Finding Your True North: How to Identify and Apply Your Core Values in Leadership, By Jonathan H Westover, PhD

Abstract: This article discusses how leaders can discover and define their personal core values and apply those values for optimal organizational impact. It proposes that effective leadership requires having strong moral foundations built on grounded principles. Leaders are expected to demonstrate authentic commitment to values like integrity, respect, and community. The article outlines several techniques for leaders to identify their core values through self-reflection, reviewing life experiences, considering hypothetical scenarios, and consulting others. It recommends defining values through an inspiring leadership philosophy statement that summarizes the key values, uses vivid language, focuses outwardly, and commits to specific behaviors. Examples are provided of how leaders at Danaher, Amazon, and Southwest Airlines successfully applied their core values of integrity, respect, and community to positively transform their company cultures and improve business outcomes. The conclusion emphasizes that leadership starts from focusing inward on one's values in order to share and model them outwardly for the organization.