we must create? And what values must guide us as we create it?